”Reinventing Organizations – for the development of inspired working communities”, by Frédéric Laloux, published by Diateino

Have you heard of the Opale organisation concept? For Frédéric Laloux, an independent coach who used to work for McKinsey, each period of history corresponds with a clearly defined management method… and we are currently evolving towards a new ecosystem which will be filled with reason, enthusiasm, authenticity and organisational freedom. Just a utopia? Certainly not, as can be discovered in this thoroughly documented work which is filled with examples and research data. If you are a director, company owner, manager, coach or consultant who is currently dealing with a process of change, you should read this now…

 

Chosen extracts

 

(Chapter 1.3, “Internal judgement as a means of orientation”):

 

“At the Opale evolution stage, the decision making process is influenced by internal criteria. Does this decision seem right to me? Is it coherent with what I feel I should become? Am I being honest with myself? Am I doing the right thing for the world? The less we are filled with selfish fear, the more we are able to take decisions which may appear risky or for which we cannot know all of the possible consequences, but which will be in agreement with our deepest internal convictions. We are more sensitive to situations which are not quite right, which require us to take a position and we act, even at the risk of conflict or failure, in the name of our most authentic feelings”.

 

(Chapter 2.2, “Trust over control”):

 

“In the absence of any intermediary framework or important function level, Opal initiatives do not require the usual control mechanisms: they are built on the foundation of mutual trust. The core of the subject is that employees are generally considered to be sensible people whom we can trust to do the right thing. On this basis, there is no need to add unnecessary rules or control mechanisms. (…) Trust leads to responsibility on the part of the person in whom you place your trust. Staff set their own objectives and have pride in achieving them. Emulation and peer-pressure regulate the system better than any hierarchy has ever been able to. ”