The philosophical foundation of better ways of working – of what we at Teal Unicorn call “Open” – run deep. We collect what we learn about these better ways of thinking here.
[TU are training ourselves to say “better ways of working” instead of “new”. “New ways of working” has been captured by remote work. Even more importantly, most of the ideas are not new, they’re just not widely adopted. We know they’re better. Better results, better lives, better society. So you will find both words used interchangeably on this site: new/better. We now think “better” is better.]
Here is how this page fits with other pages, with links to them:
New Ways Of Managing is a book! The agile Manager, New Ways of Managing . Yes, small “a”.
and then our flagship book Open Management , which is more about the Why of better work.
and then a book specifically for the apex leader The Open Executive , about their personal journey towards better ways.
All
our books are here.
There is an advance in social thinking underway that started after WW2 and is still rolling (with a few obvious setbacks around the world right now). This thinking is transforming IT, work, management, enterprises, government, and society. Its impact is far reaching enough to talk of it as a renaissance in thinking, a refresh or step change that comes only once or twice a century. It may be a Second Enlightenment. This is not an exaggeration.
The concepts that Teal Unicorn deals with, in advancing enterprise work and management (especially management), rise from an even deeper philosophical shift which we are not qualified to discuss in depth though we need to understand as much as we can. Here is our best shot (Don’t panic, the discussion gets more concrete and specific to work. Keep reading).
Click the “+” to expand each heading
Truth, beauty, and goodness
In The Enlightenment, Western cultures separated truth from beauty and goodness (the three “transcendentals” of mediaeval metaphysics); science separated from art and ethics. This got the churches out of the way and released human potential in a way never seen before in history. It has brought unprecedented wellbeing, prosperity, democracy, and richness of life.
But the gap shows, and it hurts.
The pinnacle of “truthiness” was perhaps Logical Positivism and Bayesian thinking, which underpinned all of science for two centuries. Now as global warming, environmental degradation, and digital dehumanisation destroy our wellbeing, the world is swinging back to the unfashionable ideas that were always there, opposing Positivism. For example, Keats’ Negative Capability
‘Negative Capability’ is a state of being fairly content with HALF knowledge. An acceptance without having to analyse, rationalise and categorise. A feeling of ‘knowing without fully knowing’ — without the need to fit into a ‘formalized system’. A state of anti-rationalist sentiment! To Keats, ‘Negative Capability’ was a poetic opposition to Positivism, against the early seeds of Bayesian Thinking. To him, WISDOM emerges spontaneously through a deep connection with the natural world — through SENSE & IMAGINATION. In our relentless obsession with ‘reducing all uncertainty,’ we often miss the beauty of uncertainty. For in those moments of ‘not knowing’ that we connect with something deeply human — beyond ‘data & logic’. Profound insights come NOT from ‘what we know’ — but from what we can allow ourselves ‘to not know’!
– Nuno Reis
As we move to better ways of working, we need to reintroduce wider values than just numbers. It is time to reunite these three Transcendentals. People crave self-actualisation, wholeness, integrity.
the tool of systems thinking, born out of engineering and mathematics, implemented in computers, drawn from a mechanistic mind-set and a quest for prediction and control, leads its practitioners, inexorably I believe, to confront the most deeply human mysteries.
– Donella Meadows
This is (for us) nothing to do with religion or a belief in anything beyond the human experience. Nor is it to do with politics, though Rob’s politics are overt. You can agree on these beliefs and still land in different political positions.
It is interesting that the Japanese art of Kyudo archery is based on the principles of shin-zen-bi, which translates as ‘truth–goodness–beauty’.
Delving into it Ibn Sina’s rejection of the theological interpretation of the subject of metaphysics. Since the existence of the subject of a science must be demonstrated beforehand, and God’s existence is to be demonstrated in the science of metaphysics, God cannot be the subject of this science
Here’s Rob from Teal Unicorn on this topic: (I shot this in one 18-minute take – it comes from my heart)
Here is a great read on uniting science and art.
