Developing Capabilities

A Way of Being

Starting with the foundation that we live in an interconnected world, within which business is a human activity that is interconnected with everything else, we will look at the set of capabilities that are required for business to function effectively while being embedded in, changing along with, and effecting change to the socio-economic-ecological context within which it operates.

A Way of Being

Einstein said: "The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or a hostile universe."

We seem to have chosen "hostile universe" -- therefore we fight against the universe -- we try to control it, we assume that without constant struggle we will slip into destructive chaos, and we live in constant fear. First and foremost, we need to make the internal choice of a friendly universe.

Regeneration means that we see ourselves (humans) as an integral part of the universe, living side-by-side with everything in it. For centuries, we have constructed scientific theories, mental models, social structures and even our 'way of being' that is based on the assumption of human separateness and superiority.

Moving to a regenerative paradigm is no small step. It requires a shift in consciousness alongside similar shifts in scientific theories, mental models and social structures. It is in fact, a new 'way of being'.

The regenerative capabilities are intended to bring business and investors into a 'way of being' that allow them to function regeneratively over time and through changing circumstances.

What are the capabilities needed for business to function, adapt and evolve regeneratively over time and under changing circumstances?

The essential point in this question is the capability for continuous regenerative adaptation and evolution in response to both internal forces and external influences while maintaining its essential being. We can learn from the dynamic balancing that operates in living systems that allows them to simultaneously function as individual and as whole. We have called this property 'dynamic polarities'.

Dynamic Polarities

“The double role of living systems as parts and wholes requires the interplay of two opposite tendencies: an integrative tendency to function as part of a larger whole, and a self-assertive, or self-organizing tendency to preserve its individual autonomy.”

Fritjof Capra: "The Systems View of Life"

Every system displays two tendencies simultaneously: the tendency to be autonomous, and the tendency to be part of a larger whole. These two seemingly contradictory tendencies are actually inseparable and form a complementary polarity. Also known as self-assertive (yang, or masculine) and integrative (yin, or feminine) tendencies, they give the system flexibility and movement through maintaining a dynamic balance. The balance between the two polarities shifts based on need and based on the type of dynamics – but they are never separate, there is never just one pole. An example of these two polarities at work is in the act of walking. The back foot holds steady as the front foot steps forward. Without the back foot holding steady, the front foot has no place to originate its action from. The back foot is creating the context (yin) from which the action (yang) of the front foot originates. The two polarities flow and change in order to allow dynamism in the system.

In practice, this means that we need the capability to: (1) sense when the balance is inappropriate, and (2) deploy techniques to achieve the appropriate balance. Examples: Have we performed enough analysis, is it now time to synthesise our findings? Should we conserve our resources at this time, or spend them in order to expand?

In the current business paradigm, we seek to "solve for" one of the polarities, rather than to recognise that the polarities exist as pairs. Our capability needs to be to find the point of balance that is appropriate for that context, at that time.

Today, we have extreme emphasis on the self-assertive tendencies leading to grossly one-sided expressions of the rational, action-centric, competitive, numbers-centric and dominating characteristics. It is no surprise then, that we find ourselves in a hyper-competitive, controlling, top-down, winner-takes-all, and destructive environment.

Consciousness & Regeneration

The word 'conscious' is being used increasingly frequently in business-related contexts. Some terms that have become popular are: 'conscious business', 'conscious leadership'. 'conscious capitalism', and 'conscious capital'. Usually, these terms imply that the goals of business activity have been expanded to include socio-economic-ecological considerations.

We take a broader view: that consciousness is inherent in humans and cannot be separated from any of our activities such as business. Therefore, we have made consciousness a deliberate part of our framework in which we emphasise the development of internal capabilities along with business capabilities.

The revolutionary Santiago Theory of Cognition describes life itself as a cognitive process. Every metabolic step, and every evolutionary choice made by a living system is made through a process of cognition. The relationship between cognition and matter is a dynamic polarity that is fundamental to the existence of life. Consciousness is a type of cognition found at higher levels of complexity (eg: in humans). This deep connection between cognition (and consciousness) and life itself is a revolutionary step forward in our understanding of living systems.

Regeneration, which is based on living-systems principles, is therefore deeply connected to human consciousness. We propose that the holistic awareness that is necessary for a regenerative mindset cannot be achieved without a parallel shift in consciousness away from reductionism.

Regenerative Capabilities in Business

Following are some key properties that business must develop capabilities around in order to align with living-systems principles:

Emergent Properties: A new way of designing strategies: by tuning to the emergent properties.
Multi-factor Causation: No effect is caused by a single factor. Shift focus from ‘root cause’ analysis to ‘major influencers’ analysis.
Heterogeneity: Design structures and strategies that emphasize modularity and interconnectedness.
Sense-making: Develop non-judgemental listening and observing, translated into decisions and processes.
Self-organisation: Create the right conditions for empowered participation at all levels leading to healthy self-organisation.
Feedback Loops: An essential mechanism for learning and the basis of adaptability. Design learning loops and processes across the organisation
Non-linearity: Expect and plan non-linearities in all aspects of business - sales, production, distribution, etc.
Sensitivity to Context: Ensure healthy connections to the ecosystem to receive important info for the survival and thriving of the business and the ecosystem itself.

Please return to this page as we continue to develop the guidelines for regenerative capabilities.

References & Related Content

Forbes: Why Conscious Businesses Will Lead The Next Paradigm Shifts
Wikipedia: Conscious business
SOCAP Global: What Is Conscious Business? Meet The New Bottom Lines
Fritjof Capra, Daniel Christian Wahl: Evolution as a Cognitive Process
Pier Luigi Luisi: The Santiago School
Daniel Christian Wahl: Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world!
1. We bring forth a world in relationship to ‘other’ and without that ‘other’ — which is a reflection of our larger self — we could not exist. The ‘Santiago Theory of Cognition’, as we have seen, reframes dualistic categories like self and world as polarities of an interconnected whole which takes form by distinction without separation.
Peter Senge: The Fifth Discipline

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