Blog Reinventing Organisations vs Disruptive innovation festival

These last few weeks I have been reading Frederic Laloux’ book on Reinventing Organizations and I have been logging on to some of the webinars of the Disruptive Innovation Festival. What a treat, I must say. Both have further shaped my thinking and greatly inspired me. Last Friday, John Fullerton of the capital institute (www.capitalinstitute.org) spoke and although his subject was the role of the financial world and its relation to the economy and the planet, I could immediately connect his main message to Laloux’ main thesis, ie that life is a team sport and that collaboration is a far greater goal than competition.

Organizations of the future in both Laloux’ and Fullerton’s view should be about pursuing “one’s own unique evolutionary purpose” rather than commonly be concerned about profit. In that sense managers do not “run” the organisation, they are its “steward”. According to Laloux, “we are the vehicle that listens in to the organisation’s deep creative potential to help it do its work in the world.” Leaders are there to contribute to the whole through uniqueness, they need to collaborate for the greater good rather than compete and work in a minefield. Having worked in the health sector for a long time and having seen the clients’ welfare recede to the background in a fierce battle between providers, this is a powerful message to take with me.