Not only are we restoring what was lost, but we have of course made astounding progress in thinking as much as we have in technology in the centuries since the Enlightenment.
- The Scientific Method
- Probability
- Evolution
- Relativity
- Quantum theory
And we continue to make breakthroughs in understanding – thinking about – reality. Our ancestors did not have these concepts to help them interpret their world:
- Chaos theory and complexity
- Promise theory
We see the better thinking everywhere, so this page points to a few models we know of, which all point to this renaissance, this flip, step-change, new age, Enlightenment… Social thinking is crossing a boundary (and just in time, looking at world politics). Feminism, diversity, egality, socialism, ESG, empowerment, digital, virtual, complexity, networks, … so many powerful forces are at play.
And the roots run deep
As soon as Scientific Management appeared at the turn of last century, there was an immediate reaction promoting more humane thinking. The struggle for women’s rights is even older, as is the fight against slavery and for equal racial rights. The Twentieth Century saw the rise of social welfare, global collaboration, universal health care, foreign aid, pacifism and arms control, the Marshall Plan and the Peace Corps, human rights, the hippy movement, feminism, gay rights, environmentalism, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and multiple bottom lines, stakeholder capitalism, environment social and corporate governance (ESG), and many more developments all on the same trajectory of higher social consciousness. That trajectory is mapped into the future with he United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, which is a handy reference to current social expectations.
Organisations are increasingly expected to evolve, to keep up their alignment to social values.
A growing expectation of organisations is authenticity. From Ernst and Young no less:
We increasingly want authenticity from the organizations we work for, buy from, and invest in. We need to know what companies stand for, and why.
In the late 20th Century, it went without saying that corporations are weasels that say one thing and do another. After all, only the shareholders matter, everybody else needs to be diverted with sweet words. We laughed it off, like we did with men being sexist. Not any more. Organisations of all kinds need to match the walk to the talk. They need to stand for something real, and demonstrate it. The moment they fake it, they’re called out and respect is lost. Rio Tinto. KPMG. McKinsey.
This directly impacts work and management. Managers everywhere need to get this clear: the world is now driven by values over value. To have products aligned to all our stakeholders’ values, you must live those values. You can’t fake this. You will get called out. And the cognitive dissonance will damage your organisation. To win at this game, we must be a better organisation, embracing the values of our community.
For the practical application of these ideas, see our articles on S&T Happens 
Friedmanism is dead
Friedmanism is stone dead. It gave us all the gross excesses of the last few decades, from Madoff to Trump. Get with the times.
Greed is not good. Your customers, partners, and staff all expect you to live values through your work, as do your owners, government, and society.
What’s the harm of ”Greedmanism”? This is the harm
From 1978 to 2021, CEO pay based on realized compensation grew by 1,460%, far outstripping S&P stock market growth (1,063%) and top 0.1% earnings growth (which was 385% between 1978 and 2020, according to the latest data available). In contrast, compensation of the typical worker grew by just 18.1% from 1978 to 2021. Economic Policy Institute
(It’s not all bad news. The USA is going to hell, but globally there are some positive trends
)
This inequity is profoundly damaging to the social contract. Employees become disengaged (at best).
The most egregious example is when companies throw employees overboard like balloon ballast just to keep the profits and shareprice up, as they did during COVID lockdowns. Airlines and airports dumped all their staff and now the travel is booming again they can’t make any money. They’re cancelling flights because all the staff are gone. We should have zero sympathy.
Jack Welch, quoted in Forbes magazine, called Freidmanism the world’s dumbest idea. Drucker and Keynes would agree.
The European Commission with Industry 5.0: “provides a vision of industry that aims beyond efficiency and productivity as the sole goals, and reinforces the role and the contribution of industry to society… sustainable, human-centric and resilient European industry… Industry 5.0 nests the Industry 4.0 approach in a broader context, providing regenerative purpose and directionality to the technological transformation of industrial production for people-planet-prosperity rather than simply value extraction to benefit shareholders.”
The US Business Roundtable redefined the purpose of a corporation to “create long-term value, better serving everyone – investors, employees, communities, suppliers and customers”.
