A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness

The book of Frederic Laloux unfolds its true value to me after years of consulting work in various industries as well as intensive cognitive but also practical engagement in the integral theory of Ken Wilber, countless (and always new) methods, approaches, solution statements and healing promises. Continuously this was accompanied by the question, how the findings of various disciplines not only could be brought together theoretically but first and foremost could be brought forward to practical and everyday life. Behind the sometimes overwhelming complexity, that leaves us stumbling sometimes, there is a catching simplicity. One starts to see it and thus makes it available for all of us. For me this is the most notable achievement that Frederic Laloux has succeeded with his book.
Consciously I will not reproduce any content here.
After a long stage of seemingly cold and occasionally dehumanizing improvement of efficiency in business-life and many all too often failed efforts to balance or compensate some inhuman consequences of profit seeking that merely ends in itself some promising structural signs of a new business-culture emerge on the horizon of evolution. They show, that not decisions between either profitability and efficiency or humanity but integrated both-and ones hold the vastest potential to overcome the complex challenges we are facing. Frederic Laloux sees this signs and has made his observations accessible to all those, who do not want to waste their energy on adhering rigidly to proven habits but invest it in the beneficial support of developing a natural evolutionary future.
For me a truly pioneering work whose utmost significance probably might not be realized immediately and not yet by everyone to its full extent but for me it already has captured a historical rank in management literature.
Especially the pharmaceutical industry might not like to hear this but Frederic Lalouxs book for me contains more burnout-prophylaxis and –therapy than all other approaches together that I know.
„Reinsouling“ organisations (without resigning so far useful achievements) might have been an even more matching title – but who knows what Frederic Laloux will release next – in any case I would order it in an instant.
I’d like to add one virtual 6th star to the ranking of him and his book just to single it out a little bit of all the certainly worthy 5-star-rankings. Everybody who truly wants to overcome a felt duality between his business and private life for himself as well as for others who wholeheartedly is interested to make a next meaningful step in evolution should unconditionally and definitely have read this book – not more and not less!

It was great to realize that these new type organizations already exists and they are quite successful . Definitely not all answers are in this book but this is definitely good start to think in His direction.

This is both a philosophical treatise AND a how to manual to raise the conciousness of organisations and with it individuals. Pioneering work in bringing together understanding of creative businesses that have flown under the radar for years as being ahead of their time. As a society we desparately need the places where we work to enable us to show up as we really are, to bring our innate creativity to care for others and the planet and keep it real. A fantastic practical example of how integral research findings can and do appear in the world and what a pivotal difference this makes for all of us. Teal organisations will be the new vehicle by which we transcend the old command and control approaches that are based on fear to the new adaptive and generative ways.

This is both a philosophical treatise AND a how to manual to raise the conciousness of organisations and with it individuals. Pioneering work in bringing together understanding of creative businesses that have flown under the radar for years as being ahead of their time. As a society we desparately need the places where we work to enable us to show up as we really are, to bring our innate creativity to care for others and the planet and keep it real. A fantastic practical example of how integral research findings can and do appear in the world and what a pivotal difference this makes for all of us. Teal organisations will be the new vehicle by which we transcend the old command and control approaches that are based on fear to the new adaptive and generative ways.

I start reading many books and finish a few. This is one I have read from cover to cover and plan to read again. It builds on the work of Clare Graves and Ken Wilber. The author did research on twelve pioneer organizations that can give us a glimpse of where we may be headed with future organization models based on an emerging worldview. In part I Laloux uses a color scheme to depict historical stages of development. In part II, he focuses on the structures, practices, and cultures of “teal organizations.” He discusses in detail three breakthroughs from his research – self-management, wholeness, and evolutionary purpose. In part III, he goes into how these unique organizations emerged – for both start-ups and existing organizations.

I am currently teaching a course on Organization Development at a university to a group of doctoral students in their final term of coursework. Reinventing Organizations is hot off the press. The syllabus for the course has been distributed, but I’m inviting the students to add this book to our reading list. It will be a great follow-up to another book I’m using – Stewardship by Peter Block. When students read this book they always ask, “Do you know anywhere where Block’s ideas are practiced?” I can now refer them to Reinventing Organizations. I highly recommend it for your leadership library.

