T 50D - Free demo course - E-Learning - Happiness in the liberated company

 

3 The company                           

• 3.1 Types of companies
• 3.2 Liberated company

 

3.1 Types of companies

Traditional, liberated, comparison, Scop, Lean

3.1.1 Traditional

No company can be successful, in the long run anyway, if profits are its principal goal. Ricardo Semler

The scientific organization of work (Frederick Taylor, late 19th century) contributed to the rise of mass industry.

This is McGregor's Theory X (see § 1.3) and its command and control environment:

• we don't trust the staff too much
• control is omnipresent
• power and knowledge are concentrated
• intellectual work is centralized and separated from manual work (some use their heads, others their hands)
• instructions and execution times are standardized by managers
• everything that can be automated is automated

In the traditional business:

• we show the operator how to do his job without really explaining why
• the hierarchy is pyramidal with many levels (slow and opaque communication)
• we frequently monitor who is doing what
• arrival and departure times are controlled (we pay for the time and not the result)
• each decision is taken after a few signatures (bureaucracy, rigidity)

The results are increasingly disappointing following the low motivation (commitment) of staff.

3.1.2 Liberated

The price of freedom is responsibility. Douglas McGregor

Since the middle of the 20th century, supply has been greater than demand, the product, service and work have become more complex. A new organization is born.
 
This is McGregor's theory Y (see § 1.3) and its power-sharing environment:

• we fully trust the staff who take their responsibilities and participate directly or indirectly in all important decisions
• self-control is everywhere
• power and knowledge are distributed
• intellectual work is done by everyone
• standards are modified regularly by those who use them
• creation, innovation and imagination of staff are encouraged

In the liberated company:

• the operator understands why he is doing this work, voluntarily contributes to always doing better
• the hierarchy is horizontal with very few levels (fast and transparent communication)
• no one is monitored (you can take risks and innovate)
• arrival and departure times are released (within the limits where this does not disrupt the team’s results); this is also valid for days off
• decisions are made quickly (consultation, discussion, consensus)

The results are very positive following the strong motivation (commitment) of the staff.

One of the first companies to implement a liberated organization was W. L. Gore & Associates, founded in 1958 and known for its countless innovations (GORE-TEX and thousands of others).

For the market, the liberated company is above all:

• agile
• flexible
• reactive
• dynamic
• innovative

To make people happy at work we must release their energies on a voluntary basis. It’s choosing to share:

• vision
• the power
• the information
• the knowledge
• trust
• profits
• the efforts
• the joys

3.1.3 Comparison

Trust pays off more than control. Jean-François Zobrist

Figure 3-1 shows the classic structure (traditional pyramid), the agile structure (inverted pyramid), and the circle structure (self-managed teams). The last two structures are variations of the liberated company.

Figure 3-1. The three structures

In Table 3-1 some differences between traditional and liberated companies are shown.