Same Roundtable in 1981: “the shareholder must receive a good return but the legitimate concerns of other constituencies also must have the appropriate attention.”
And then in 1999: “the principal objective of a business enterprise is to generate economic returns to its owners.”
McKinsey’s view: “There are reasons to believe this time is different. Climate change, inequality, and diversity and inclusion are major policy concerns. Public trust in institutions is at an all-time low, and many increasingly look to businesses as the key agents for change on major societal issues.”
The British Academy says (pdf) “the purpose of business is to solve the problems of people and planet profitably, and not profit from causing problems”.
Barron’s agrees. “The most obvious result of an excessive focus on shareholder value, she says, is rising income inequality”
Fortune: Only 7 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs believe their companies should “mainly focus on making profits and not be distracted by social goals.”
Bloomberg “ESG Drives a Stake Through Friedman’s Legacy.
The idea that companies should concentrate only on maximizing profits is losing ground to a broader concept of stakeholder interests.”
The Australian Financial Review said “The Friedman doctrine was right and wrong about the responsibility of business. For democratic capitalism to live up to its name, voters, not corporate interest, must set the rules of the game.”
The Financial Times , even! “Milton Friedman was wrong on the corporation… unbridled corporate power has been a factor behind the rise of populism, especially rightwing populism”
60 major corporations declare commitment to ESG at Davos 2020
Simon Sinek has joined the fray
(If you don’t know those sources, they are pillars of right-wing capitalism).
The Economist is skeptical. I always respect their view but this time they’re way off.
replaced by values over value
You can hear this “values over value” song everywhere now: (I’ll collect more…)
Fast Company says “It’s hard to sustain a great company in a deeply troubled society, to build a healthy corporate culture in a world where so many people struggle with discrimination, lack of access to healthcare, and a planet that keeps getting sicker”
The Blueprint for Better Business says “The business needs to be led by that purpose, seeing itself as a social organisation which cares about people and generates the profit necessary to sustain the pursuit of that purpose.”
Addressing racism “because of its effect on employees and in order to demonstrate their genuine commitment to diversity and human rights”
Management lessons of The True Believer
A 20th-century working-class philosopher has a lot to teach modern workers — and managers — about finding meaning in life, and on the job
HBR: Banks should only do well financially when their customers do well financially.
Robert Kaplan on how companies can join with other firms, non-profits, and communities in positive-sum networks that create economic value while simultaneously addressing poverty, social exclusion, and environmental degradation
Francis Fukuyama, arch capitalist of the last century, has seen the light: ‘The neoliberals went too far. Now, we need more social democratic policies’
Many believe that “a necessary backlash to [social disconnection] is a large-scale reconnection with nature that has the ability to transcend previous environmental movements and reshape our world”. There are some great thinkers in this area. We know Michelle Holliday. PwC analysis shows that industries that are highly or moderately dependent on nature generate more than half of global GDP ($44 trillion). PwC lay out six ways businesses can help avert rapid nature loss and tackle climate change.
The government also cares, as Amazon found out in California.
See also Elizabeth Warren’s Accountable Capitalism Act
When More Is Not Better, book by Professor Roger Martin
Higher purpose at KPMG
McKinsey: in this crisis, stakeholder needs are already so acute that the opportunity for businesses to make an indelible mark with human support, empathy, and purpose is greater than it has ever been.
McKinsey again: when companies fully leverage their scale to benefit society, the impact can be extraordinary… Business has an opportunity, and an obligation, to engage on the urgent needs of our planet
And McKinsey on ESG (environmental, social, and governance): ESG links to cash flow in five important ways: (1) facilitating top-line growth, (2) reducing costs, (3) minimizing regulatory and legal interventions, (4) increasing employee productivity, and (5) optimizing investment and capital expenditures
Activist shareholder Cevian, managing $10B, will “use its vote at annual meetings to call out groups that did not include ESG metrics in executive pay packages by 2022″
BestBuy: noble purpose… at the intersection of four circles: what the world needs, what you are good at, how you believe you can make a positive difference in the world, and how you can make money
Mark Benioff of SalesForce: We Need a New Capitalism
Larry Fink of BlackRock, in his annual letter to CEOs: “Stakeholder capitalism is not about politics. It is not a social or ideological agenda. It is not “woke.” It is capitalism, driven by mutually beneficial relationships between you and the employees, customers, suppliers, and communities your company relies on to prosper. This is the power of capitalism. “. Fink then turned into a spineless jelly and backed right away, but for a moment there he was upright.
