We are in the process of building a great company. Well that is how I feel anyway. As I have been thinking about TomorrowToday.biz I would like to share some thoughts concerning how we are configuring in the hope that they will foster understanding, create dialogue and thereby contribute in some small way to my initial assertion namely, that WE ARE BUILDING A GREAT COMPANY. And don’t forget to include that little (as far as words go) but hugely important word, ‘process’ in the mix.
TomorrowToday.biz has essentially a network configuration or structure. This is distinctly different to the older, more traditional hierarchal structures with which I would suggest most of us are familiar and where we most likely have accumulated much our working experience. The memes that guard this way of experiencing work and organisations are pervasively strong and resilient to change. However, we are in the process (there’s that word again!) of breaking the mould. This reality alone is enough to cause a little anxiousness and means that we can’t find too many similar groupings out there from which to draw some measure of encouragement and learning. ‚But you don’t look like us‌you’re different‛ is what we should get use to hearing in the corporate playground in which we play. And yes, we need to understand that which we do as ‘play’ � ‘serious play’ certainly, but play nonetheless. But any astute observer of children at play knows that adding ‘serious’ to their activity is really superfluous to requirements. It was Buckminster Fuller who said, ‚You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete‛ and that is what we do through our frameworking, storytelling and gamebreaking.
Let’s do some thinking then concerning our TomorrowToday.biz structures and some implications of what it is are growing.
The word ‘structure’ means complex construction. In the old hierarchical structure depicting how things worked and who fitted in where was easy. In a networked model things aren’t as simple. For one thing the network structure invites one to see things from a holistic point of view, to understand it as a whole system. Customers / clients are seen as part of the whole system and the network undergoes constant change as it responds to the multiple external and internal change drivers. In this structure interconnections and networking communication will be dependent on the people, not the technology. This is an important point that is being made here. The technology is necessary to facilitate dynamic and robust communication but on its own is not sufficient to guarantee that it happens. In TomorrowToday.biz we have now established the technology that allows us to network and communicate but it is the people, you and me, on which networking and communication depends.
There are four principles needed to make the network organisation work. An easy way for me to remember these principles is to ‘acronym’ them: CiFi is it – and it kind of plays on the familiar ‘WiFi’ term, which I guess is technology’s way of enhancing networking!
The Cifi principles then are as follows:
1. Communicate: Everyone should communicate via the network. Although electronic communication is important, face-to-face communication across the network is vital.
2. Information: There should be open access to both people and information. The underpinning driver to this is the unshakable belief that everybody in the network has something relevant to contribute.
3. Forums: In networks people work together through forums. Forums are not the same as meetings and shouldn’t be run as such.
4. Incentives: To encourage information exchange incentives should be put in place. Any policies (and we are doing our very best to avoid ‘clogging’ the TomorrowToday.biz network with policies) can also be used to encourage the flow of information
There are three fundamental changes stemming from a network structure (as compared to a hierarchical structure).
Firstly, there is a shift in power. In the hierarchy, power is based on position. In a network structure, power is based on what and who people know. With the open communication flow that a network allows, traditional information gatekeepers can be bypassed and power distributed to all. There have been times when certain people within TomorrowToday.biz have been referred to as ‚the bosses‛. This reference does not fit the network model, especially when people understand how networks operate, know their roles, have access to information and feel empowered to function for the good of the whole. Erich Jantsch wrote: ‚In life, the issue is not control but dynamic connectiveness‛ (The Self-Organising Universe). In TomorrowToday.biz we should never be concerned about issues of control (power) but rather about the health of our connectedness.
