emergent & curiosity [the new black] 17.putting it all together 13.culture quadrant -...

EMERGENTTHE FUTURE OF CULTURE

STEPHEN SCOTT JOHNSON

ARTISANS OF CONNECTION - STEPHEN SCOTT JOHNSON

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This whitepaper is general in nature and not meant to replace any specific advice. Please be sure to take specialist advice before taking on any of the ideas. Altitud3 Pty Ltd, its employees and contractors disclaim all and any liability to any persons whatsoever in respect of anything done by any person in reliance, whether in whole or in part, on this e-book.

COPYRIGHT

DISCLAIMER


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen Scott Johnson is an expert in brand and culture transformation with twenty years experience in global business. He is passionate about conscious leadership and helping people and organisations connect with higher purpose. This whitepaper forms the premise of Stephen’s forthcoming book EMERGENT - The Future Of Culture due to be published in 2016.

Stephen has innate flair for systems that catalyse community. He is passionate about purpose-led business having dedicated his career to working with industry innovators and disruptors to bridge the divide between organisations and their stakeholders. A leading authority on the use of social movement principles to increase business productivity and performance, Stephen is the behind-the-scenes strategist on some of the worlds most influential social marketing projects, spanning global health and environmental agendas with the United Nations, to the development of enterprise campaigns to connect customers more effectively with brands. He is based in Melbourne, Australia, and splits his time mentoring senior leaders and training organisations with essential skills to transform culture and society.

Stephen is a dynamic speaker and workshop facilitator with an A-list of events to his name, including London Festival, AdTech, Creative Innovation Global, and South by South West Festival. His accolades include Cannes Cyber Lion, AIMIA and webby. Find out more about Stephen at www.stephenscottjohnson.com.


05.The Legend Of The Phoenix

14.Culture Personas [Mode and Energy]

07.Top Leadership Challenges

09.Conscious Culture Transformation08.From Institutional Power to Collective Power

11.Emergent - Conscious Leadership and Culture

16.The Sacred Geometry of Higher Purpose

12.Agility & Curiosity [The New Black]

17.Putting It All Together

13.Culture Quadrant™ - Understanding Capacity For Change

21.Next Actions


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The Legend of The Phoenix is a centuries-old tale about a mythical, sacred, firebird with a 500-1000 year life cycle. At the end of its life the phoenix builds a funeral pyre, which it then ignites. Both pyre and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes from which a new, young phoenix emerges, reborn to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self and its ability to be reborn from its own ashes implies that it is immortal.

Like the phoenix, people and brands are in a constant state of change, reinvention and transformation. On a daily basis we are challenged to adjust, modify, reinvent and change in the face of continuous innovation. Change is either derived from thoughtful consideration, or knee-jerk reaction.

This whitepaper presents an essential framework to ignite purpose and transform culture. It explores the difference between ad hoc and panic-driven, superficial change, which provides a limited measure of success, and considered and insightful transformation. One is a reaction to external forces; the other is a conscious evolution that results in powerful innovation, transformation and emergence.

Understanding the nature of change and our relationship to it is key to thriving in the emergent future.

THE LEGEND OF THEPH ENIX


EVERY BUSINESS HAS A STORY. AS A LEADER YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY IS TO CHANGE THE STORY OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Conscious Capitalism Australia


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Demand for greater values alignment, autonomy and individual empowerment, fuelled by technology and greater interdependencies.

A paradigm shift from hierarchies to lean networks and ‘flatter’ organisations exposes skills deficit for agile collaboration.

Social media shines a spotlight on ethics and lack of transparency of politics and power, forcing companies to engage with customers in a more meaningful way.

Can’t adapt fast enough to keep up with the rapid pace of change.

Culture is dying and retention is tougher than ever and companies don’t know how to fix it.

TOPLEADERSHIPCHALLENGES

TODAY


FROM INSTITUTIONAL POWERTO COLLECTIVE POWER

In an era of heightened corporate transparency, greater workforce mobility, severe skills shortages, culture, engagement, and retention have emerged as top issues for business leaders3.

The destabilisation of institutional power and emergence of consciousness and collective power is changing the world as we know it. Open-source knowledge networks, self-publishers, autonomous producers and microentrepreneurs, challenge the institutional status quo in a context where value creation is fast, fluid and persistently disruptive.

As organisations evolve from traditional command-and-control hiearchies to agile and collaborative ‘ecosystems’, corporate culture is becoming increasingly autonomous and ‘unscripted’, presenting a new challenges and opportunities.

In an ecosystem where everybody participates, everybody contributes, and everyone belongs, how does a business orchestrate the right set of people and circumstances to create value? What is its design? Is it static or continuum? What technological and human skills are required to make things happen? These questions and more are just a few of the challenges facing business leaders across every major industry in the world, today.

Practitioners from a wide range of disciplines including marketing, corporate affairs, HR, and employee engagement find themselves outside of their comfort zones. Their challenge involves learning to navigate environments where collective identity, community centricity and federated leadership are rewriting the rules of corporate culture and engagement.


