Creating Sustainable Organizations

By Chuck McVinney
©2001 McVinney & Company

6. The Third Principle of Sustainability

The last key principle of sustainability is community. Again, our reference says of community:

Community:

1. A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government;
2. A social group or class having common interests.

We get to define the communities of the new century all over again. The structure and dynamics of the old order communities will yield new ones. Already some businesses are leading the way, by challenging the long held assumptions about how large groups are organized and managed. Already we are seeing in this first decade of a new century, flatter, nested hierarchies of shared leadership and decision making, new models of democratic action in the work place, as well as new models of decision making, accountability, and ownership. Each of these is diving further and further into the organization's membership. New structures of working communities that go beyond paternalism and family models are emerging, and suggesting even more dramatic changes ahead with the arrival of new and bold communication and worldwide connection technologies. Even the old notion of a "job" is in transition as communities speak out for new skills and new expressions of leadership and ask for expanded creativity from more and more of their members. Even the notions of teams and teamwork are giving way to a community value that is more about collaboration and the actualization of co-creation than winning ball games or business contracts. That is not to say that forms of competition are not alive and well - they always will be - but that is one aspect of our nature - not the whole story. When competition and greed are at the center, community takes a back seat. When community and stewardship are at the core, creativity and therefore sustainability can lead us to new heights of human fulfillment. >>