Lately I've been thinking and searching for answers to the questions that arose from observing how organizations operate and how their leaders behave, especially in relation to existing management models. I read some good books on the subject, but this is the best I've read so far. So I want to thank Frederic Laloux and the pioneers of evolutionary organizations for this excellent book "Reinventing Organizations" and Ken Wilber for Integral Theory. I think he can really help us to create better organizations and restructure existing ones. I've posted a bigger review of the book (in Portuguese) - https://neigrando.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/reinventando-organizacoes/ Att. @neigrando

One star because this book is full of wrong information from the scientific perspective. The book uses the word research as if this book were a research project but most of its content is just a promotion of some companies. When I investigated one of such promoted companies I found that the main person being the hero already left the company and the company itself is performing very poorly.

This book spreads much of wrong information and if you believe you will learn anything you will be wrong. This book is against all concepts that are proven to be working concepts without providing any other alternatives.

WHO WILL BENEFIT?

This book is a godsend for those courageous, forward-thinking CEO's, Members of Boards, Consultants, Organizational `Changemakers', and Business School Faculty who resonate with the following three paradigm-shifting assumptions:

1. People love to develop and give their unique gifts, to collaborate, to make a lasting difference and to contribute to something larger than themselves -- and will demonstrate this in organizational cultures that challenge and support rather than control and extract

2. Our top-down, control-over-people, compartmentalized organizational designs are not a good fit for our times. Their rigidity leaves such organizations highly vulnerable in our volatile world. Millennials see these traditional organizations as today's dinosaurs

3. Our `next big thing is not a thing' -- rather, it's those organizations that ACTUALLY develop and unleash the virtually unlimited potential of people to evolve their organizations and themselves

WHY WILL THEY BENEFIT?

We've been collectively swimming in a sea of organizations (private, public and civic) with narrow and myopic definitions of success. These top-down, control-over-people, compartmentalized organizations are the water we swim in.

We are only beginning to get a sense of enormous costs and risks implicit in clinging to these fundamentally flawed organizational structures, processes and practices. We're only beginning to take measure of the gross insanity of perpetuating `business as usual.'

Frederic Laloux focuses on 12 pioneering organizations that have escaped the gravitational pull of traditional organizational design. He gives us a first good look at the future of organizations when we design to unleash rather than control our unlimited potential. He gives us a clear window into the future of organizations.

As more pioneering leaders explore what's possible when we transcend the `psychic prisons' of today's organizing forms we will be entering a new era for humanity. The potential benefits from designing organizations to serve and evolve life are unimaginably large -- this is truly awesome new territory where everyone wins. All immediate and extended `stakeholder families' can benefit in extraordinary ways as an organization's leadership engages in this quest.

5 THINGS I FOUND ESPECIALLY VALUABLE ABOUT THIS BOOK

1. Laloux's research demonstrates that elegant simplicity does indeed lie on the other side of the complexities seem essential in traditional compartmentalized control-over-people organizations

2. `Reinventing Organizations' is filled with detailed stories/descriptions of the specific grounded structures, processes and practices of organizations that illustrate the efficacy of this elegant simplicity

3. Laloux has shown himself to be a great bridge-builder. `Transcending and including' his McKinsey experience, he makes relevant wisdom from luminaries such as Ken Wilber and Parker Palmer extraordinarily accessible to those of us who are committed to taking our organizations to their next evolutionary level

4. Frederic really nailed it with his `Three Breakthroughs of Evolutionary Teal Organizations.' I'm convinced they are keys to a radically more hopeful future:

`Self-management' is the way all the rest of nature works. This `key' changes damn near everything that we've grown to hate about top-down controls.

`Wholeness' at all levels of system is not a new idea. It happens to exist throughout all the rest of nature. Learning to see our selves and our organizations as whole conscious, caring, committed and courageous living organisms is a key that opens all stakeholder relationships to a new level of co-creative possibility.

