The future of organizations: re-imaging how we work together

The challenges facing us are global and complex, and will need large numbers of people working in coordinated, compassionate and wise action. Businesses currently tend to be too much in a limited paradigm of short-term profit to meet these challenges. Governments to subject to short-term popular opinion. And charities and non-profits too often running on burn out and in poverty mind-sets. How do we develop new models of working together that harness our joint energy and creativity in a way fit to meet the challenges of our time?

Three models of working together

One of the primary current ways we work together is in business under the model of a corporation.  This has been extraordinarily effective in harnessing the efforts of large numbers of people to a common goal.  Yet it’s also generally based on a limited paradigm that considers only a  financial bottom line, and a focus on quarterly results.  It’s also heavily tied into an economic model based on extraction, consumption and an increasingly obvious false assumption of infinite growth.

Social ventures,  non-profits are starting to show alternative ways of working together around a common aim.  They expand the view of success to include often social and environmental bottom lines. This is a vibrant and growing area of new ways of doing business - for example the growing B-corp model.

Less talked about, there’s also a long tradition of charities, monasteries, convents and spiritual organizations that provide another model for how large numbers of people have worked together.  These often function around an orienting principle of services and a common aspiration for something greater than ourselves.

There are vital lessons to learn from all of these three models in how we shape our organizations of the future.

Engaging passion and creativity

Firstly it’s clearer than ever that our organizations and businesses need to be looking at a wider picture.  They need to see their whole place in the ecosystem and be a net contributor.  Financial, social and environmental bottom lines are all key to look at to ensure an organization is truly having a positive and generative impact.

Secondly corporations and the limited paradigm they operate in are increasingly struggling to harness and engage the full presence and creativity of their employees.  And without engaging the passion and creativity of it’s people, a company won’t truly flourish and have positive impact.  People look to their work as a source of meaning and learning.  They want to go to work knowing they can contribute in some way to our global well-being, not contributing to an economic machine that is damaging the planet for ourselves and our children.  Offering more flexible benefits, or introducing mindfulness or other similar programs, or stimulating innovation are all approaches companies may try.  But this doesn’t go far enough for true engagement.

A paradigm shift - the spiritual bottom line

Introducing social and environmental bottom lines is a huge step towards a more meaningful, vibrant and complete organization. But not often talked about is a vital fourth bottom line - the spiritual. By this we mean a bigger view beyond ourselves that provides meaning. An orientation that ground our activities with a deep sense of service, is based is wisdom and compassion, and which deeply values the personal transformation of each person. Only with this do we get to a truly complete approach across financial, social, environmental and spiritual. And this complete approach is what will allow us to create dynamic and committed organizations of people that are fit to meet the challenges of our times.

Conscious organizations

Therefore I believe the future of organizations will be to draw strongly from a quadruple bottom line.  I call these “conscious organizations”.   

Creating this is going to require new and deeper ways of thinking on how we can be effective and generate across all four bottom lines.  

It will require new and richer ways of working together based on greater trust, awareness and collaboration.

And it will require that we reconnect to community in a deep way and re-learn how to truly be with each other in a generative way - a skill can be hard to find in our isolated virtual and distracted world.