A manifesto for a modern company

It’s been 20 years since the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was produced. This two page distillation of four values and twelve principles has had a more profound effect on the industry I work in than any other I can name.?

It, and the ensuing outcomes have resulted in a bigger shift in how software products are built than we will see in most of our career lifetime’s. Enabled by the reality that the right teams using the right approaches can create value for companies in a way far more appropriate has permeated into every part of a company. Especially those that have a digital presence or product. Let’s face it, that’s a majority of organisations in the modern world.?

We now know that trying to plan every detail of product design upfront, only leads to us finding out that what we thought people wanted was not what they needed, valued or found delight in at all. Especially so in a world where access to software has exploded in the form of untold numbers of agencies, in-house teams, open source projects, open code repos, APIs, libraries and SaaS in every direction.

The resulting methodology clamouring and agile industrial complex that has arisen out of this artisanal movement has caused more swirl and debate than anyone could have anticipated. No doubt the software delivery world is forever changed and there is indeed much to thank the movement for but the principles have now gone far beyond technology teams and created the reality that small passionate multidisciplinary teams with huge BHAGS and ambitions can change the world. The key word hidden in there is discipline, and this is where I think Agile really gets diluted. The bell curve says that most people don’t have it but that’s another post for another day. Today is about building better companies.

At the same time, there is rife exponential change in what’s possible, imaginable and achievable. What is also profound is the sense that the model that got us here, won’t get us there and particularly as mother nature pushes back on us globally, that bigger things need to change. Individuals, companies, political and economical paradigms that have been “least worst” to date are now failing us as the rich-poor divide gets bigger, our environment and planet are in unequivocal and likely irreversible crisis,? and the younger generation clearly have different values and behaviours, and therefore “culture” than those that came before.

Small autonomous global multidisciplinary entities operating as DAO's are becoming the new norm and this is disrupting traditional investment models too. The flow of capital into the crypto space is now finding real world models creating huge value and this appeals to the next generation of tech enabled entrepreneurs integrating blockchain, decentralised AI, NFT's, gaming, AR/VR and the Metaverse.

This is the norm, ever has it been thus. In short however the systems of today and the definitions of success are under extreme, undeniable and necessary pressure to change if we are to avoid mass disaster.

So, I have had a go at producing the manifesto for the modern company. It is not all my own work as there are so many great thinkers and practitioners out there that I respect. To that point, as an homage and out of respect for the original manifesto for agile software development I have shaped this work around four values and twelve principles and credited or linked the work that has inspired me. I hope it is at least thought provoking and potentially useful. It definitely applies more to those in the digital world but I think it’s also fairly applicable more broadly. So, here we go...

?We are uncovering better, more equitable ways of forming and running companies by doing it ourselves and helping others to do it. Through this work we have come to value:

• Planet, people, purpose and prosperity over profit?
• Adaptable reliable value flow over long term predictability
• Decentralised autonomous multidisciplinary holacracy over top down departmental hierarchy
• A culture of human wellbeing over a culture of constant busy-ness

This is to say that while there is a perceived necessity or desire for the things on the right that the things on the left are what we actively primarily pursue. We do this using the following principles which shape our behaviours and therefore the culture of the companies we work in:

• The planet is our most precious resource, we do not aim to greenwash or fake our corporate responsibility. Our aim is that all activities and ways or working are not only sustainable (pace, approach, utilisation of things that are depletable) but regenerative (they add back into the value chain with the goal of a circular economy ). We respect the pull of the conscious consumer while we also take the responsibility of being a conscious provider
• People and their skills are our biggest asset and we will ensure that value generated is something they and our community of customers will benefit from. We share the spoils and redistribute wealth fairly to investors and the team. We actively invest in people's passions and skills
• We will work with a larger purpose than creation of shareholder value and ensure that the purpose that drives us aligns to our goals to be net positive to the planet. Purpose is the main driver of engagement and motivation in our team. This goes alongside ?mastery and autonomy . We hire and train for the former and we applaud the latter
• Prosperity to us means that in all dealings within our team and with our chosen business partners that we will seek a win-win scenario where our risk and success is mutually recognised and rewarded. We seek out the non zero sum outcome that benefits us as like minded entities
• Profit to us is the by product of doing the right thing in the other spaces, this does not mean we are wasteful or reckless, rather that we seek to maximise and redistribute the profit we make either into growing the company or into rewarding our people, partners and the community we create with our customers
• We seek to create resilient teams with all the right skills and to empower them to create business value. We don't care where they are based and we obsess around what our customers will love. We use automation with just the right amount of technology to enable us to pan for value fast and release it to our customers at will. Long term plans are largely irrelevant in a rapidly changing world and so we focus more on ensuring that in the short to medium term that we have the best possible way to evaluate and validate the highest value work and to feed it into a well oiled delivery engine. We are committed to build the right things and we build the things right
• We do not tell teams what to deliver. Almost nothing is a “requirement”, we generate hypotheses and experiments that we test with real customers in the most useful and meaningful way and once we have validated the right implementation we execute delivery. We welcome constraints and limit work in progress rather than pursue growth at all costs. This happens with tight cycle times and minimal waste. Hierarchy is just as likely to introduce bias as value. People come together when necessary to maintain community and can then choose where to work
• We put all the people required to make a decision in the team. We embrace those in the gig economy and reward them in the same manner as our permanent employees. We trust the process and we implement a means of prioritising work that is visible to the whole company. Work can be ideas, features or things that keep our company safe, secure and readily scalable. We set goals regularly and fascinate on the direction of travel and not absolutes. Our objectives and key results are for navigation not non negotiable destination. Our mentality is of continuous improvement whether we prove or invalidate our ideas. If we aren’t making the progress we expected we adjust course and expectations accordingly
• Work is a part of life not a distinction from it and so we treat each other like family, we keep “company”. We address each other with kindness and empathy and we take time to form consensus or disagree and commit. We take mental health seriously and look out for each other and we are not afraid to share experiences and challenges so that people understand what we are going through. Without psychological safety, performance is compromised and so we take steps actively to encourage a growth mindset and a safe place to be. No team member is any more or less important than another
• DAO's will become the new norm and we use wise governance groups of relevant skills and experience and we operate responsibly with regard to risk. We seek guidance and validation from this part of the team but we do not treat it as gospel if data cannot validate a position or view proposed by them. What can be encoded into the blockchain with smart contracts, multisig and code as rule will be. People in governance roles must have roles in the business to appreciate the opportunities and constraints faced by teams. Historical experience is not always a good predictor of future success so we treat all ideas as experiments to prioritise.
• There are many ways to enhance our success in products, services and markets but we will not be successful without that pursuit of producing the best possible product or service that truly differentiates us from our competitors. Marketing, data, way of working, customer care and support, loyalty, community building and brand are all critical players in our overall journey and perception, but all of them are for next to no value unless we nail the products and experiences at the core of our purpose. Planning the customer journey that sits around our core offering is therefore something we see as an essential part of our evolution but we won't thrive unless we stay valuable and relevant at our essence
• Our overall goal is to enable people to live fulfilled useful lives that meet human needs while generating positive outcomes across our planet and local community. The pursuit of wealth is not a goal we aspire to unless wealth is considered as spiritual, mental, knowledge based and lastly in equitable financial freedom for all.

OK, so there’s my initial stab at this. When I look around the world today and read the signs, this is where I think we are headed in terms of work and the places people will want to be and do their best. That includes me.??

I don’t foresee this work being as potent as the original manifesto but I hope it can be part of the thinking that helps people forming companies or assists those in transformation towards future operating models and goals.?

Be well team of 7.8888 billion (and counting),? JT