`Evolutionary purpose' challenges organizational leadership to step up to a very large question -- `What's the highest purpose we can imagine for our organization?' As we get a sense of our evolutionary purpose we see our organizations as vehicles for a never-ending action-learning journey -- with ever-improving contributions to the wellbeing of all life -- for all time.

5. How many C-suite executives have time to reflect on and co-creatively explore the implications of all of the above?

Not many! Most are captives of a vicious circle where their rigid organizations are unable to handle the challenges implicit in our `VUCA' world. So, `messes' get delegated upward to an already harried leadership. Unfortunately, reactive problem-oriented fixes tend to be born of the same thinking that created the messes in the first place -- and, in turn, create new `messes.'

Laloux's research shows that as leaders realize the `Self-management Breakthrough,' their world changes. They also achieve a level of spaciousness and new ways of seeing that support a `virtuous spiral' of co-creative exploration that routinely turns breakdowns into more breakthroughs.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Frederic's book shines a light on 12 pioneering organizations. The pioneering leaders, by dint of their beliefs, commitment, courage and persistence, are helping to blaze a trail toward a future that can work for all of us.

Laloux insists that having the board and the CEO `get it' is necessary but not sufficient to cross the `great culture chasm' between `Orange' and `Teal' -- where `getting it' calls for playing a strong and persistent stewardship role in the journey across that chasm.

We live in a world where 95+% of all sizeable organizations in all sectors and geographies are both trapped in and unconsciously reinforce `Orange' cultures. These organizational cultures deify consumption and growth -- sipping and distributing the same `Koolaid' without questioning the strange taste.

If these existing organizations are to realize the limitless benefits from an Orange to Teal metamorphosis, two challenges must be successfully addressed --

1) Pioneering leadership needs to emerge in existing organizations

2) Pioneering `providers' of transformational guidance need to develop their capacity to support such a metamorphosis -- versus limiting their practice to improving Orange performance

The good news is that such leaders and providers exist. And they will begin to find each other in ways that can make a lasting difference for all of us.

Thank you, Frederic Laloux, for your very significant contribution in introducing us to your pioneering leaders, and providing us with language and lenses, analysis and synthesis to better see and appreciate their work.

Such a wonderful book, both enlightening and entertaining. Laloux did a great job of research, combined with real-life scenarios to present a truly fantastic view of modern day organizations. I highly recommend this book for anyone in a leadership, or oversight role with their organization. It's also very helpful for interpersonal communication, with many of the insights incorporating empathy, and shared experiences.

Well researched, objective deep dive into the soul of organizations and how they behave as living organisms. Enjoyed the narrative and loved the categorizations. The book is most useful to those at the top of the management pyramid and those who are coaching them into building more amazing organizational legacies. If you're running or about to lead an organization--be it from 5 to 50,000 employees, this ought to be required reading!

The holy grail of everything from selling, to training, is the ability to get your audience to remember what you said when they are ready to make a decision. Dr Carmen Simon is a specialist in neuroscience research, and uses the findings related to memory for decision making.
We now know that “most of the brain areas involved in reminiscing about the past are the same brain areas involved in planning for the future,” Simon notes. This understanding has profound implications for communication. Evidence for the connection between memory and the future can be seen, for example, from the difficulty amnesic patients have with both recalling the past and imagining the future.

Research shows that 60-80% of our memory problems are related to forgetting to do what we knew we should. You need only recall your last week to validate this for yourself. The relevance of this fact is that our audiences are no different; they may listen to us, agree with us, even find what we tell them to be helpful. While soon after we leave they may still remember some of what we said, they don’t act on it when it is appropriate.

This book is designed to correct forgetfulness by viewing memory differently. As opposed to thinking of memory as something in the past, which hopefully was strong enough to propel action at some future time, Simon’s technique is to look at “memory from the lens of the future.”

There are a number of justifications for her approach.

People’s brains are on fast-forward, and even as others listen to us, they are anticipating how this will manifest in the future. Our brains have evolved over thousands of years to become predictive, because survival is more likely when one can accurately foresee what may happen next. Consider that you complete others’ sentences, salivate in anticipation of biting into food, or laugh before being tickled, and this predictive quality of memory will be apparent.