Table 3-1. Comparison between the two types of companies

Subject	Traditional company (“how”)	Liberated company (“why”)
Achievement	Privileges for some	Equality for all
Activities outside of work	Almost non-existent	Sports teams, friendly teams, interest and leisure associations
Behavior based on	Rules, suspicion	Values, trust
Bonuses	Individual result	Team efforts
Commercial	Sells what we can do	Does what the customer needs
Creativity	Limited	Strong
Decisions	Approved and validated by management	Taken at the lowest level with the process of soliciting opinions
Discipline	Against the disruptive 3%	Trust (“man is good”)
Economic environment	Offer exceeds demand	Offer anticipates demand
Expenses	Limited at each level, validated	No limits but obligation to seek opinions
Freedom	What is not allowed is prohibited	What is not prohibited is allowed
Function	Job description, title	Commitment, versatility
Goal (purpose)	Make money	Delight the customer in a profitable way
Hierarchy	Pyramid, compartmentalized services, a few levels	Circles, horizontal structure, no barriers, very few levels
High-level manager	Delegates, does not go into details	Participates in improvement teams, spreads the knowledge of “seeing waste”
How to lead	Plan, manage, order	Feel, serve, suggest
Improvement	Technical teams, very modern equipment (technological breakthrough), new project	All personnel, low costs (common sense, foolproof devices), regularly
Information	Filtered, source of power	Transparent for all
Innovation	If there is a problem, the person responsible is blamed	Everyone has the right to make mistakes
Inspection	Inspect the product by a specialized service	Inspect the process by operators
Leadership	Command, control, manage staff and resources	Facilitate, unleash creativity, serve others
Local manager	Transmits orders from top to bottom	Behaves like a coach who anticipates, listens to suggestions, helps and sets an example
Management	From top to bottom, I command, you obey	Responsibilities delegated to the operator (autonomy)
Market	Gain more share	Become and stay the best
Mission	Create more value for shareholders	Create more happiness and value for all stakeholders
Monitoring	Compliance, sales	Performance, profits
Motivation	Bonuses, stability, recognition	Self-fulfillment, pleasure, responsibility
Operator-manager relationship	The operator goes to see the manager	The manager goes to see the operator
Organization	Rigid	Agile
Penalties	Fear of the boss	Understanding of teammates
Personal development	Training	Education
Personnel	Human resources	Human wealth
Power	Centralized	Shared
Quality	Compliance, meet product requirements, multiple inspections	Commitment, meet customer requirements, operator self-quality
Recruitment	Correspond to the job description	Correspond to the state of mind of the team and the purpose of the company
Relationship at work	Executives are the experts. They direct and monitor	Operators know the work best and participate in decisions
Relationship with staff	Paid and rewarded	Respected, fulfilled
Relationship with the customer	Satisfaction	Surprise
Responsibility	The manager is responsible, the staff is accountable	The staff is responsible, the manager is accountable
Responsibility for quality	The quality department sorts, inspects, monitors, manages and decides	Everyone is involved in the processes and continual improvement
Skills	Specialized personnel	Versatile development
Small problem	Often ignored, forgotten, is never a priority, quality department	Any problem (small or large) is always considered by everyone as an opportunity for improvement
Staff commitment	Passive, minimal	Voluntary, deep
Structure	Pyramid, functions	Self-managed teams, commitments
Suggestions	To please the boss	To improve the process and the work environment
Supplier	Finding the lowest price	Long-term partnership
Target	Customer satisfaction	Stakeholder satisfaction
Unforeseen event	Fear, waiting for decision from hierarchy	Opportunity to learn, adapt and improve
Values	Know-how	Love-how
Vision and strategy	Developed and promoted by top management	Developed by collective intelligence and supported by top management
Way of managing	Management (maintain the system)	Leadership (enrich the culture)
Working hours	Fixed, time clock	Flexible, individual commitment

3.1.4 Specific cases

3.1.4.1 Scop

Another way of doing business

The Scop (workers' cooperative production society) is a participatory enterprise (personnel have priority over capital, which itself is subordinate to work). Examples Mondragon, Up (before Chèque Déjeuner).

Governance is democratic (during the general meeting each associate has one vote). Managers must be accountable to all associates. All financial information is transparent and viewable by everyone.

Each associate also has duties: he is responsible for his performance in front of the other associates.

The distribution of profits is equitable and fixed by law.

Freedom of membership is guaranteed (on average 80% of SCOP employees become associates after two years of seniority).

Possible weak points:

• heavy hierarchy
• large bureaucracy

3.1.4.2 Lean

Lean is like a muscle; more it is used, the more it strengthens. Jamie Flinchbaugh

Lean: philosophy, approach, method, way of seeing, learning and thinking to achieve operational excellence

A company that has adopted the Lean approach (see § 7.4) often uses the best organizational practices and tools from the past, among which the Kaizen philosophy (see § 7.2) has an essential place. Example Toyota.

Kaizen: from Japanese kai - change, zen - good

Continual improvementpermanent process allowing the improvement of the global performance of the organization (see also ISO 9000, 3.2.13 and ISO 14 001, 3.2) step by step to create more value and less waste. The Kaizen approach is based on common sense and staff motivation

Some necessary conditions for a company to embark with a prospect of success in the Lean journey:

• the approach comes from top management or their support is total
• be in a competitive market environment (want to make profits)
• have a customer orientation (know what customers expect in terms of added value in the long term)
• have as a strategic objective the reduction of execution time (hunting for waste, pull flow, reduction of batches)
• maintain a daily self-improvement system

You can check your top management's commitment to the Lean approach with a test in annex 01.

