Hack:
The Common Purpose Organisation

By Ben Wallace - Analyst at OUR SYSTEM

March 30, 2012 at 7:20pm

purpose

strategy

information

Moonshots

Focus the work of management on a higher purpose

Build "natural", flexible hierarchies

Redefine the work of leadership

Summary

Common purpose organisations are collectives of individuals, come together to achieve a particular purpose that accords with a common purpose of fulfilment without harm for everyone (staff, customers, managers, et al). Financial success is a by-product of the organisation’s success in realising human potential and achieving its particular purpose.

Problem

The tendency of organisations to become autocratic and to focus, not on fulfilling the potential of employees and customers in the products and services it produces, but on the control of individuals in the pursuit of a regular rate of return.

Solution

To direct collective assets and human effort toward the realisation of human potential through best individual contributions organisations should:

Share an organisational purpose in accordance with the purpose of fulfilment
Decentralise local decisions, distribute responsibility
Democratise collective decisions
Open and pool information so everyone can inform and be informed
Structure for co-ordination and communication
Elect organisers
Ensure no harm and equal respect
Deal fairly in ideas (so people earn from contributions)
Have liable contributor-members
Maintain flexibility in all roles
Share earnings

Practical Impact

The common purpose organisation lowers the risk of trying new things, of new ideas, of realising human potential, and assists in the coordination of human endeavour to a particular purpose that accords with and furthers the common purpose.

These organisations distribute the costs of failure and the profits of success. At all times human potential is realised, whether new ways of doing things are financial failures or large or small financial successes.

First Steps

Introduce the common purpose of fulfilment without harm, and test the organisation’s own particular purpose and actions against it.

An organisation’s particular purpose should be phrased: ‘This organisation furthers the common purpose of fulfilment through improving…[ ]…fill in with organisation’s particular area, for example, transport, computation, communications, banking, retail, investment, entertainment, and others… in accordance with the principle of no harm.’

You need to register in order to submit a comment.