Operating Philosophy
A key driver in Dual-Developmental Learning companies is their pursuit of a long-term, self-renewing value proposition. This is their Essence – what they want to be beyond every developmental progression in their business and operations – as an enduring purpose, core values, axioms, and principles of work and business.
A key driver in Dual-Developmental Learning companies is their pursuit of a long-term, self-renewing value proposition. This is their Essence – what they want to be beyond every developmental progression in their business and operations – as an enduring purpose, core values, axioms, and principles of work and business.
Once a company's Essence has been defined, it is then codified as its Operating Philosophy - specifically:
- Why the organization exists, and why highly developed and motivated people will want to contribute their effort to the enterprise;
- the What of the organization - its current value proposition and strategic and operational differentiation; and
- the daily tasks of business that are How the Why and What are achieved.
The Operating Philosophy defines what it is in business for and what differentiates it from other businesses. The focus at this stage is not on what the company produces and sells, but rather the reason it exists and how it will act over decades, possibly centuries, to come.
The resulting set of organizational Purpose, Core Values, Principles, and Axioms will be the basis for building and governing the organization across generations of management and the numerous transformations required in years ahead as the business environment evolves. The process includes everyone in the organization, from the CEO to the least-paid worker, so it also provides the context for individuals in the organization to learn to conduct business uniformly, to align their actions and development with that of the organization as a whole.
As part of the process of developing the Operating Philosophy, Kaz and his facilitators introduce learning-organization and community-building methods, dynamics, and norms at all levels within the enterprise, from the top executives to the least-paid staff. Applying these tools creates an environment that encourages individuals to join together in communities of learning and development, leading to a sense of psychological safety in which they can let go of the defensive and protective stances and activities that have drained so much of their potentially productive time and energy and focus on the needs of the organization as a whole, knowing that in doing so they will achieve their own goals.
The resulting set of organizational Purpose, Core Values, Principles, and Axioms will be the basis for building and governing the organization across generations of management and the numerous transformations required in years ahead as the business environment evolves. The process includes everyone in the organization, from the CEO to the least-paid worker, so it also provides the context for individuals in the organization to learn to conduct business uniformly, to align their actions and development with that of the organization as a whole.
As part of the process of developing the Operating Philosophy, Kaz and his facilitators introduce learning-organization and community-building methods, dynamics, and norms at all levels within the enterprise, from the top executives to the least-paid staff. Applying these tools creates an environment that encourages individuals to join together in communities of learning and development, leading to a sense of psychological safety in which they can let go of the defensive and protective stances and activities that have drained so much of their potentially productive time and energy and focus on the needs of the organization as a whole, knowing that in doing so they will achieve their own goals.