Radicalising business

@willmcinnes

Intro

By the champ User:Martinroell [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Too often, business is about extraction – sweating the assets, taking out the goodness

Earth?

By NASA. Photo taken by either Harrison Schmitt or Ron Evans (of the Apollo 17 crew), via Wikimedia Commons

We know this isn’t sustainable

Intro

@willmcinnes

But business can be good too. Independence, agility, possibility, opportunism, results.

Happiness OpennessParticipationEnergy

Happiness OpennessParticipationEnergy

What is the meaning of LIFE?

Whatever the answer, we don’t seem to act according to our real priorities in life – especially in business

American Time Use Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticshttp://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/31/business/20080801-metrics-graphic.html

After Sleeping (!) Work is our second biggest use of time – shouldn’t we enjoy it?

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Warehttp://ezinearticles.com/?Top-Five-Regrets-of-the-Dying&id=3268063

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelfoleyphotography/4294112069/sizes/o/

In Bhutan, Gross National Wellbeing trumps Gross Domestic Product – and people are happier

In our little company we measure happiness every day – a small step on a much longer journey

http://www.nixonmcinnes.co.uk/2010/09/28/is-everybody-happy-measuring-happiness-in-the-workplace/

Imagine happiness!

What would it be like it you and the people around you were happier at work, if happiness was taken seriously, and if all of that human potential was unlocked?

Happiness OpennessParticipationEnergy

How it is:Business isn’t generally very open – more like a tightly shut down briefcase, full of secrets good and bad.

But we know that the world is becoming radically more open. We can hide from it, or harness the power of Openness.

More and more businesses are using openness as a business tool. In bonus schemes, financial information, problem solving via crowdsourcing, and in turning supply chains into more open, collaborative ecosystems.

Imagine openness!

If more of the topics that people inside business wondered and gossiped about were made open, if more of the problems that businesses were stuck with were shared externally to be solved, if more of the feedback that was stifled and unsaid was instead heard.

Happiness OpennessParticipationEnergy

Gen Y /

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdevers/4602805654/sizes/l/

Most businesses don’t really champion participation, though they may talk the talk.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahhyeah/454494396/

I was inspired by the story of a cardboard box factory in the United States that operated democratic working principles to get a competitive edge.

A business where Participation was a real force.

My Semler story

That story led me to the root of their inspiration: this book about a company called SEMCO. Please buy it and read it.

In 1990 the Brazilian economy went into a severe downturn.

• Workers agreed to wage cuts• Their share of profits was increased to

39%• Management salaries were cut by 40% • Employees were given the right to

approve every item of expenditure

In 2003 Semco had annual revenue of $212m from $4m in 1982.

Democracy at work is rapidly becoming mainstream business thinking.

The brilliant people at WorldBlu are helping businesses worldwide to celebrate and improve their democratic working practices.

(This best-selling book is also useful!).

But I can’t pretend it solves all problems. I regularly get mad at the state of our kitchen :)

Imagine participation!Imagine how it can be if the people affected by decisions were able to effectively participate in them, the problems that businesses can solve when they unlock the full contribution that their people can make, and the commitment that is gained when decisions don’t just emerge from the top but from all directions.

Happiness OpennessParticipationEnergy

What kind of business do YOU want in the world?

This is the fundamental question for all of us.

I believe we can radicalise business.

I believe in Happiness, Openness and Participation at work.

If you do too, please share these ideas.

Thank you.@willmcinnes