The nature of business is intrinsically different to that of the people conducting it and to the organizations fostering it, as well. While organizations are structures configured into hierarchical levels, specialized units and positions, governed by formal rules (Rainey, 1997, p. 170), the people working within them are sensitive human systems governed by personal organizing principles and highly vulnerable to the contexts in which they operate (Seagal, S. and Horne, D., Human Dynamics, 1997, p. 37). Business is its source of causal energy, and it is governed by postulates (Philosophy of Complex Systems, 2011, p. 295).
As mentioned in my last entry, there are companies out there that are offering a different spin to attract talent. Having deciphered the nature of their organizations, people and businesses, and the differing complexities that govern them, they are using that knowledge to identify growth-yielding dynamics in order to portray and sell them as their most unique competitive edge. The main choice for talents is, therefore, between a) the stability of a seasoned corporate culture that focuses on lifestyle and capitalizes on market seniority to maintain its position in the market and b) the challenges of a corporate dynamism that focuses on growth and capitalizes on change to disrupt that market. Dynamic or growth-oriented organizations balance business flow through the unique operational circuits that teams themselves build to serve a purpose. Their communication systems are used to build knowledge and foster exchange to, in turn, disrupt the market. In contrast, lifestyle organizations drive business through operational processes and use communication systems to foster integration and speed up delivery.
In general, although talents appreciate the benefits of stability of consolidated business, they are mostly attracted to the challenges of a dynamic context. According to a study conducted by Babson College on organizational complexity, growth-oriented firms tended to focus more on future-oriented knowledge generating activities (such as strategy, R&D, innovation and customer service), whereas lifestyle firms focused more on externally-oriented activities (such as benchmarking, networking and restructuring). (Arbough, J.B. and Camp, S.M., Comparison of Growth Oriented and Lifestyle Oriented Firms, Babson College, 2001). This gives us a closer view of their unique interests and preferences within the dynamic market. But also, it clarifies why talents are turning their backs on stability. Talents want to make a difference and some are willing to persevere through the long-term to eventually see that happen. Others are more comfortable with periodic peaks of creative challenge. But all are willing to pay the price of “failure” as many times needed, because they understand error as a learning experience. They are discouraged by the “Same Old-Same Old” tweaking behind benchmarking and best practices. They are pioneers of change that choose the unchartered route over the safe path.
Zooming in on the nature of Corporate Dynamism, the highlight is its constant growth, because growth yields legitimacy in the labor market. Whatever the growth domain (complexity, innovation, mastery, enrichment, performance, evolution, etc.), its trajectory will be logarithmic, exponential, or both, and growth progress curves will seldom be linear (polynomial, factorial, sigmoid, logistic, or others). Logarithmic growth occurs within a context of periodic challenges. In contrast, exponential growth is observed in sustained endurance circuits. The growth domain is the key metric in any dynamic business HR strategy.
By understanding how an organization grows, talents are able to measure and value the impact it will have on their motivation and ponder what growth domain and progress curves are best for them. They discover this by simply observing how progress is achieved by different companies in the same field - not the rates, but the shape of the growth trajectory. Is it growth that slows down with mastery or does it accelerate? Where is complexity perceived mostly? Is performance measured logarithmically or exponentially? What operational circuits have been created within the organization? How is knowledge reinvested in the circuit?
The answers to the questions above give talents a portrait of the shape of an industry’s growth domain and progress trajectory ,and helps them make a choice on the basis of their own motivation principles and not on external or superficial factors. Hence, Corporate Dynamism is here to stay and it is revolutionizing the way we do and measure business, and how we manage people. Most fundamentally, however, it is tapping into the deep-rooted drivers of human motivation, helping talents to make their career decisions based on the governing principles of their own behavior.
In general, although talents appreciate the benefits of stability of consolidated business, they are mostly attracted to the challenges of a dynamic context. According to a study conducted by Babson College on organizational complexity, growth-oriented firms tended to focus more on future-oriented knowledge generating activities (such as strategy, R&D, innovation and customer service), whereas lifestyle firms focused more on externally-oriented activities (such as benchmarking, networking and restructuring). (Arbough, J.B. and Camp, S.M., Comparison of Growth Oriented and Lifestyle Oriented Firms, Babson College, 2001). This gives us a closer view of their unique interests and preferences within the dynamic market. But also, it clarifies why talents are turning their backs on stability. Talents want to make a difference and some are willing to persevere through the long-term to eventually see that happen. Others are more comfortable with periodic peaks of creative challenge. But all are willing to pay the price of “failure” as many times needed, because they understand error as a learning experience. They are discouraged by the “Same Old-Same Old” tweaking behind benchmarking and best practices. They are pioneers of change that choose the unchartered route over the safe path.
Zooming in on the nature of Corporate Dynamism, the highlight is its constant growth, because growth yields legitimacy in the labor market. Whatever the growth domain (complexity, innovation, mastery, enrichment, performance, evolution, etc.), its trajectory will be logarithmic, exponential, or both, and growth progress curves will seldom be linear (polynomial, factorial, sigmoid, logistic, or others). Logarithmic growth occurs within a context of periodic challenges. In contrast, exponential growth is observed in sustained endurance circuits. The growth domain is the key metric in any dynamic business HR strategy.
By understanding how an organization grows, talents are able to measure and value the impact it will have on their motivation and ponder what growth domain and progress curves are best for them. They discover this by simply observing how progress is achieved by different companies in the same field - not the rates, but the shape of the growth trajectory. Is it growth that slows down with mastery or does it accelerate? Where is complexity perceived mostly? Is performance measured logarithmically or exponentially? What operational circuits have been created within the organization? How is knowledge reinvested in the circuit?
The answers to the questions above give talents a portrait of the shape of an industry’s growth domain and progress trajectory ,and helps them make a choice on the basis of their own motivation principles and not on external or superficial factors. Hence, Corporate Dynamism is here to stay and it is revolutionizing the way we do and measure business, and how we manage people. Most fundamentally, however, it is tapping into the deep-rooted drivers of human motivation, helping talents to make their career decisions based on the governing principles of their own behavior.