APPROACH.
Organizations can be overwhelming. It is difficult to know where to start or what is most important. By carefully collecting and identifying many unconventional practices from around the world, evolutionary organizations have shown that they focus essential activities in twelve areas. These are the areas where ambitious and innovative organizations can unleash their greatest potential. Together, they form a system with twelve different domains through which the organizational DNA becomes visible and can be changed accordingly.
PURPOSE.
How we orient and steer; the reason for being at the heart of any organization, team or individual.
AUTHORITY.
How we share power and make decisions; the right to make decisions and take action, or to compel others to do the same.
STRUCTURE.
How we organize and team; the anatomy of the organization; formal, informal, and value-creation networks.
STRATEGY.
How we plan & prioritize; the process of identifying critical factors or challenges & the means to overcome them.
RESOURCES.
How we invest our time and money; the allocation of capital, effort, space and other assets.
INNOVATION.
How we learn & evolve; the creation of something new; the evolution of what already exists.
WORKFLOW.
How we divide and do the work; the path and process of value creation.
MEETINGS.
How we convene and coordinate; the many ways members and teams come together.
INFORMATION.
How we share & use data; the flow of data, insight & knowledge across the organization.
MEMBERSHIP.
How we define & cultivate relationships; the boundaries & conditions for entering, inhabiting & leaving teams & organizations.
MASTERY.
How we grow and mature; the journey of self-discovery; our approach to nurturing talent, skills and competence.
COMPENSATION.
How we pay and provide the wages, salaries, benefits profits & equity exchanged for participation in the organization.
While many activities and outcomes within organizations may seem intricate, the organization itself operates within the realm of complexity. Therefore, organizational culture should not be viewed as a problem to be solved; instead, it is an emerging phenomenon that necessitates deliberate nurturing. However, our bureaucratic structures are ill-equipped to navigate complexity. They lack the capacity to effectively address the daily surprises we encounter, and, even worse, they are incapable of producing unexpected breakthroughs. If we persist in treating the complex as if it were merely complicated, we will continuously experience frustration, always striving for control that remains just beyond our reach. By tightly grasping onto control, we run the risk of forgetting the magic that can unfold when we relinquish our grip and allow new possibilities to emerge.