Continual improvementpermanent process allowing the improvement of the global performance of the organization (see also ISO 9000, 3.2.13 and ISO 14 001, 3.2) is like a heart that beats without rest and is an integral part of corporate culture. The opportunities for improvement are endless, but since time and resources are not, choose your priorities carefully.

Possible weak points:

• easy caricature (focus only on productivity gains)
• difficulty (75% failure rate of those who tried to implement Lean)
• low management involvement
• confuse the Lean toolbox with the Lean philosophy
• strong resistance to change
• poor preparation

More than 400 activities relating to the failures and successes of the Lean approach are listed in annex 02.

Top of the page

 

3.2 Liberated company

Principles, vision, examples, sharing power, implementation, pitfalls

 

3.2.1 Principles

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, let's go together. African proverb

Some principles and methods found in liberated companies:

• total involvement of top management (the first push comes from top management)
• sharing of the vision (we are all voluntarily moving in the same direction)
• the values are accepted (but limit values are respected)
• mutual trust:
  • give before receiving
  • serve before helping yourself
  • justice for all
  • exemplary leadership
  • mistake culture (no penalty if I make a mistake, but I learn from my mistakes)
• respect for staff:
  • treat each person:
    • like an adult
    • with his individual dignity
    • as a volunteer (suggest, propose and not order)
  • guarantee freedom of:
    • idea
    • speech (no taboo subject)
    • experience
    • action
    • creation
  • process to manage conflicts internally when a commitment is not respected
  • launch stimulating challenges
  • admire the final fruit of his work
  • sharing of profits (or part of it because the balance between shareholders and others is always delicate)
  • compatibility of team members
  • decentralization of the organization (team autonomy)
• total transparent information (everyone has all the necessary information at all times)
• the efforts and results of the team are encouraged, rewarded and recognized (frequent celebrations)
• free and accessible training and education for all:
  • training is no longer an issue of power. No training to move up the hierarchy like:
    • manager for the first time
    • senior leader
  • competence is valued and encouraged
  • specific “liberated company” training courses often provided by interns such as:
    • conflict management
    • communication within the team
    • process soliciting opinions
    • team coach
• auto control. Everyone on their job is their own quality inspector:
  • I do not accept to take non-quality
  • I do not produce non-quality
  • I do not transmit non-quality
• approval of each new recruitment by the entire team concerned
• proposal and validation of investments by the team who will use them
• everyone’s initiative is encouraged, recognized and supported
• signs of power and hierarchy are removed (chief parking lot, top management toilets)
• coffee and other drinks are free for everyone
• questioning is daily
• every day ask yourself what my contribution is to achieving the objectives
• with each decision, ask yourself whether it brings added value for the customer
• meetings are short (standing)
• innovations constantly flourish with the main goal of surprising the customer
• customer feedback during design is sought
• start-up spirit:
  • euphoric atmosphere
  • maximum autonomy
  • boundless trust
  • pleasure of teamwork
  • pride in innovation
  • sense of collective ownership (“our company”)

Liberation does not eliminate power; it transforms it by sharing it and empowering all staff.

A happy workplace requires great self-discipline. Liisa Joronen

Freedom does not mean anarchy because when each person assumes their new responsibilities they:

• exercises meticulous self-control
• respects rigorous self-discipline
• commits to the team
• knows that you must be accountable to your team members

3.2.2 Share the vision

Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare. Japanese proverb

Some notions:

• our vision is what we want to become (coherent promise)
• our purpose (our reason for being, our mission, our goal) is to create added value and happiness for all stakeholders by adhering to our values and promoting sustainable economic development
• our values (what we believe in) are the basis of our relationships
• our strategy (our way of being) is how we achieve our objectives
• our objectives (results to obtain) is how we measure our success

When there is a genuine vision (as opposed to the all too familiar ''vision statement''), people excel and learn, not because you tell them, but because they want to. Peter Senge

We can start by asking these questions:

• what is your core business?
• what are the unknown needs of your customers?
• what product (service) could surprise (delight) your customers?

Top management ensures the necessary conditions for the creation and approval of a company vision (with the active participation of all staff and, if appropriate, customers). Staff buy-in will be gained with a compelling explanation and in-depth discussion.

Each member of staff can choose their essential and desired values on a piece of paper, members of top management do the same and then the results are compared. A consensus must be found on a limited number of identity values.

