- Our current forms of organization are almost universally based on compelled behavior - on tyranny, for that is what compelled behavior is, no matter how benign it may appear or how carefully disguised and exercised. The organization of the future will be the embodiment of community based on shared purpose calling to the higher aspirations of people.
- There is no ultimate being. There is only becoming
- Paradox and conflict are inherent characteristics of chaordic organizations
- Forming a chaordic organization begins with an intensive search for Purpose, then proceeds to Principles, People, and Concept, and only then to Structure and Practice. It can't be done well as a linear process. Each of the six elements can be thought of as a perspective, a sort of "lens" through which participants examine the circumstances giving rise to the need for a new concept of organization and what it might become. The most difficult part is to understand and get beyond the origin and nature of our current concepts of organizations; to set them aside in order to make space for new and different thoughts. Every mind is a room filled with archaic furniture. It must be moved about or cleared away before anything new can enter. This means ruthless confrontation of the many things we know that are no longer so.
- Purpose - a clear, simple statement of intent that identifies and binds the community together as a worth pursuit. Should speak to people and make them think that, "If we could achieve that, my life would have meaning
- Principles - behavioral aspirations of the community. A clear, concise, unambiguous statement of a fundamental belief about how the whole and all the parts intend to conduct themselves in pursuit of the purpose. A principle is a precept against which all structures, decisions, actions, and results will be judged. A principle always has high ethical and moral content. It never prescribes structure or behavior; it only describes them. Principles often fall into two categories: principles of structure and principles of practice
- People - when a sound body of belief is reasonably complete and agreed upon, the group can then begin to explore the people and organizations that would need to be participants in the enterprise in order to realize the purpose in accordance with the principles. This sounds simple, but rarely is. When people set aside all consideration of existing conditions, free themselves to think in accordance with their deepest beliefs, and do not bind their thinking with structure and practices before considering meaning and values, they usually discover that the number and variety of people and entities to participate in governance, ownership, rewards, rights, and obligations are much greater than anticipated. They usually find their deepest beliefs require transcendence of existing institutional boundaries and practices. Determining the people and institutions required to realize the purpose in accordance with the principles brings realization of just how narrow and restrictive existing institutions are in relation to the exploding diversity and complexity of society and the systemic nature of seemingly intractable social and environmental problems.
- Concept - a visualization of the relationships between all the people that would best enable them to pursue the purpose in accordance with their principles. An organizational concept is perception of a structure that all may trust to be equitable, just, and effective. It is a pictorial representation of eligibility, rights, and obligations of all prospective participants in the community. The feedback part of the process never ends. Developing a new concept calls into question purpose, principles, and people. Every part of the process illuminates all subsequent and preceding parts, allowing each to be constantly revised and improved.
- Structure - the embodiment of purpose, principles, people, and concept in a written document capable of creating legal reality in an appropriate jurisdiction, usually in the form of a charter and constitution or a certificate of incorporation and bylaws. It is the written, structural details of the conceptual relationships - details of eligibility, ownership, voting, bodies, and methods of governance. It is the contract of rights and obligations between all participants in the community
- Practice - deliberations, decisions, and acts of all the participants in the community functioning within the structure of purpose in accordance with principles. long before the structural work is finished, everyone realizes they need not worry about the practices of the community
- If you can accomplish all this, profit becomes a barking dog begging to be let it
What I got out of it
- Dee Hock's most distilled thinking on his concepts of business, creation, chaordic, and more - essentially, a manual for creating value, regardless of your field
