There are two predominant ways to look at a company. As:

1. Machines with interchangable parts. Shell Oil's study of long-living companies found machine-like companies, motivated purely by profit, run down and wear out in 40-50 years.

2. Living systems which act more like animals. Shell's study found that these animistic companies can live 100s of years. The oldest had been around for over 700 years. These companies seek to survive and fulfill their purpose in service of the common good.

So it seems that if you want your company to survive and thrive beyond the reach of your own lifetime, you might consider shifting your perspective. To view a company as a living system, you may first begin by stepping back far enough from the business so that you can see it as a living thing. Perhaps it looks like an ant hill. Or a hard-shelled creature in its steel and glass. When you can see the people as cells in the corporate body and technology as the neurology that connects all of the parts, you are on your way to seeing companies as having a body, mind, and soul or spirit.

Body
The body of a corporation consists of both people and technology. It is "bionic"-biology and technology working together in service of the greater good.

Healing the corporate body involves technology, process, and people solutions, but only if the problem is purely physical. Corporate "illness" may involve mental as well as spiritual issues.

Mind
The mind of the company consists of its identity, beliefs, values, and capabilities (i.e., processes). Identity is more than just your logo or brand, it's who you are. What you stand for. One of the first beliefs to consider is that companies are living systems. You'll notice that you automatically start to treat the company differently. You probably treat your car differently than you treat your spouse or children.

Healing the corporate "mind" involves therapy to enrich the metaphors of identity, transforming limiting beliefs, shifting values, and streamlining capabilities.

Spirit
The soul of your employees combines to create the collective spirit of the company. It's intangible, but you know it when you see it. I can tell a machine-like company because the cubicles and hallways are like a scene from the Night of the Living Dead.

Healing the spirit of the employee body requires soul retrieval and/or the removal of heavy, dense, or intrusive energies from the spirit body.

Soul
Every living company has its own soul. This essence is usually transmitted from the founder. Consider Ford or the Bell System. The soul of a company invariably involves the mission and vision of the corporation.

Healing the soul of the company requires soul retrieval and/or removal of dense, heavy, or intrusive energies from its luminous body.

---

(C) 2003 Jay Arthur (888) 468-1537 knowwareman@mindspring.com

Home Leadership Network Events Links