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CONSCIOUS CULTURE TRANSFORMATION

Embracing change in today’s complex workplace demands extraordinary agility, acumen and intuition. Rapid change fuelled by technology, global influences and greater interdependencies, and leaner organisations that remove buffers and barriers to collaboration, converge in a volatile contex where no one is immune.

Well-meaning change endeavours fail because they lack a greater sense of purpose and vital human connection. Understandably, when people have change ‘done to them’ engagement turns toxic, resulting in apathy, inertia and sometimes extinction.

Higher purpose solves this problem by authentically aligning an organisation and its stakeholders to a goal that serves the greater good of its ecosystem, diffusing the tension of change and making it an aspirational and co-created quest. Consequently, by learning to innovate with and not merely for its market, any enterprise can increase its consciousness and resilience.

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WHAT DOES ITMEAN TO BEEMERGENT?


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‘Emergents’ are people and organisations that enhance corporate performance whilst simultaneously improving the lives of millions of people around the world. They are conscious leaders and ‘ecocentric’ by nature, fuelled by higher purpose that acts as their compass for interdependent action.

Companies seeking new competitive advantages are recognising higher purpose as an effective strategy to forge long-term sustainability. However, they are rarely equipped or even fully aware of what being a ‘conscious business’ entails.

The opportunity is to transform to a place of ‘conscious value creation’ by identifying ways to shift the focus of culture from a traditional command-and-control, independent metaphor for business that gains at the expense of community, to a more evolved and interdependent model.

If you’re just getting started on the journey and exploring ways to create stronger and more authentic alignment with stakeholders, an excellent place to start is the tenets of Conscious Capitalism. The tenets include Higher Purpose; Stakeholder Orientation; Conscious Leadership; and Conscious Culture; which form the foundation of emergent companies like Zappos, Whole Foods Market, and Ecostore, that possess a holistic worldview and ‘generate every form of value that matters: emotional, social, and financial.4’

If you’re a bit further along the journey and already actively engaged in purpose-led business then your challenge is likely one of a more practical nature. It’s time for systems and tools to help energise, mobilise, and catalyse the conscious transformation already happening in your business. I’ve designed a couple of cool models to help with this, so read on. Additionally, take a look at the B-Corp movement for inspiration. B-Corp is for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. There is currently more than 1,400 Certified B Corps from 42 countries and over 120 industries working together toward a single unifying goal: to redefine success in business.

Emergents are ‘ecocentric’ in nature and rise above the social pressure inherent in traditional corporate responsibility and shared value models.

CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP AND CULTUREEMERGENT=


Two vital attributes every business needs is AGILITY and CURIOSITY. Research shows the immense benefit and potential associated with nurturing curiosity in the workplace, spanning emotional wellbeing and love of learning, to social inclusion and mitigation of negativity and despondency amongst employees. Curiosity is the secret weapon of thriving and resilient cultures that gives rise to experimentation, innovation and invention.

On the other hand, agility is all about grace-under-fire and having a capacity to move quickly and decisively in anticipating and taking advantage of opportunity, whilst collaborating to avoid negative and even catastrophic consequences of change.

When agility and curiosity combine something extraordinary happens — cultures become conscious.

AGILITY & CURIOSITYTHE NEW BLACK

agility

adjective ag·ile \ˈa-jəl, -ˌjī(-ə)l\ a : quick, smart, and clever b : having a resourceful and adaptable character c : marked by ready ability to move with quick easy grace

curiosity

noun cu·ri·os·i·ty \ˌkyu̇r-ē-ˈä-s(ə-)tē\ a : the desire to learn or know more about something or someoneb : something that is interesting because it is unusualc : interest leading to inquiry <intellectual curiosity>

They say curiosity killed the cat but it’s actually going to save it.


The Culture Quadrant™ is a tool to mitigate risk and align culture with higher purpose.

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The Culture Quadrant™ consists of four distinct personas and operational modes, each with a resilience value and inherent attribute. Outer modality reflects core function and capacity for change at any given point. The central vortex is the inertia ‘risk state’ where any of the modes can lapse.

From the radically transparent and agile approaches at leading startups, to the notoriously secretive practices of Apple, modes of culture vary from innately collaborative and innovative, to ‘scripted’ regulatory siloes and everything in-between. Understanding organisational mode is critical to culture transformation. Every business is different, but ultimately the more agile and curious the culture, the more conscious and resilient the organisation.

CULTURE QUADRANTUNDERSTANDING YOUR CAPACITY FOR CHANGE

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- CONTROLLER +

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25-50 75-100

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MODEL KEY | RESILIENCE: 00-25


CONTROLLER

CONTROLLER is a hierarchical and scripted mode of operation that is highly reactive to change. With a dominant energy in isolation, CONTROLLER gains power through compliance and by taking advantage of changing dynamics in its environment, often at the expense of community and collaboration. Lack of cohesion is synonymous with this mode, the result of its scripted and regulatory nature. CONTROLLER lacks agility and capacity to transform due to limited transparency of politics and power.