For each value chosen, a survey can be carried out with all staff. The survey consists of establishing a more or less long list of all types of behavior on which a majority can be reached (see the fifty convincing examples in Laurence Vanhée's book Happy RH, pages 118 to 122). And then find a suitable way to communicate on this list.

Top management remains the guarantor of the vision, values and corporate culture. The vision cannot be imposed but the conditions that will help staff adhere to it can be changed.

More freedom, autonomy and responsibility lead to more happiness and performance because we know why we work.

Make money for a company is like oxygen for one person; if you do not have enough, you are lost. Peter Drucker

So money is a condition, it is not an end.
 
Some examples worthy of inspiration:

• AES’ mission (“to serve society in an economically sustainable way with safe, clean and reliable electricity”) and its shared values and principles:
  • integrity
  • justice
  • social responsibility
  • pleasure (freedom to decide)
• the 3M credo: “Hire the right people and leave them alone”
• the URISAIL management of Bretagne Ateliers: 
  • User-friendliness
  • Rigor
  • Involvement
  • Simplicity
  • All together
  • Improvement
  • Longevity
• the vision of Chronoflex: “Together, every day, we consider our customers at the center of all our actions with the sole mission: our performance for your success!”:
  • performance through happiness
  • cultivate customer love
  • respectful and responsible team
  • a spirit of openness and open-mindedness
• the best of Davidson code (60 pages):
  • Flat Management
  • A butterfly wing flap
  • State of (Financial) Independence
  • Respect is a two-way street
  • Tribal management
  • The Dav campus
  • Satisfaction V3
  • Tonight, it’s an open bar!
  • A crazy idea
• Davita’s essential values:
  • service excellence
  • integrity
  • teamwork (one for all, all for one)
  • continuous improvement (always asking yourself how to do better)
  • accountability of everyone
  • self-fulfillment (what we do is in line with our goals and dreams)
  • fun (we love our job and do it with pleasure)
• Favi's vision: “Always more, better for less, in the love of our customers, in Hallencourt and with respect for the land of our children” and some values:  
  • man is good (respect for man)
  • love your customer (he’s the one who pays me)
  • shared dream (image of the tree)
  • no performance without happiness
  • common goal
  • collective intelligence
  • the one who does is the one who knows
  • replace power with will based on the sharing of knowledge
  • morals:
    • good faith
    • common sense
    • goodwill
    • good mood
• Fish’s “Love what you do” approach:
  • choose your attitude
  • where to play
  • brighten their day
  • be present
• mission “Building a better world by helping people find what they are looking for” and the 10 fundamental principles of Google:
  1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
  2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
  3. Fast is better than slow.
  4. Democracy on the web works.
  5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
  6. You can make money without doing evil.
  7. There’s always more information out there.
  8. The need for information crosses all borders.
  9. You can be serious without a suit.
  10. Great just isn’t good enough.
• Gore’s culture, the “Earn money while having fun” objective, Theory Y (see § 1.3) and respect for its essential values:
  • innovation and creativity without barriers:
    • freedom of speech and to solve problems yourself
    • commitment, passion, good behavior
  • long term vision
  • corporate culture:
    • freedom
    • waterline
    • commitment
    • fairness
  • personal relationships based on:
    • trust
    • justice (fairness towards all)
  • network organization, consultation of other partners before undertaking an action likely to affect the reputation of the company
  • promote the professional development of other associates:
    • in-depth and shared knowledge
    • skills
    • responsibilities
• Happy’s manifesto and its 10 points:
  1. Enable People to Work at Their Best
  2. Make Your People Feel Good
  3. Creating a Great Workplace Makes Good Business Sense
  4. Freedom within Clear Guidelines
  5. Be Open and Transparent
  6. Recruit for Attitude, Train for Skill
  7. Celebrate Mistakes
  8. Community: Create Mutual Benefit
  9. Love Work, Get a Life
  10. Select Managers Who Are Good at Managing
• the essential values of Harley-Davidson:
  • tell the truth
  • be fair (equitable)
  • keep your promises
  • respect the individual
  • encourages intellectual curiosity
• the transparency (participatory culture, trust,) of HCLT:
  • everyone knows the vision and understands their contribution to achieving the objectives
  • everyone has a deep, personal commitment to the company’s goals
  • transparency is reciprocal with customers
  • customers must be satisfied but also delighted and happy
• Herman Miller’s commitments:
  • share:
    • ideals
    • ideas
    • the objectives
    • respect
  • live, work and be safe
  • intelligently exploit resources
  • be eco-inspired
  • be stimulated by the community