We have said that power in a network resides ‘on who and what people know. This means that besides developing healthy relationships (both inside and outside of TomorrowToday.biz) we need to take personal responsibility for growing our own knowledge base. There are books that all of us should be reading in order to foster a communal understanding of our message and how we are building this business. Of course books are only one way to spread this knowledge and it can occur through conversations, seeing and participation in the presentations, contributing our experiences and stories to the ‘content’ laboratory, assuming new tasks and responsibilities and so on. Jean Piaget, a familiar figure from my studies and work in youth development, found two distinct processes of learning: The first was the process of taking in information through the process of ‘assimilation’. This is cognitive, formal, conventional learning through books, lectures, courses and so on. The second process Piaget coined as, ‘accommodation’ which requires more than conventional teaching and training. Accommodation is when we learn not only with our intellect but with our heart while accepting that the final outcome will remain unknown. Learning this way is essential in TomorrowToday.biz and so words like ‘trust’, ‘journey’ and ‘process’ take on added meaning and importance. It assumes not only that everyone has the potential to lead but that people really want to learn and develop. It was Galileo who said, ‚We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it‛. This type of learning goes beyond merely absorbing information. It involves beliefs and perceptions and occurs when underlying assumptions are questioned and real transformation occurs. And to risk advocating my passion, it is in this tough, at times terrifying, but essential leadership terrain that storytelling emerges as the treasured currency! This is the realm where tomorrow’s leaders will be found and if we are smart we will waste no time in taking this road less travelled. There is much more to be said here but I think the point has been made.
Secondly, career ladders disappear in a network. There are no ‘boxes’ to constrain people and no promotions for which to scrabble. There is no ‘top’ to aspire towards. Networks enable people to work throughout the structure with the outcome that such opportunity and movement generates personal development and growth. Everybody supports everybody and the personal skills needed for this becomes the responsibility of all in the network. This is very different from hierarchical structures where such skills are regarded as the preserve of the ‘specialist’.
Thirdly, networks make it possible for service to the clients to become a reality. Networks are about inclusion. A major aspect of TomorrowToday.biz involves Gamebreaking � an ideal opportunity for this inclusion to take place: as we get involved in our clients’ game, so they (directly or indirectly) influence our game. As our message is about the connected economy, we need to ensure that we ‘connect’ with our clients in authentic ways, in ways that go beyond the norm and as such reflect what we mean by this term.
The network provides us with an alternative to the hierarchy. In TomorrowToday.biz we need to intentionally pursue the establishment of the network both now and into the future. After all, it is the future as far as organisational structures are concerned.
Some summary points concerning network organisations such as TomorrowToday.biz, include:
“ Networks are the basis of all living systems
“ In the network organisation the aim is to build a community thereby enabling work to have purpose, meaning and direction where individuals feel part of the larger whole
“ Networks enable leadership to emerge throughout the network
“ Networks create ‘alternative’ behaviour including, creativity, flexibility, adaptability, co-operation and self-actualisation.
“ Everyone in the network will see pattern rather than physical structure
“ There is a large focus on learning
“ There is a flow of energy and communication
The above points should provide pointers for us in TomorrowToday.biz as to what we can and can’t expect in and from the organisation. They serve as markers for us as together we build this business and, will assist us in our ongoing dialogue during this process.
I trust you will find this helpful. In the network organisation the notion of epistemology � understanding the process of knowing � is important. Understanding how we learn about what it is we are building in TomorrowToday.biz will therefore require conscious effort. Understanding our context (structure) is just one facet of this learning process albeit an important one. As already mentioned, the TomorrowToday.biz is an unlikely environment in which to connect and play. ‚The old organisational architecture, with its implicit assumptions of an underlying hierarchical order, its emphasis on rank, boundary and division, has outlived its usefulness‛ writes Hillarie Owen: And we certainly don’t want any of these relics of thinking and working to embed themselves in TomorrowToday.biz.
Finally, let me end with a list of what I hope TomorrowToday.biz will look like as leadership and creativity are unleashed and expressed throughout our organisation. I am sure you will be able to add to this list as each of us, in our own way, take responsibility for contributing to creating such a reality. I hope TomorrowToday.biz will be a place where individuals throughout the organisation:
“ Give themselves permission to challenge the status quo
“ Are actively encouraged to question ‘the way things are done around here’
“ Take risks and fail occasionally and are rewarded for it
“ Stretch themselves and can look back at how much new knowledge and skill they have acquired
“ Spend time networking throughout the organisation to find out what needs to be done and who needs to be involved to make it happen
“ Understand the importance of relationship and take personal responsibility to nurture, grow and develop relationship throughout the organisation
“ Are skilled at sharing knowledge, problem solving, decision making and risk assessment. And are willing to share their knowledge.