MIMIC

MIMIC is an extremely agile mode of operation with an extraordinary ability to identify, replicate and assimilate trends. It is a ‘copycat’ by nature with exceptional mastery in replication and optimisation. MIMIC effortlessly adapts to the needs of its environment and is often misidentified as an artisan and innovator. Yet, MIMIC relies on external forces to imitate and lacks innate capacity to conceive and transform of itself.

PIONEER

PIONEER is an innately curious and experimental mode of operation that is easily recognised in the many and varied entrepreneurs and makers at the bleeding edge of social and technological advancement. This mode defines culture and context through invention, reacting and transforming in congruence with its environment. PIONEER commands exceptional utility and presence but it is often secretive and not typically known for collaboration.

TRANSCENDOR

TRANSCENDOR is the highly agile and curious ‘poster child’ of the emergent future. Innately conscious and community-centric, TRANSCENDOR thrives in decentralised and interdependent networks. In many ways TRANSCENDOR is ‘writing the future’ and is representative of conscious leaders and innovators in business and society. Unlike it’s quadrant cousins TRANSCENDOR is all about co-creation and exists in a perpertual cycle of collaboration, innovation and realignment.

CULTURE QUADRANT PERSONASIDENTIFYING MODE AND ENERGY

noun mim·ic \ˈmi-mik\ adjective tran·scen·dor \-dor\verb con·trol \kən-ˈtrōl\ noun pi·o·neer \pī-ə-ˈnir\


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Companies with higher purpose and strong cultures, outperform their peer group financially in the long run. Tony Tsieh, Zappos


The energy of Higher Purpose is pervasive and a lot like Sacred Geometry. It’s a beautifully complex cycle of value creation that is seamless and infinite. The model represented is the CATALYST™ dynamic system for culture transformation. CATALYST™ combines three essential elements of conscious business and integrates the keystone habits of mastery, synergy, and autonomy with a governing cycle to energise, mobilise and catalyse the system.

CATALYST™ galvanises organisations and their stakeholders to higher purpose and creates cohesion through collaboration and co-creation. It is a potent alternative to traditional change models that provides organisations with essential tools, acumen and a blueprint to ignite a movement that transforms people and culture.

CATALYST™ is a blueprint to transform culture and increase productivity and performance. It will give you the edge in todays complex workplace.

HIGHER PURPOSETHE SACRED GEOMETRY OF

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Identification and alignment of values and meaning and initiation of stakeholders to the higher purpose goal. This stage illuminates vision and develops the narrative and manifesto for change that creates clarity and conviction.

Is there a social problem that intersects with your organisation? How can you create measurable business value by simultaneously addressing this problem? What is the narrative to energise and inspire engagement and advocacy?

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noun po·si·tion \pə-ˈzi-shən\

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Alignment of higher purpose vision into business strategy providing deeper meaning for stakeholder participation. This stage is about curiosity and courage and equipping the stakeholder ecosystem with essential tools and acumen to drive the higher purpose transformation goal.

PERFORMANCEnoun per·for·mance \pə(r)-ˈfr-mən(t)s\

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What systems and tools exist to create synergy around your higher purpose? What is its design? And what technological and human skills are required to make things happen?



This is the final stage in the cycle that catalyses conscious innovation and co-creation, amplifying higher purpose in an autonomous, yet highly organised and self-sustaining way. Its your movement that inspires advocacy and engagement to impact more lives in more places, more completely.

PARTNERSHIPnoun part·ner·ship \-ˌship\

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What does your higher purpose ecosystem look like? Who are the key players, influencers, and community of stakeholders that lead and represent it? How do you nurture and sustain engagement, innovation and co-creation?

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“What made you successful in the past, won’t in the future.”

Lewis E. Platt, CEO hewlett-packard


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NEXT ACTIONS

If you could have anything in the world right now what would that be? Recognition? More time? Less pain? More meaning? Do you know what lights you up?

Workplace engagement is dying. A widespread yearning for a more ‘complete’ experience is challenging companies to recognise demands for autonomy and greater individual empowerment. As consciousness increases in the world so does the divide between brands and their stakeholders. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Organisations need a new set of skills to thrive. It’s time to consider what you are going to do differently to increase connection in your people and culture. At the heart of every extraordinary brand is conscious and courageous Emergents who transform their environment with a level of intuition and vitality that appears supernatural. In reality, they are people like you and I whom share one thing in common. Higher Purpose.

To arrange a meeting to discuss a Conscious Culture programme or schedule a keynote presentation for a conference or event, please contact Stephen.

mobile +61 407 569 537 email: [email protected]


1. Chesley, Dennis “Creating a culture of resilience: What really enables organisations to survive and thrive? PWC Risk Study (Aug 2015).2. Mackey, John. Sisodia, Raj “Conscious Capitalism - Liberating The Heroic Spirit of Business”. Harvard Business Review Press (Jan 2013).3. Havas Media “Meaningful Brands Index” (2013).4. Brown. Cheng. Melian. Parker. Solow. “The Naked Organisation. Culture and Engagement” Deloitte University Press (Feb 2015)5. Castells, Manuel “Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age”. John Wiley & Sons (Jun 2015)

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emergent & curiosity [the new black] 17.putting it all together 13.culture quadrant -...

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