• the constitution of Holacracy (and the comic strip on the igipartners site):
  • roles and people in charge of roles
  • circle structure
  • governance process
  • operational process
  • adoption issues and authorities
• the Culture Code (135 slides) from Hubspot “Create a company we love” and its 7 points:
  1. we are maniacal about our mission and our measures
  2. we strive to solve for customer
  3. we are radically transparent
  4. we believe in autonomy, not autocracy
  5. we are excessively picky about our staff
  6. we invest in individual mastery and market value
  7. we constantly challenge the status quo
• Imatech: “Doing the business the way we like it”
• Kiabi slogan (“Offering the world happiness to wear”) and values:  
  • do a job that I love
  • with people I love
  • for people I love
• the MEDEF manifesto for a new management and its principles:
  • give meaning and empower employees:
    • a shared ambition, clear objectives, an explicit business project
    • clearly defined organization and responsibilities, consistent with the business project
    • a managerial culture that builds trust
  • create a working environment favorable to employee engagement:
    • a respectful company concerned about its societal role
    • a management method attentive to the professional development of each person
  • revisit the methods of compensation and recognition:
    • fair and transparent evaluation procedures
    • promoting a participatory and rewarding culture
• Morning Star principles and values:
  • never use force towards others (conflict management process) and
  • always honor your commitments
• the Netflix culture:
  • Encourage decision-making by employees
  • Share information openly, broadly and deliberately
  • Communicate candidly and directly
  • Keep only our highly effective people
  • Avoid rules
• the 4 essential values of NixonMcInnes:
  1. achievement: short-term pleasure for long-term satisfaction
  2. autonomy: just do it
  3. transparency: be yourself
  4. ease: support unconditionally, share beyond expectations
• the welcome message at Nordstrom: “Our number one goal is to provide exceptional service to our customers. Set the bar high for your personal and professional goals. We have every confidence in your ability to achieve them, which is why our integration manual is very simple. We only have one rule…: “Use common sense in all circumstances”
• the Poult project “Building together a corporate citizen where freedom and trust in its people ensure performance and sustainability”: 
  • its values:
    • respect
    • professional requirement
    • progress together
    • all winners
  • its challenges:
    • make innovation everyone’s business
    • create a company where everyone gives the best of themselves
    • create a living system capable of spontaneous renewal
• the fundamentals of Probionov:
  • justice
  • common vision
  • ways to act
  • see your results
• the four priorities of Richards Group:
  1. can we do a good job?
  2. can we cultivate difference?
  3. can we have fun?
  4. can we make money?
•  the 5 production fundamentals of SEW-Usocome: 
  1. clean, safe company, concerned about the health of employees and respectful of the environment
  2. empty, orderly and fluid company
  3. transparent and efficient company
  4. visual business
  5. calm and participatory company
• a single watchword at Sogilis: “Satisfy the customer by making yourself happy”
• Southwest's mission is “dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and entrepreneurial spirit”
• Spotify-style agility:
  • continuous improvement
  • iterative development (short learning cycles)
  • simplicity
  • confidence
  • servant leadership
• Techné’s sustainable development strategy and its 3 guiding principles:
  1. preservation of the environment
  2. economic success
  3. social responsibility
• the One for One concept of TOMS: “commercial company based on donations without depending on donations”
  • for every purchase, TOMS will help someone in need (match each pair of shoes purchased with the donation of a new pair for a child in need)
  • we believe we can improve people's lives through business
• Valve's newcomer manual (37-page pdf)
• Whole Foods Market declaration of interdependence (“community working together to create value for others”) and
  • its principles:
    • higher purpose and essential values
    • integration of stakeholders
    • conscious leadership
    • conscious culture
  • its mission:
    • good (serving others)
    • the real (discover, invent, innovate)
    • beauty (pursuing excellence)
    • heroic (improving the world with courage)
• the Zappos culture book (more than 250 pages) and its 10 essential values to provide happiness to employees and customers:
  1. amaze the customer with the quality of service
  2. embrace and drive change
  3. be funny and a little unusual
  4. be bold, creative and open-minded
  5. grow and learn
  6. build open and honest relationships
  7. develop a constructive team driven by a family spirit
  8. do more with less
  9. be passionate and determined
  10. stay humble
• Zenika's values: transparency, sharing, conviviality

When the vision is shared by everyone, cruising speed is optimal because everyone is rowing in the same direction.

