The Caring Network Company
The type of organization I am growing
On the basis of what I value and my personal goals and through the work I do with companies, I am growing caring network companies that are based on both-and thinking.
What I mean with caring
An organization where each of us cares.
- About and for the organization. Its mission and the customers it serves. Its impact on all stakeholders.
- About and for each other. Our interactions and relationships. Each others well-being.
- About and for ourselves. Our own personal and professional development. Our own well-being.
Caring about these organisms means that they matter to us. They are important in our lives. They have substance. They are not separate from us. They are part of who we are.
Caring for these organisms means that we tend to them. We nurture their well-being and development. We apply our minds and energy to them. They are part of what we do.
What I mean with network
An organization that is structured as networks.
- Of people that form teams with consciously co-designed goals, roles, and norms.
- Of teams that form companies around shared missions and values.
- Of companies that form communities around a shared ideology and memes.
Being a network means to recognize its nodes as autonomous agents that create value through their self-organized cooperation. Value that is more than the sum of its parts.
Being a network means to recognize that its emerging collective intelligence is determined by the quality of the nodes’ interactions just as much as by the quality of the nodes themselves.
What I mean with company
A group of companions that satisfy needs.
- Of customers. Through the value its service creates. Through the impact, it has on their lives.
- Of workers. Through the motivation its mission instills. Through the fulfillment the pursuit of its purpose creates.
- Of the company. Through the change it effects in the world. Through the difference it makes.
When workers partake in ownership and governance of the company while at the same time being customers of the company’s service, these roles and their needs blend into one. This aligns incentives and favors win-win situations.
Satisfying needs is made possible when we make effective use of emotions and empathy. When we understand and communicate our needs. When we listen with curiosity and compassion.
Both and
The result is an organization where we both cooperate and compete to grow beyond our comfort zones. An organization that both respects all perspectives and leverages leadership to be effective. An organization where we are both autonomous and aligned on what we want. An organization where we both care for each other and hold each other to account. An organization that has an impact by both pursuing a purpose and making a profit.
This — simplified — together with all other concepts on this blog is nicely bundled up with 88 visualizations, 37 videos, and 11 templates in my New Work by Design Transformation course. Helping you put New Work into practice for less than the price of a consulting day.