Our fast-forward brains are also seeking the possible future value we may be able to extract from action in the present.

The third reason to approach memory with a view to the future, comes from the communicator’s perspective. We share at Point A in time in the hope that at Point B the listener will act on it. When we know more about others’ lives, we can prepare for Point B, so they will act on our intention at that point.

“If we identify people’s existing intentions or clarify a new intention that they would benefit from having, the better we can plan on how to be part of their memories,” Simon explains. This is called ‘prospective memory,’ remembering a future intention. If you want to stay in business you need to be “impossible to ignore”, by becoming “a choreographer of delayed intentions.”

Research shows that when people complete three steps they act on their future intentions: Notice cues that are linked to their intentions; remember something related to those cues and intentions; and see the reward as significant.

In the morning you tell yourself that when you pass the liquor store on your way home, you must buy wine for your dinner guests. The wine is the intention, the store is the cue, and the reward is being seen as a good host. When you see the store – the cue – you stop and make the purchase.

“Currently, in the business world, the process of prospective memory is left to chance, and as a result, our audiences forget a lot,” Simon notes. We remember so little that without the cue introduced at Point A, expecting action at point B is wishful thinking. That is why we need to provide cues linked to the intention, that have a significant reward, so there will be execution when the cue is seen. Just as with the liquor store.

What will our audience see or hear at work, long after our presentation, that will make them more likely to make a decision to act on our suggestion? That requires that we structure our presentation to implant the cues so we raise important memories, that help the listener act on intentions in the future.

This could be as simple as asking a colleague to call you at 1 p.m., a time-based cue, or when she arrives at her office, an event-based cue. The effectiveness of the cues depends, clearly, on how strongly they are related to a desired intention. (Many more instances of cues are demonstrated in the book.)

If you have intended to take your own shopping bags to the supermarket, you have probably found yourself at the check-out thinking. “Oh no, not again, I left the bags in the car.” Some stores in the U.S. have started to display huge signs in their parking lots, “Bring your shopping bag.” This is a cue at a time when it counts, or what Simon calls Point B messaging. If the cue is not strong enough (large enough,) we will miss it, but we will also ignore it if the reward is not great enough.

If we were primed at Point A to save the planet or to save money by reusing the bag, and that mattered to us, this could be effective if we feel the reward is worth the effort.

“We must ask constantly at Point A, what will they likely see at Point B that is distinct enough and relevant enough to trigger memories and action?” Simon explains. We are only as memorable as the cues we leave for others.

Most people are humble about their memory for the past, but vastly overestimate their ability to remember to do things in the future.

Simon’s book is full of sharp insights and practical advice. This book will add value in innumerable ways, as you try to get others to act on your communications.

Readability Light --+-- Serious
Insights High -+--- Low
Practical High -+--- Low

*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is a sought-after conference speaker

The book is extremely superficial. It presents a model of organization where everybody is good in nature, is willing to accommodate coworkers' perspectives and conflicts can always be resolved in a way that is beneficial for the collective and not the individuals. The organization described by Laloux is very similar to the old Kibutzim in Palestine and Israel from the late 1800s until the 1980s. Laloux fails to explain why such model has failed both in Israel and almost everywhere else where it was replicated.

The author also does not explain how a flat organization can develop a clear strategic vision for the exploration of innovations beyond the basic improvements in techniques. In other words, I do not see how "teal" ("flat") organizations can decide to invest large sums of money in high risk activities such as biotechnology, pharmacology or IT where teams can comprise several hundreds of researchers, sales people and blue collar workers, and the capacities required to conduct these activities are well beyond those that the organization actually possesses.

An inspiring book that shines the light on the type of business practices that separate the great from the average both now and in the years to come. In this book lies the secrets for businesses to achieve extraordinary success through empowering their people. Be prepared to challenge everything you think you know about business, leadership and management.

Inspirational and definitely the way forward. Fits very well with adult-development theory. A must-read for those who want to make a positive contribution to starting and/or bringing organisations to a new level.

