design parameters for the contemporary organisation

In april 2015, Stordes organised a 3-day workshop in Paris for four business leaders to think about their personal questions relating to building and leading their organisations and to develop insights and define their points of reference. The results of our stay in paris were definitely meaningful for the participants on a personal level.

The significance of the findings proved also to be  interesting in a more general sense. For that reason they deserve a wider audience. Four new design parameters for the contemporary organisation were distilled from the process and the outcomes of our work.

The aspiration of the paris session was to tap into new sources for thinking about organisations.

Organisations are an important part of our human existence and of our social, cultural, scientific and economic progress. Ideas on organisations are largely dominated by management and business thinking. That leaves large parts of our human qualities unused. a metropole like paris provides an endless richness of that other input.

The four concepts are indeed of other dimensions. They relate to deeper drivers than functionality and optimisation. They offer new ways to shape organisations with new instruments of construction and leadership, beyond current management speak.

The fabric of meaning is about the story of the deeper raison d’être that underlies an organisation, the narratives that connect the actors of the organisation. Restating it in relevant wordings and conscious behaviour is a useful and rewarding way forward. It provides background and direction while encouraging people to start new dialogues and find new formats to put those believes into tangible actions and productive solutions.

Spheres of influence refers to the construction of human relationships that encapsulate activities around a certain intention. the meaning may be implicit, But is always very present in the space formed by those interactions. It requires creativity, ingenuity and craftsmanship to build an appropriate framework for the aims it envelops. the elements that make up the sphere are a results of the true intention and materialise the essence of the design.

the inevitable way of the artist shows the urge for creating significant things, unstoppable. meaning and form merge through the intense drive for beauty. it is a source of inspiration and the nutrient for the work to be done. guided by the deeper value people gather around the work to be realised. to finish the work is also the starting point for a new one. that makes forms evolve endlessly as the result of developing awareness.

me, myself and i proclaims the importance of the whole person when it comes to leading an organisation. the self echoes the intentions and the sense of that one individual. that is great material to work with, when recognised and accepted. a great pallet of colouring emerges naturally, to accentuate what is required in an organisation or shade what can be missed. the personal is reflected in the organisation, this adds to the credibility and strength of both.