Fortune says consumers are putting our money where our mouths are.
Banks care. “Canada’s six largest banks have all added ESG components to their chief executive officers’ compensation frameworks, putting them in a small minority of companies that tie executive pay to such measures.”
(How NOT to do it: Sloan Management Review with a cynical approach to focusing on stakeholders who create shareholder value)
A recently emerged idea is Jon Alexander’s Citizen Story. We highly recommend his book. Here is an extract:
Citizen organisations are rooted in a deep and resilient belief in humanity: a belief that, given the right conditions, it is human nature to want to contribute positively and meaningfully to shape the communities and societies we are part of; and that the capability to make such a contribution is also universal. If you analyse the language of Citizen organisations – their websites, the speeches of their leaders – you can see that they don’t so much seek to be trusted or admired by people; rather, they start by trusting and believing in people. The second follows naturally from the first, and is practical. Because they believe in the contribution people can make, Citizen organisations adopt core processes that are designed to make those contributions possible. They are open and transparent; they show their working; and they invite participation at every available opportunity. As a result, people’s massive loss of trust in organisations is flipped: every interaction with every organisation becomes characterised by their trust in us.
Of course, the Empire strikes back. And predictably it is the red-neck IT tech bros leading the charge (with Musk and Bezos battling to be Emperor).
Murica is plunging into oligarchy, leading a global movement to restore greed as the goal.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
– John Kenneth Galbraith
We are confident that the long-term arc of human enlightenment will continue but certainly the world is right now in the middle of a OneBack – two steps forward and one back.
You don’t need to embrace a religion, or worse still the anti-science of the counter culture, in order to grow into these higher-level concepts. They’re the future of humanity. The future is already here, it is just not evenly distributed. We see it everywhere, it has been arriving for decades.
There is a profound clash of worldviews here, between individualism and collectivism, between taking what I think I’m worth and taking what is fair to the group. Greed-is-good, rugged individualism, and self-entitlement have consumed much of business culture (originating out of one country). Not all cultures think that way, or used to. Many, in the “West” and the ”East”, used to be more egalitarian, more mutually supportive, balancing personal outcomes with social ones. So in some ways it is a second restoration – as well as the reunification of truth, beauty, and goodness, and flowing from it – but we are not going backward to the past, we are going forward to recover what we lost and to grow to higher greater insights.
Maslow saw it. In his later years, he added a new apex to his famous pyramid: self-transcendence.
We must restore social consciousness, treating the collective as being as important as ourselves. This is not socialism. Even the ultra-right want people to lay down their lives for their country ( so long as it is someone else and someone else’s children).
This is as true at work as in the community. If we care about the organisation we benefit personally, in satisfaction and materially.
It’s not just an improvement, it is a new way of thinking, a step change, a phase change, a crossing of a boundary, a new age. We hear this from many sources:
There are many presentations of these better ideas:
Two major instances of these ideas are
- Post-modernism, an ideology that has had strongly positive and negative impacts on society.
- New Age counter culture: alt med, organic food, anticapitalism, antiscience. We think it is all rubbish, but it certainly reflects the principles.
Then many more mostly positive examples, with more coming every year ( I can’t keep up to add them all here!), showing our advancement as a species:
- Tipu Ake ki te Ora Lifecycle
- Organic systems, holistic, Thriveability
- Sociocracy
- Holacracy
- Good Organisations and Eudaimocracy
- Rapid Democracy
- Spiral Dynamics from Graves, Cowan, Beck…
- Mindfulness
- The work of The Elders
- Bring your whole self to work, diversity
- The Happy Manifesto is a good summary
- Theory U
- Tribal leadership five stages
- Ethical business
- B Lab: certified responsible corporates.
