Holacracy Community of Practice Archive, 2015-2019 Community Holacracy Web Site
Posted in Suggestions, Requests & Feedback • By Brian Robertson • 10/17/2015

HolacracyOne Purpose

Dear Community Members,

 

Over the past couple of years, a whole lot has changed in Holacracy and HolacracyOne's world, and in the broader movement towards self-organizing, self-managing companies.  Given all that evolution, I thought it was a good time to revisit our company's purpose in the world, to see if it too may have evolved - I suspect the greatest creative contribution we can offer the world today may be somewhat different now than it has been over our first 8 years, or at least somewhat deeper.

 

To find out, many of HolacracyOne's partners will begin a purpose discovery process in about a week, under the guidance of purpose-discovery-wizard Tim Kelley, who has a pretty cool methodology for this.  Before we begin that process, I wanted to invite any input from our stakeholder community to seed our thinking.  What do you see as HolacracyOne's deepest creative potential?  What does the world need HolacracyOne to do and be?  What does it need to express in the world, given it's unique identity?

 

Appreciate any input (especially if comes before we start our process on Tuesday 10/27)...

 

9 Replies
Koen Bunders
10/18/2015

Excellent, enjoy the process! and...

I'd love to see a Purpose discovery app by Tim!

 

Bernard Marie Chiquet
10/18/2015

I think purpose of H1 is to steward the journey of Holacracy developing and manifesting its own purpose - Holacracy by itself has also a purpose which is different from H1's - such as parents have a different purpose than their children.

Brian Robertson
10/18/2015

Bernard Marie:  Any thoughts then on the purpose of Holacracy?

 

Tyler Danke
10/18/2015
Holacracy purpose : exquisite organizations

HolacracyOne purpose: growing, improving, spreading and evolving Holacracy
Bernard Marie Chiquet
10/18/2015

Brian, I love the existing one "Exquisite Organization" - I really do think it's appropriate with what I may observe as impacts on organizations implementing Holacracy, I sense no tension here, so I have no energy to try to find a new one. You could also take the "Teal Organization" from Frederic's book as I do think Holacracy is a perfect tool (and the only one I know) to transform any org. willing to do so, into a teal org.. Or "Evolutionary Organization"... or "Purpose driven Organization". May be Evolutionary Org. is the best fit in my mind today. 

Hope this helps...

Ruben @ Springest
10/24/2015

IMHO the purpose of H1 could be more concrete to reflect the facilitating + promoting nature of most of your work. Also, the current one (exquisite) could need another level of Why. What purpose does a better way of running organisations serve? Productivity, happiness, adaptability?

Juliane Martina Röll
10/26/2015
Originally Posted by Ruben:

IMHO the purpose of H1 could be more concrete to reflect the facilitating + promoting nature of most of your work. Also, the current one (exquisite) could need another level of Why. What purpose does a better way of running organisations serve? Productivity, happiness, adaptability?

+1

"Exquisite organisation" is good, but it's not deep.  If you can, look into the WHY of Holacracy / HolacracyOne. I am really curious what will come out of that for you. For me, I would love CLARITY. (For H1 for me is indeed "exquisitely organised", but not clear.)

Mieke Byerley
10/27/2015

Hi Brian,

 

I recently had to go through a process to identify this for my own, and those I help. Maybe these pointers will help:

PURPOSE (answers the question 'Why?') - THE REASON: guides everything.

Collective Perspective:

  1. What impact does the organisation/system wish to have on society?
  2. What is the aim of the organisation/system?
  3. What is the organisation/system called to accomplish?

Personal Perspective:

(you could use a Word Cloud to collate the answers from all internal and external partners to each of the below, to provide a picture)

  1. Passion - What do I/we love? + What am I/are we good at?
  2. Vocation - What am I/are we good at? + What does the world need?
  3. Profession - What does the world need? + What does the world want?
  4. Mission - What does the world want? + What do I/we love?

At the intersection of the personal perspective you will find Purpose which in turn should be able to answer the collective perspective questions. Ultimately the individuals make up and inform the whole, and the whole transforms this into something much greater than the sum of it's parts. 

 

NOTE: with this ensure you know the ESSENCE/MEANING (which answers the question "Who?") of the Organisation/System. In other words have a thorough understanding of THE IDENTITY: is everything, of the Organisation/System and how they differ. For this too there is a collective and personal perspective. 

 

This process also lead to my decision to make the Personal Perspective Exercise a permanent feature of the Induction Process, promoting the continual living evolution of the organisation's purpose. 

 

I hope this in some way helps.

Christel Hofman
10/27/2015
Originally Posted by Brian Robertson:

Bernard Marie:  Any thoughts then on the purpose of Holacracy?

 

I would like to add what I believe holacracy can bring to the world: the / my purpose of/with holacracy is to free all the potential that is in people so organisations can contribute to the maximum to make the world a better place to live.