Corporate governments don’t often look to the past to see the evolution in tribal and national governments, and consider whether the next step in management will follow along the same lines. In fact, in the business writing and discussions that I’ve encountered, very rarely if ever have I noticed even the suggestion that a corporate “governance model” and a national government might have deep and important similarities.
In fact, the true genius of capitalism from a human-development standpoint was that it decoupled and abstracted political and economic realities. What were formerly struggles between nation-states (consider Machiavelli’s Italy) could now be struggles between nation-corporations, with the toll counted in jobs lost instead of lives lost.
Another impact it had was to more effectively hybridize government, i.e., I am subject to the government of the United States, the particular state and city where I live, and the business for which I work, as well as any other organizations in which I participate. This hybridization makes the world more efficient because each organization can seek the most effective form of government for its activities.
So when I say that most businesses’ governments are totalitarian, oligarchic, and/or socialist, I don’t mean these are negatives. They are simply characteristics that can be properly aligned or misaligned with your organization’s values.
Consider how your organization’s government works. Is it a top-down affair, like a monarchy or an oligarchy? Are there democratic features, and are they really democratic or are you just pacifying the people to keep them from revolting? Who wields the practical power within your organization? And how is your Constitution holding up? Have you added features (like an Innovation Department or a Chief Happiness Officer) instead of revamping your system to fit your present values?
Forward-looking businesses will have to leapfrog the development of world governments in order to keep pace with the future. They will have to skip from where they are (perhaps a little ahead of feudalism) to a post-democratic solution.
Fortunately, we’re starting to get a handle on how such governments work. Frederic Laloux has a great lecture (with Q&A) on the priorities and operations of forward-looking organizations. I have a few things to add, as you will see later this week, but please speak up in the comments about your own experiences with forward-looking governments.