“ Participate fully in work across the organisation
“ Have fun and enjoy being involved
“ Know who they are, what makes them unique and
“ Are comfortable expressing their leadership for a worthwhile purpose
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.– Julius Caesar
And so one final word, a favourite of mine, with which to begin and that is‌.Belum!
Thanks for the article, Keith. I look forward to picking up “Unleashing Leaders “. What TT.biz is doing is obviously groundbreaking. It is relevant, challenging and exciting to see. I have never felt comfortable in the old school hierarchical system and have always put it down to my own restlessness, my own ambition, my diverse interests, my drive and desire to poke my nose into everything, to have an effect wherever possible. The Network concept speaks to my personaltiy.However, if it is a “basis for all living systems “, a timeless principle for success, why are we only coining onto it now? It it simply because we now have the means, the technology, to connect in ways we never had before?Also, there are still a myriad succesful organisations thriving on the old systems so deeply entrenched in their employee ’s thinking. Are their days numbered? Will they be obliterated by this new wave of thinking or is their still space for old school thinking, old school bosses and old school employees?Many questions, I know – I ’m sure you guys have discussed this all at length, but I am new to the thinking and am soaking up every bit of it. I just want to understand it in context. In the same way, is it not possible that what you are doing has a timeline to it? Is it sustainable? What are the dangers, the disadvantages of the “Network ” system.Don ’t get me wrong, I feel like I ’ve just clapped hands around the Holy Grail, but I need to ask questions that make it tangible.Keep up the exciting stuff.
WOW!! I just had to open with WOW!!Thank you for a reading experience akin to a trip through Wonderland(and boy can I wonder)…..where anything is possible. As with Mike (our previous writer) there are questions and much to think about and discuss.Outside of those questions just a few things that spoke to me, because they are part of me or are a work in progress : Holistic, long term, process orientated thinking by building “new bridges ” for learning through frameworking, storytelling and gamebreaking. : Leveraging the power of terminology, “issues of control ” vs “health of connectedness ” : Network roles – “the whole is greater than the sum of it ’s parts ” (this kicks silo mentality butt!) : The wonder of technology but not at the expense of human interaction (It ’s the tyranny of OR – we tend to think in dichtomies EITHER, OR instead of AND) : Career ladders…it occured to me whilst reading, that if you build a “box ” tower it will crumble easily, especially when it ’s top heavy BUT it ’s far more difficult to break the links of a chain particularly when tension is applied!! : Of connecting with clients I have one thing to say “people respond firstly to your intent ” Just a last one {which will probably provide huge insight into my sense of humour)You get Theory X and Theory Y and then you get Theory Cifi!! I love it!!To all those at Tomtodbiz WELL DONE, on “carpedieming ” and taking that bite into the unknown!! May your business mushroom as you continue eating into the future.Signing off from “Wonderland ” Carla
I can ’t even remember where I found TT.biz – might have been a link somewhere or a referral. But I ’ve watched it with interest and have even referred it to clients and friends and sometimes total strangers. Why? Because they resonate with the way I ’ve been working for the last 11 years. And they help people like me enormously in getting the minds to shift. For people not just to realise that there is an alternative way to working but that it ’s the working way of today and tomorrow. That a person ’s value doesn ’t lie in their title and impressive offices but rather in the grey that really matters.It is so exciting to watch this way of working becoming mainstream – that it will affect how we prepare not just our children, but our youth. There are so many possibilities and opportunities with this way of netWORKING and it will be fascinating to watch how it grows and adapts. Because networks are never static and they can never be buttoned down (or is that bedded?). The way it evolves depends on people, needs, the environment in which it operates and the wonder of technology. It is constantly adding and subtracting. It is a case of survival of the fittest. The lazy, irresponsible, irrelevant, greedy and arrogant will never succeed in this environment. It is a wonderful eliminator. And this isn ’t bad! On the contrary it forces the individual to constantly update and improve themselves. To keep pushing whatever envelopes they come across. To constantly ask questions and challenge. To live on their toes. And that ’s where the fun is found!
