The Tetra - An Open-Source Organizational Design

To foster Group Innovation and Creativity

“I'm not a genius.”

“I'm just a tremendous bundle of experience.”

“Bucky’s… understanding of universe was through his dancing in his mind.”

- Allegra Fuller Snyder

My Invitation…Come dance with me through an idea on how to ignite a Cambrian ExplosionIn Human Adaptation and Creativity

The Tetra will foster a group “experience” of Authentic Human Connection

and Creativity

My Untested Claim…

Bucky’s Tetrahedron – “The most utilized structural system in

the Universe.”

The simplest structural system with insideness and outsideness

The TetraTM – A crucible of collaborative creativity

holding dynamic tension between four people

From Ego-Systems

(separation)

toEco-Systems

(connection)

Create a “Cambrian Explosion” in human connection

Crucible –“a severe, searchingtest or trial”

What have our Egosystems Wrought?

“We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.”

E. O. Wilson

The Ecological Bubble 1.5Man vs. The Planet

The Inequity Bubble 2.5Man vs. Man

The Burnout Bubble 3.0 Man vs. Himself

Our Wicked Problem (separation in 3 numbers)

Source – Otto Scharmer, MIT

These wicked problems are systemic..

…caused because we see ourselves and our society as separate from nature, isolated from each other and not as nested living systems

…Only by evolving our worldview and learning to think differently can we emerge from these wicked problems

…The more open and free-flowing the connections between people,the more resilient, adaptive and creative our living system will be.

AMERICA is a nested living system….

America needs to wake up and recognize...

….recognize that we all are connected

We Must think Differently…..

“We live in community, not alone, and any sense of the separateness that we harbor is illusion.”

“If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.”

- Bucky

The Tetra is such a Tool!

A 3-D Crucible of Learning…of Action

Two Roles… …Observer…Decision Triad

Learning… …about Self …about Other

Mission –Driven by Agreement

Evolutionary and Cultural Obstacles to Creativity and Innovation

• We are genetically competitive with each other– People are naturally coercive– “Group think” – kills honesty and authenticity– The group censor - often goes unrecognized

• Cultural imprinting of disconnection– America is propagating a global culture of materialism,

individualism and structural violence• Examples - globalization, corporate hegemony, racism, football, movies,

TV, lotteries, Hummers, drone kills

– "Football combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings." George Will

Why we need a 3-D Learning Tool?

We all…”go along to get along”

“Timidity produces nothing of value, and the timid are legion. They wonder if they are sufficiently original or sufficiently with the trend. ”

Fernand Pouillon

"Most people are unaware of the degree to which they're not trusting and open, of the extent to which their conversations don't reflect what they actually think and feel."

- Chris Argyris

Why Three Dimensions?

The Tetra –A no-nonsense

Nurture Machine

Tetra Culture… …Truth-telling …Transparency …Diversity …Deep listening

“Geniuses are just people who had good mothers.” - Bucky

Be willing to….…be vulnerable…allow intimacy

Escaping the destructive conflict of the Hegelian dialectic

Thesis vs. AntithesisBAM! – CONFLICT

“Either war is obsolete or men are. ” - Bucky

What happens with Three people?

“Two’s Company …Three’s a Crowd”

The triad dynamic is such that one person will always be isolated – left out…. Enter 3-D

Decision Triad – …Decide - act …True to self …True to the whole …Deep listening …Acting with courage

“Tension is the great integrity.” - Bucky

Observer –…Keeper of the mission…Guardian of the “process”…Uplift the Triad

Creating a Unified Action Field

Qualities of the High Performance Tetra– High energy– Heightened awareness– Deep level of knowing– Time slows down– People are acting as one organism– Shockingly effective

“Courage lies in being oneself ……and loving what one loves, in discovering the deep roots of one's feelings.”

- Fernand PouillonGetting to know someone, entering that new world, is an ultimate,

irretrievable leap into the unknown. The prospect is terrifying.

The stakes are high. -- Eldridge Cleaver, Soul on Ice

Being in the ZONE!

Not Labeled as a Crucible for nothing… …Participants go on a courageous Journey

The Desired End-State - ….Four hearts beating as one heart …Four minds become one …Intimacy and Trust in action

Wisdom-in-Action

Remember Bucky’s Words…“…give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.”

What Others Say of the Tetra’s end-state?“[T]he borders of our minds are ever shifting, and . . . many minds

can flow into one another . . . and create or reveal a single mind, a single energy”

- William Butler Yeats“This becoming one instead of two [is] the very expression of

humanity's need. And the reason is that human nature was originally One and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called love.” - Plato

The Tetra Applied to a business….

Three Basic Functions:- Make it- Sell it

- Count it

Benefits:•Eliminates Silos•Alignment•Collaboration•Creativity•Faster Adaptation

Profit is like air…..

Now that we’ve Danced together…. ….thru this idea of The Tetra

Help me test my claim……that the Tetra can generate a

Group “experience” of Authentic Human Connection and Creativity

This concept is open-source …Take it and Run with It …Just let me know what you discover!

Bucky gets the last word….“…traditional human power structures and their reign of darkness are about to be rendered obsolete.”

“…dare to think, And dare to go with the truth, And dare to really love completely.”

Ignite Your Evolutionary Search Engine!– Innovate, fail, innovate, fail, innovate

What now?

Entice the American Imagination to gobeyond cultural violence!

“Culture eats Strategy for Breakfast” - Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company

"Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.”

- Steve Jobs

Thanks for your attention

Any questions?

Frank NuessleOrganizational DynamicsUniversity Of Pennsylvania(610) 356-0936