3.2.3 Sharing power

All decisions should be made as low as possible in the organization. Robert Townshed

Sharing power means delegating responsibility to others, maintaining an interest in the work and results, knowing when to offer help.

A decision is made either by:

• the leader
• consensus
• the process of soliciting opinions (everyone can make a decision but after consulting stakeholders and those who have expertise)

The advantages of the processactivities which transform inputs into outputs (see also ISO 9000, 3.4.1) of soliciting opinions (see Dennis Bakke's book Joy at Work):

• the people contacted are at the center of the process, feel honored and desired
• asking for advice is an act of humility, relationships deepen
• making decisions is excellent on-the-job education
• the chances of reaching the best decision are greater than a top-down approach
• it’s pure pleasure for the person making the decision

The 7 possible levels of delegation (see Jurgen Appelo's book Management 3.0 Workout and the game “Delegation Poker”):

1. announce: I make the decision and announce it to the team
2. sell: I make the decision and try to get the team to buy in
3. consult: I consult the team then I make the decision
4. agreement: I discuss to reach a common decision (consensus)
5. advisor: the team consults me and makes the decision
6. inform: the team makes the decision and informs me
7. delegate: the team makes the decision without consulting or informing me

Some ideas for letting go:

• completely free the information
• regularly ask what obstacles need to be overcome to achieve great performance (nothing less than the best)
• invite staff into the discussion around objectives
• leave the last word to the team on:
  • short-term objectives
  • the means of measuring performance
• give a little more autonomy each time to:
  • the choice of actions
  • the distribution of tasks
  • team members
  • performance evaluation
  • the schedules
• use the pronoun “we” rather than “I”
• be reachable at all times

3.2.4 Enrich the corporate culture

No one can whistle a symphony alone; only an orchestra can interpret it. Halford Luccock

Corporate culture is a state of mind which depends above all on:

• specificities of the cultural, social and historical environment
• the tradition and personality of top management
• the temperament and particularities of the staff

Adopting the corporate culture means accepting:

• the style of life
• obligations and prohibitions
• rights
• anything that is strongly encouraged by the team

Our behavior, common language and actions are found in the outer (visible) circle of our personality, cf. figure 3-2.

Figure 3-2. Personality circles

The (inner) circles are hidden and are:

• our attitude, our daily habits, our reflexes, our skills, discipline, practices and unwritten rules
• our beliefs, our way of thinking, our preferences
• our values, our motivations

Our attitude is the fruit of our values and our beliefs. Our behavior depends on our attitude.

We can choose the attitude we bring to our work. Stephen Lundin

Changing values, beliefs and attitudes is a very difficult task. But changing the environment can easily change our behavior (see § 6.3).

Some ideas for enriching the corporate culture in the autonomous team and its natural leader (he stands out in the field through his kindness and dedication to serving the team):

• respect staff
• maintain mutual goodwill and trust
• be open to feedback
• let staff decide (freedom and responsibility)
• share values even with stakeholders
• honor your commitments
• love the customer
• learn from one's mistakes
• encourage collective intelligence:
  • creativity
  • innovation
  • initiative
• build close ties
• be concerned for the well-being of staff
• make work fun
• help develop a pleasant environment
• show solidarity towards society

To give your best, you must meet conditions such as:

• a fair and pleasant environment
• autonomy and freedom (I have a say in decisions)
• passion for work (I love my work)
• the desire to do better (I am proud of my work)
• my personal objective is consistent with the vision and values of the company

3.2.5 Implementation

Moving towards a liberated company is a learning journey in which everyone must find their own path

Transforming the company means changing:

• corporate culture
• the hierarchical structure
• the organizational system

This liberation is an ongoing processactivities which transform inputs into outputs (see also ISO 9000, 3.4.1) that requires a lot of:

• will
• participation
• effort and
• time

Each company is unique, which means that you have to find your rhythm to adapt the transformation of:

• corporate culture
• common values
• traditions

The initiative can only come from top management at its highest level, because it is the only one that has the possibility of fundamentally changing the basic structures. This implies:

• leave your ego aside for good (know how to be vulnerable)
• replace the habit of ordering with mutual trust
• share the vision
• ask yourself for each action if it is consistent with the vision
• have as a priority serving others
• delegate authority and apply the process solicit opinions (for any decision everyone must consult the affected people and people with expertise)
• establish one’s moral authority through actions

Obtaining the agreement of the legitimate owner of the company is an essential condition for embarking on the release of staff energies.

