Peel Away: Paradox
Revealed
Obolensky
(2010) defines a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) as one that is built on the
foundation of “clear people processes
and policies, sound and flexible information and communication technology systems, and transparent,
inclusive and flexible strategy development
processes” (p. 26-27). Central to the CAS concept is the team concept through
which the sharing of information occurs in an open format and informal,
flattened hierarchies take the place of the more traditional top-down view of
management. As a result, “meeting the needs and expectations of external
stakeholders” becomes the priority as opposed to “running the organisation”;
and, greater “emphasis on personal responsibility” exists across all areas of
the organization (Obolensky, 2010, p. 27). As described by Coutu (2000), St. Luke’s, a
London-based advertising agency, “is full of free spirits who delight in
breaking rules – both as they create advertising and run their organization”
(p. 143). Similarly, Hamel (2011) depicts Morning Star as “an organization that
combines managerial discipline and market-centric flexibility – without bosses,
titles, or promotions” (p. 49). Yet, long before examining Morning Star and its
decision to turn away from traditional forms of hierarchal management; Hamel
(1998) foretold, “Profound change in the competitive environment” was not only
coming; but, proffered his belief, “only those companies that are capable of
reinventing themselves… will be around” (p. 7).
Both St.
Luke’s and Morning Star have broken away from traditions in their respective
industries. Each has been able to realize record breaking revenues. Each “pushes
its people to take enormous risks”; while, at the same time creating an
environment that’s safe (Coutu, 2000, p. 144). “No one has a boss” is a
characteristic of each organization (Hamel, 2011, p. 51). Hamel’s (2011)
description of Morning Star’s vision, creating an organization wherein teams of
colleagues “will be self-managing professionals, initiating communications and
the coordination of their activities with fellow colleagues, customers,
suppliers, and fellow industry participants, absent directives from others” (p.
52), could easily be applied to St. Luke’s, a company “legally owned by its 115
employees”, complete with work space not defined by “signs or symbols in the
office” (Coutu, 2000, p. 147). As I read about these two companies, my mind
immediately returned to one of the most impressive companies I’ve read about,
Whole Foods Market.
Just as St.
Luke’s and Morning Star have added new wrinkles to the advertising and tomato
processing industries; Schawbel (2013) chronicles how John Mackey, Co-Founder
and Co-CEO of Whole Foods Market (WFM) has introduced the concept of “conscious
capitalism” to the CAS applied to the grocery industry. Long before Mackey’s
concept had a practical application, his organization created an environment
for its people described by Erickson and Gratton (2007) as a “signature experience”
designed to recognize “different types of people will excel at different
companies, and that not all workers want the same things” (p. 106). WFM began
with “team-based hiring”, a process whereby a new hire’s fate is completely
dependent upon the team for the particular area, such as produce. A four-week
time frame passes, after which the team votes to either hire or fire the new
hire. A “two-thirds” majority is needed for a new hire to be retained (Erickson
& Gratton, 2007, p. 107). The team is motivated to select the person
best-suited to help the team achieve its goals so that bonuses, “explicitly
linked to group rather than individual performance”, may be realized (Erickson
& Gratton, 2007, p. 107). From its beginning, Whole Foods Market has
continued to reinvent itself to stay competitive.
Consensus
building, team hiring practices, and the company’s “heroic” principle, “to try
to change and improve our world”, as reported by Fox (2011), combine to allow
WFM to introduce ways to compete with its competitors’ inexpensive wines,
promote and expand sustainable seafood sales, encourage locally grown
agriculture products, “be good citizens in the communities”, and extend the
opportunity for volunteer work to its employees and customers (p. 123). Mackey
recognizes “free enterprise capitalism” as “the most powerful creative system
of social cooperation and human progress ever conceived”; however, at the same time,
he acknowledges this older, more accepted way of viewing capitalism must include
a grounding with a “higher purpose” and a recognition of the shared global
connectedness (Schawbel, 2013). Mackey’s “four key pillars” result in the same
experiences described by Law of St. Luke’s and Rufer of Morning Star, “exceptional
customer experiences, less turnover, lower overhead costs, higher profits, and
sustained growth” (Schawbel, 2013). The key, as Hamel (1998) reminds us, is the
ability to reinvent; or as with Whole Foods Market, to continue to reinvent
itself to keep its competitive edge.
So how does
a company, like WFM, continue to stay atop Fortune’s
top 100 list? Just as WFM introduced its sustainable seafood labeling
system, designed to allow customers to know more, not less, about its seafood
products; Mackey (2015) describes this same approach for organically grown food
products with WFM’s “Responsibly Grown” program, launched in 2014. The scoring
system uses “factors not addressed by organic standards”; which, as
demonstrated by the back and forth volley of letters between growers and Whole
Foods Market, is still being tweaked in order to provide all stakeholders with
a clear path forward (Mackey, 2015). At the core of the new program is the
ability to “trace our produce back
to the farm and field where it was produced to ensure integrity for our
customers and to respond effectively in the event of a problem”; however, this
core principle will have significant financial implications for the farmers
(Mackey, 2015). The posting of the letter from the growers, along with WFM’s
responses, demonstrates the use of feedback and how it can lead to “self-correcting
rather than controlled” strategy development (Obolensky, 2010, p. 29). Had
Whole Foods Market had a typical managerial hierarchy in place, rather than its
evolving Complex Adaptive System, the conversations witnessed and posted by
Mackey (2015) may never have taken place and led to the organic farming and
product awareness we now see in other grocery stores.
For me, the overall implications of
CAS are clear. It begins with a willingness to “peel away all the levels” of
one’s personality; and, I would add, the willingness to peel away the
personality of an organization (Coutu, 2000, p. 145). Although the idea is
quite frightening, if that marries with that which is already taking place in
today’s world, “a quest for meaning in life” that transcends simple dollar
signs; then today’s leaders should embrace the possibilities (Coutu, 2000, p.
144).
References
Coutu, D.L. (2000, Sept. – Oct.). Creating the Most
Frightening Company on Earth: An
Interview
with Andy Law of St. Luke’s. Harvard
Business Review, 143-150.
Erickson, T.J., & Gratton,
L. (2007, March). What It Means to Work Here. Harvard Business
Review. Retrieved
from https://hbr.org/2007/03/what-it-means-to-work-here
Fox, J. (2011). The HBR
Interview: “What Is It That Only I Can Do?”. Harvard Business
Review, Jan.-Feb., 119-123.
Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/01/the-hbr-interview- what-is-it-that-only-i-can-do
Hamel,
G. (1998, Winter98). Strategy Innovation and the Quest for Value. Sloan
Management
Review, 39 (2), 7-14.
Hamel, G. (2011, Dec.). The Big Idea: First, Let’s Fire All
the Managers. Harvard Business
Review, 48-60.
Mackey, J. (2015, June 16). Clarifying the Tenets of
Responsibly Grown. In Our Blog. Whole
Foods
Market. Retrieved from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/clarifying-tenets-responsibly-grown
Obolensky, N. (2010). Complex
Adaptive Leadership. (2nd ed.). London, UK: Gower/
Ashgate.
Schawbel, D. (2013, Jan. 15).
John Mackey: Why Companies Should Embrace Conscious
Capitalism.
Forbes.com. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2013/01/15/john-mackey-why-companies- should-embrace-conscious-capitalism/
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