Tensegrity (III) - Drawing on the parallel of an architectural concept to business

As I have already shared with you in the two previous articles What Can Medical Device Industry Learn from Architects? and Tensegrity – Advantages of a New Concept, I am fascinated by the structural principle of tensegrity. Especially, the idea that “forces are distributed through multiple paths of redundancy are the basis for strength and resilience” (Tom Flemons) was eye opening for me. 

Today, I would like to share with you how I think that this analogy could be applied in our business and could be used as a basis for our organizational structures or in a larger sense for our business models. 

What does it mean to create tensegrity in our organisations? I would like to show you how I would introduce the tensegrity concept into our business. In this tensegrity model, each element supports each other and when force is applied to a part of it, it is distributed and shared by the entire organization. 

Here is a summary of how each benefit of tensegrity in architecture can be translated into attributes in our business concepts:

• Stabilization of the structure through tension corresponds to Resilience. Our workforce needs resilience to withstand the ongoing challenges. 
• Deployable can be interpreted as Flexibility, which is needed to adapt to the fast-changing VUCA environment.
• Reliable modeling translates to Scalability of an organization. With Scalability, our organization can transform appropriately together with the sustainable growth of our business. It is not just about proportional transformation, but we need to implement synergies when expanding.  
• Efficient Structures in Tensegrity corresponds to Lean structures in an Organization. Less is more. Simple structures require less bureaucratic overhead and are quick to take action.  
• Multiple Functions corresponds to Versatility. Versatility is the key when we follow emerging new opportunities. 
• Back Up in the Tensegrity Model corresponds to Failsafe of an organization. Nothing is perfect and failure is a part of everyday life. Our structures need to allow failure and learn from that, without jeopardizing the core of our business activities.
• Easily Tunable can be interpreted as Adjustability. The business model or the organizational structure which can be adjusted when needed.
• Impact distribution can be realized when each member of the organization is not only working for his or her self-interest, but for something bigger-than-self. That connects team members together and leads to Stability in an organization.

This tensegrity organizational structure / business model is like this: A structure, which is reliable and efficient, which can react to external influences, like market changes or customer demands, which is lean and agile to be able to react to the changes quickly, and which is flexible so that resources can be deployed to projects and situations in different markets in different places rapidly.

This is not a mechanical organization which is fixed and inflexible but an organic organization which consists of rigid and flexible elements. It means less hierarchy, making each more autonomous in themselves, sharing the DNA of the company and a holistic view of the organization, each connected by trust and respect with unselfish mind (footnote 1). Maybe you can call this reversed leadership (footnote 2). This is different from orchestras or football teams, in which the members are fixed and meet regularly to practice and work, but rather jazz improvisation, in which each player shares the same idea or concept, but they perform freely as they go together. This is “teaming” rather than “team” as Amy Edmondson suggested by her book “Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy.” (footnote 3)

If external forces are applied to such an organization, the forces would be distributed to all members in the structure. The structure adjusts itself and absorbs the stresses. That means that each member would autonomously adjust themselves to carry the load. Even if the load is large, if it is distributed to all the members, the load each would carry would become relatively small. In the same manner, if any element of the structure should fail, the remaining elements of the structure will absorb the tension and still maintain the integrity.

Likewise, as the reaction to the applied load occurs through multiple paths, it automatically induces system or non-linear problem solving, the idea suggested by, for example, Peter Senge.

These are just a few thoughts how we could use the concept of tensegrity as a basis for an organizational structure or the future of work. I am sure there are many more ideas, and I would like to hear from you.

Thorsten Molitor, Executive VP Sales and Marketing, KARL STORZ

1) “The Outward Mindset: Seeing Beyond Ourselves” by Arbinger Institute

2) “Leadership Everywhere Means Reversed Leadership” by Jane McConnell

3) “Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy” by Amy Edmondson