It's not new, some companies have been using this model since the 60's and it is the way an organism works, grows and evolves itself towards it purpose. Great account of the experience that has been accumulated by the organizations portrayed in the book. I suggest this read to any CEO or HR director to open your mind towards a different and more evolved way of managing a business.

Reinventing Organizations is a book documenting leading edge, innovative work practices in real organizations. But it is much more than that. It is a history book, a handbook, and a very thought-provoking book about where we may be headed and how we might ultimately transition to a world that is not focused entirely on quarterly profits at any cost. .This book could only be written by someone with the rare combination of real-world experience in all sorts of organizations, an understanding of human development, excellent research skills, and excellent writing skills. Frederick LaLoux appears to be such a person. While he is clearly a cheerleader for the emerging organizational forms and practices in the book, he is not a naive idealist. He is very hard-headed and pragmatic, and provides a wealth of practical detail that will be helpful to anyone trying to understand or improve organizations and management practices.

The book is very well organized and well written. It starts with an overview that, including Ken Wilbur’s introduction, introduces Integral Theory, and covers the evolution of worldviews and organizational forms that lead up to the emerging new forms. The second section describes the emerging forms in detail, and does a particularly thorough job of describing the full range of management practices that characterize the emerging organizations, and how they differ from traditional management thinking and practices. The third section is dedicated to what it takes to start up and sustain one of these new types of organization, or to transition an existing organization. Spoiler alert: It is not easy and it cannot be done without a leader and a board who share the necessary worldviews. The Appendix summarizes the research questions, the structures and management practices documented, and provides notes and an index.

But the book is more than the sum of its parts. Have you ever felt that some aspects of our current society are wonderful, but that as a whole we are on a materialistic binge that is going to end badly? Or have you come home from work frustrated by mindless meetings and the difficulty of getting things done? If so, you may be encouraged by this book. The organizations described in it have been around for a while, are very successful, and range from non-profits to consulting to manufacturing and processing in highly competitive industries. LaLoux posits that the three breakthroughs of these organizations are the emphasis on self-management, with the attendant elimination of traditional hierarchies, encouraging the whole person to be engaged in the workplace, and pursuing evolutionary purpose. The notion that organizations are more like living systems with evolutionary purpose rather than machines for churning out quarterly earnings is a real shift. Although LaLoux does not make this case, in my view the individuals starting and maintaining such organizations may be key to transitioning our society from blind economic growth and materialism to a greater sense of shared purpose with more intrinsic satisfaction from our work.

A debate rages today as to whether the great organizations of our time can move forward and become networks and so more human. Vast consulting resources and new technology platforms are being devoted to this goal. Laloux, ex McKinsey, challenges those who wish to apply a mechanistic process to this kind of change. He also challenges those who think a bottom up approach will work.

He systematically builds the case that, just as individuals progress through a series of values shifts through life: an infant is attached to their mother - a two year old is breaking free - teens are different from children - people in the 30's different from teens - 40 year olds are different - 75 years olds are different, that the larger human culture moves along a development track as well. The 7 ages of man works also for mankind.

He identifies the attributes of these shifts in detail - from a kind of gang leader in a foundation culture like Russia and so President Putin - where personal loyalty is everything - and the typical corporate culture where ROI and metrics are everything and several other stages both in between and after. He makes no value judgement - a kid is a kid and has to be that. But he is clear. There is a trajectory of stages that gets more complex. He gives each stage a colour to help us identify them.

The crux of his book is a focus on what we are experiencing today. All the cultural steps until now have been part of a progression but the one that confronts us now - and why it is so hard to cope with - is a bifurcation. This is a shift in world view from an external bias - to an internal bias where we are not only motivated by internal things but also see ourselves as being part of everything. This new worldview has NO SEPARATION. He gives this the colour of Teal. This is no longer a stage that can be reached along a progression. It's not "More" it is different.

In this new world view all is integrated. In the old world all is separate. There can be no shift from separate to integrated. There can only be a process of transformation. A caterpillar cannot by itself become a butterfly. It has to undergo a kind of death and resurrection to make the shift from crawler to a winged being - there can be no hybrid form.