A network based structure is definitely the way to go with business. As mentioned in the article it gives the individual power and most of all knowledge. And after all, knowledge is power. The individual get to communicate and learn. All via self discovery. Which in return, in my opinion, gives a sense of self-worth. A hierarchical structure seem to do the opposite, leaving the individual with no worth, no gaining of any real knowledge and only building contacts which he/ she is exposed to via the structure.
A network based structure is definitely the way to go with business. As mentioned in the article it gives the individual power and most of all knowledge. And after all, knowledge is power. The individual get to communicate and learn. All via self discovery. Which in return, in my opinion, gives a sense of self-worth. A hierarchical structure seem to do the opposite, leaving the individual with no worth, no gaining of any real knowledge and only building contacts which he/ she is exposed to via the structure.
I came across TomorowToday.biz a couple of months ago, and ever since then it keeps popping up – in magazines, in conversations with friends, even at church – and I ’m really starting to believe that there ’s a reason for it all. Something about this ethos speaks to my soul.I ’ve been aware for a number of years now that there ’s a restlessness brewing. People are wanting more, be it on a work, interpersonal or even spiritual level. Some people are closer to tasting it, and I think it ’s these people that are being drawn to this model of doing business, and indeed, living our lives.You explanation, Keith, of how this beast operates is really helpful, and it reminds me of a story a friend of mine always tells (I ’m assuming he won ’t mind me using it here). He ’s a really talented musician and when growing up really wasn ’t interested in attending music lessons. He had the ability to pick up and play practically any instrument, so why bother? Only, when he got older and started playing in a band, he realised that his lack of knowledge in terms of music theory was hindering his ability to jam along in whatever key. So, through form, he found freedom. In the same way, by understanding how this network operates, we will be able to explore and grow in creative and innovative ways that suit us! Current business structures don ’t allow such freedom. To go back to the musical analogy, it ’s like learning all the theory and then being told you can only ever play 3 songs for the rest of your life. AAARRRGGGHHH!!! There ’s no consideration for natural talent, no room for growth and certainly no place to write your own stuff. Where ’s the freedom in that?
very exciting and inspiring finding and reading the stuff on this site – i personally found the bit about being dependent on people and not the technology had incredible personal meaning for me, as i left a workable sustaining self-employed lifestyle to work in a company because the techies could not get me connected to the system although the software made it “technically possible “… anyway 3 years later am back on the “self-employed ” vehicle, could write a thesis on my experience….. was involved in a publication about human capital Management which propounded the value of knowledge management/information sharing but getting the company to catch up with this was like a woolly mammoth trying to enjoy being in the sun!! am intrigued to see where all this is going so will visit here regularly, being interconnected and interdependent with all of you…. having fun @ work & play..
When wild dogs go hunting, it is the “network ” that benefit from a well orchestrated kill. Everyone in the gang is responsible for doing what he/she is a master of. Communications, timing, knowing your pray and improving from the last kill, are the keys to success. Afterwards they will share the reward and celebrate the kill by contemplating on how to improve on the next hunt.Networking, as you mentioned, is a recipe for success throughout the universe. While watching my nearly 2 year old daughter growing up, I sit everyday and watch in amazement how she grasp new actions, words and moods to get what she wants. Everyday is a new day for us with her, what worked yesterday will not work today, and you need to give a solution even faster. The rate in which she learn and adapt, is a source from which adults can learn. Our brain is an energy source waiting to be ignited.In today ’s business environment adapting to challenges and capitalising on it, is the only way to make your business grow. It is not just by creating knew, cheaper products, but to use new knowledge and resources to improve your status quo. And also to know that anything is possible when you use a guided challenge.A read a story of how the Chinese had to think out the box to keep their fish fresh for the sushi markets:As the demand for sushi increases, the fishermen had to travel further away from the coast to catch more fish, but then when the customers bought the sushi, they complained that the fish was not fresh. So the fishermen used ice to keep the fish fresh but still no luck. So they installed huge fish tanks in the boats and threw the fish in the tanks, still no luck because the travelling made the fish lazy and then they still not tasted fresh. Eventually after a discussion, one came up with a bright idea to put a shark in each tank. The shark ate some of the fish but kept the majority of them fresh and well in shape for the sushi market. So I believe that as soon as a person or company feel they need to do something different, throw a shark in their cage and see the rewards.