- Benefit corporation: a type of for-profit legal corporate entity
- Impact transparency
- The Open Leadership Network*
- Just about everything coming out of the Santa Fe Institute
- Berkana Institute, whatever the problem, community is the solution
- From Consumer Story to Citizen Story
- And two of my favourites, Humanocracy, the antithesis of bureaucracy…
- …and most of all Strategic Doing, which we think is one of the most important things happening right now
We are not here to say any or all of these models are accurate. All models are wrong, some are useful. And there is a lot of bullshit peddled in their names, especially anti-science. In fact it is hard to find material about some of these models, e.g. Integral, that isn’t steeped in nonsense. The point is that it is evident that something big is going on across society, and overall it looks positive.
It is an optimistic view of human evolution, which is entirely justified based on historical data: humanity gets better. Across the world, organisations and societies are primarily competitive capitalist green with a few pioneering into teal, and a larger long tail spreading all the way back through orange and red to primal magenta (or grey, or whatever, models aren’t consistent). It is a rising bubble of social progress. Hans Rosling taught us to see the trends.
We embrace that view. We look at what it means to be a “small-a-agile” manager in these Better Ways of Working and Managing in our book, The agile Manager . We then decided that word “agile” is overworked in the many ways it is used at work. We prefer “Open“, which we originally learned from Open Space. We kind of wish we had called that book The Open Manager. Our next book was called Open Management, and a future book will be Open Work.
The meaning we find in all this lies in what we make of it, what comes out of it.
The crisis is going to be longer and deeper than most people have realised yet. We owe it to ourselves and our kids to ensure that the outcomes are a much better world than today.
We are already in this shift to a new enlightenment which has been running for decades. Perhaps all the negative energy will kick it along even faster.
COVID lockdown was only the overture.
We are always on the brink of the next depression, as the oligarchies steal more and more, impoverishing the rest of us. The USA is likely self-immolating right now, which will impact us all. Their next civil war gets closer all the time. We can only hope China rises to the occasion to help stabilise the global economy. Fascism is running rife, in Russia, Israel, Italy, and more, with Poland, Germany, France, UK and USA on the brink (I’m writing in June 2024). The horrors of Ukraine and Palestine are intolerable.
And waiting in the wings for when we have dealt with all that, climate change which is becoming uncomfortably real.
Our social capabilities will be sorely tested. It may not sound it, but I’m genuinely optimistic that a new phase in social consciousness will be forged in this fire. The Great Heave, as we might call it, is already underway.
It’s tragic we have to go through this but life is cyclic, it seems inevitable. The result is often a stronger better society.
Adam Kahane has this model for transforming social systems:
“Many people focus only on love or power or justice. This is always a mistake. Working only with love—ignoring power and justice—produces results that are, as King put it, sentimental and anaemic.”
“Working only with power—ignoring love and justice—produces results that are reckless and abusive.”
“And working only with justice—ignoring love and power—produces results that are legalistic and sterile.”
So let the Great Heave go forward with love, power, and justice.
The richest people in the world are already scrambling onto the lifeboats, be they called New Zealand or SpaceX. And the poorest are dying in increasing numbers as they flee their war-torn, climate-ravaged countries. Meanwhile official politics seems either impotent or positively malign, a well-oiled machine infallibly finding the worst and pushing them to the top of the heap. Most of the graphs seem to be pointing in the wrong directions: going up when they should be going down, or plummeting when they should be rising. Yet there is hope. Because something is happening. There is a coalescence. A different story is rising and ripening. It is a story of who we are as humans, what we are capable of, and how we might work together to reimagine and rebuild our world.
– Brian Eno, foreword to Citizens by Jon Alexander
* We like the thinking of The Open Leadership Network but we don’t like their politics, so we are no longer in any way affiliated.