In this context he makes a powerful statement. An organization is itself limited by the values and world view of the leader. So an organization that has a CEO that still is in the external POV, has no chance of transforming. The power of the old will be too much.

He is also cautious about the world view that is just on the edge of the bifurcation - Green - this is the messy utopian edge view that rejects hierarchy and structure and that believes passionately in a bottom up transformation for organizations. There is no evidence that this has ever occurred. This has not happened. On the other hand there is a lot of evidence for what has worked. This transformation has taken place in new organizations with the transformed leader as the catalyst. The book is filled with examples of Teal Organizations. Some are quite old. All share the same rules ands structure. Here is another key observation. The new is known. To those that are prepared to look and observe.

Laloux's views stem from observation not from a theory of the day. His views therefore are like Newton and gravity. His has observed what works and what does not and he can see the rules that emerge in all.

There are preconditions for transformation. And there is a deep structure too. It exists and can be codified and he codifies it. After all, all natural systems have such rules. All are based on an order. Laloux does a great service by clarifying these rules and this structure.

So is this just one man's view and will it be easy to challenge him?

I am sure that McKinsey and others like them will want to find a way that fits their culture that will help the Fortune 500 change. They have to find an engineering way to the future. And on the other hand there are many who hold onto the utopian view that there is no structure and that if we only got rid of hierarchy, it would be enough. Both will struggle with this book. After all how can just one person and one set of data set the rules for the revolution?

For me the final test for the validity of Laloux's work is that it is confirmed by the work of the late Dr Brian Hall.

Hall's work began more than 40 years ago by an exhaustive codification of human values. He started as a social anthropologist (His great work is contained in his book Values Shift and his questionnaire that reveals your values and your cultural development track - Values Technology) He uses different labels but his cultural landscape matches Laloux precisely. As do his two big conditions: that any organization is limited by the values of its leader. And that there is a bifurcation at the point of where we shift from an external to an internal POV. Both men use very different language but their conclusions are the same. Both started from opposite ends of the issue and meet in the same place. This is how all great discoveries take place. This is a Koch/Pasteur or Darwin/Wallace moment when two great minds working in isolation come to the same dramatic conclusion. And so maybe change the world?

Laloux has the advantage on Hall in that he writes today when the issue of transformation is at the top of the agenda and when there is so much technology that allows such an organization to exist. Hall was working back in the 1980's and 1990's when this was seen as esoteric. Hall also writes in an academic style whereas Laloux writes for the reader of today.

I am looking forward to the connection between Hall and Laloux. There is so much to learn from each other and there are many disciples of Hall's work who will be ready to work with Laloux.

In the meantime, I draw some conclusions of my own. The transformation that Laloux and Hall see cannot take place as a result of any mechanical process or be even an act of will. A caterpillar has to "die" to transform. A bifurcation by definition is violent adjustment to an opposing state. It is not a rational act. In my own case 25 years years ago, I felt as if I was going mad. My friends and colleagues certainly thought so! I did not know what was happening to me but in the end I had to leave the only world I knew for a new life that I knew nothing about. Now I know but then it was a mystery. Then few were experiencing this now many are. What is going on?

What I observe is that more and more individuals react to modern life by taking one of three choices - but choices like toothpaste in a tube. It's all about the pressure of the inhuman life that is the modern Amber Culture. Many retreat into a primitive culture of Red or Phase I (Laloux/Hall). We see this in the growth of fundamentalism of all kinds. Many stick to Amber/Phase II and hope for a spot in the current system. The "slaves" serve the masters in the hope of a bone. But, more and more people transform and so - like the Pilgrims - choose to live in another culture alongside the old. They have no choice. They have to get out. And when they do, they find themselves alone and poor.

But this too is changing.

They, like planetary dust are coagulating and creating the new structures along the lines of Laloux's book. The new is emerging. What Laloux will do by codifying this is to act as an accelerator. With a codified design, the new can go there quickly. The transformed will have a map that helps them make sense of their predicament. The transformed will have a design to help them get together with others and so create a new new world.

And when they have build enough of the new, then the rest will follow.

If I could give this book 10 stars I would