The support of all staff will come little by little.

Asking lots of people regularly what can improve the work environment is a way to find out what people want (which will make them happier and therefore more successful).

Show where you want to go, explain why (it’s often so as not to disappear), praise the project (it will be better than before), listen to opinions, discuss the first steps together.

A few steps to move forward calmly towards the liberated company:

• try to define:
  • vision:
    • where do we want to go
    • why
  • our reason for being (our purpose)
  • our corporate culture
  • all our stakeholders
• find out how to:
  • create more value for all our stakeholders
  • create a workplace full of love, joy and meaning
  • show more love and care to our employees, customers and suppliers
  • improve our hiring practices
  • move towards fairer remuneration, promotion and rewards practices
• identify and break down together one by one all the barriers to the vision (everyone is free to propose actions to challenge the hierarchy)
• tend towards a three-level hierarchy:
  • director (owner)
  • leaders (managers)
  • operators (associates)
• share the:
  • common values:
    • why are we together
    • how are we together
  • passion (who doesn’t like listening to a great story?)
  • power
  • expertise of the profession
  • benefits
• give meaning to work
• rely on collective wisdom:
  • free:
    • speech
    • ideas
    • opinions
    • originality
    • imagination
    • creation
    • innovation
    • continuous self-improvement
  • co-build without moderation
  • reduce the fear of mistakes (this is always an opportunity for improvement)
  • manage conflicts (if possible at least at the beginning):
    • at the source
    • internally
• establish mutual trust:
  • enforce flawless justice (goodwill for all)
  • seek to inspire more than to motivate (speak with actions)
  • regularly evaluate remuneration together (salaries and others)
• release information:
  • publish financial results
  • communicate in both directions
• provide:
  • means:
    • necessary financial
    • enough time
    • essential skills:
      • training of servant leaders
      • staff education (continuing training)
    • books on the liberated company (see § 2.2)
    • visits to liberated companies
  • support at all levels such as:
    • mentoring
    • tutoring
    • support
  • a work environment where you want to come and stay
• spread knowledge
• determine priorities together:
  • define the steps
  • adjust the sequence of actions
  • distribute the work (who does what)
  • delegate authority (who is responsible for what)
• bring teams into playful competition
• measure performance by the results obtained
• encourage online work outside the office (teleworking)
• include games and other informal entertainment
• celebrate and reward successes (even the smallest ones)

Some ideas for better progress:

• McGregor's theory Y is applied at all levels (see § 1.3)
• top management develops the necessary conditions:
  • vision:
    • creation
    • maintenance
    • understanding and sharing by all
  • for:
    • benefit from reciprocal goodwill
    • free information and exchange of ideas
    • create an atmosphere of staff recognition
    • that everyone can thrive (be proud of their work)
• everyone must be able to:
  • participate in decisions that affect their area of influence
  • understand the decisions of others (have all the information at hand)
• leaders regularly ask the question: how can we do our work better?
• delight the customer in a profitable way
• customer feedback goes directly to the team involved
• the autonomous team is the basic unit of the company
• the number of staff in the company is 150 maximum (everyone knows each other)
• responsiveness is strong (few procedures that are short and clear)
• listen to weak signals
• the staff:
  • takes initiatives
  • innovates, creates, tests, tries
  • have fun together
  • eliminates waste (anything without added value for the customer)
  • makes mistakes without fear (right to fail)

To err is human, but to persevere is diabolical. Latin proverb

 Pitfalls to avoid:

• going too fast (putting the cart before the horse)
• liberate the teams before:
  • gain the trust of all staff
  • train leaders and staff
• failing to convince managers (senior and middle managers):
  • benefits of self-management
  • not to be afraid of losing their power
• think that chaos will be stronger than self-organization
• stop improving
• delegate without staying in the field
• stay serious and formal (never have fun)

Minute of relaxation. Cf. joke “New manager”.

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