Chapter 9: Overall discussion

From practice and reflection to experimentation and being human-centered, it’s safe to say that this research project is a broad one. While it might’ve been interesting to really dive into the different parts and analyze them on a deeper level, I believe by doing so it would’ve not answered the research question of “How might we enable startups to build their culture?”. It suggests a framework, process or another holistic intervention. To just focus on, for example, reflection wouldn’t have been sufficient.

I started this project introducing you to the world of organizations, starting at the beginning of the industrialization and Taylorism and moving towards McGregor’s Theory X and Y. As time has gone by, we’ve softened our approach to work. We’ve become more human. And the interviews I’ve made show that as well. There is a sense of wanting to connect to the human in ourselves and others through empathy and safe spaces where we can be vulnerable. However, the strong management that Taylorism advocated for is still evident, perhaps the strongest indicator of that is the notion from the startup founders that it’s the first employees that set the culture. That history and legacy is something that needs to be considered moving forward.

People are, however, starting to see themselves as experiments, and want to see that same exploration and approach in the organizations they work in. By starting to experiment they can live in constant beta, always improving and responding to new circumstances. However, this could be because of the nature of startups, and especially the Lean Startup methodology which is based in A/B testing and tweaking your product/service until you hit your Minimum Viable Product. It could also be because I’ve interviewed organizational consultants that are in the front of research and new ways of organizing. But these two phenomena could also be seen as a sign of the times we’re living in — a time where everything is changing rapidly thanks to technology.

There might be bias lurking in the data. As mentioned in “Chapter 2: Research Design”, 60% of the respondents had some connection to Hyper Island, which uses reflection, empathy, and learning by doing as part of their methodology. That might explain the emphasis on the four themes of the study. However, the respondents who had no connection at all to Hyper Island made the same sentiment — that learning from each other and reflecting on your experiences together is important, as well as seeing the human in yourself and others.

I also mentioned in the introduction that there might be an opportunity to make a real change with startups due to the lack of conversation and consultancy done in the startup area of organizational issues. This has come through in the interviews as well, where it’s told that the entrepreneurs/startup founders don’t know how to build their culture, and sometimes they don’t even how to reflect and make strategic decisions. I interpret that as that the need is greater than I anticipated. However, this might be because the need might be over-emphasized by the respondents. Speaking to accelerators and consultants mean that I’m talking to people whose job it is to support people in startups. For them to say that they don’t need the support or that they’re not helping people could put them out of a job. At the same time, if we stick to the logic of capitalism and the market, the accelerators and consultants wouldn’t be around if they didn’t provide value to the entrepreneurs/startups.

The insights developed during this research, as part of chapters 5–8, show that the concept of teal organizations, seeing the organization as a living organism, might hold some value and be the future of organizing. This means a culture that enables startups to constantly evolve is even more important for them to prosper as the world continues to change.

Next: Chapter 10: The Double Diamond of Culture
Previous: Chapter 8: Growing and experimenting

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Hyper Island — MA Digital Media Management
Industry Research Project