askintegralexperts.com Interview: What is an Integral Business?

Below I am sharing the written answers from my interview with askintegralexperts.com. Not all of the questions made it into the interview or the final edit, so I have decided to share them here. When you have a moment, check out the interview on askintegralexperts.com. Because of the length of these answers, I have decided to post each separately.

1. I know one of your passions is Integral business. Can you talk a little bit about what Integral business is, what it looks like, and how it functions?

Integral Business is what I am most passionate about right now. I feel business more than anything else currently has the capacity to generate more impact in world and galvanize human change. Almost every single person on this planet is engaged in business (commerce) and everyone is affected by it. It’s no longer a matter of chaos theory: Literally, deforestation in Brazil affects the weather in Texas.

And, in more concrete terms, most people will spend most of their lives working. In a recent Conference Board poll 53% of Americans are dissatisfied with their Jobs, 47% don’t like their immediate supervisor, 48% don’t like their work environment. That’s a lot of unhappiness. And yet that doesn’t cover all that business affects: government, policy, stakeholders, the environment, research, science… the list is huge.

Currently, I think, business is more powerful than any other system on the planet. Business crosses geographic and political boundaries, and business greatly influences and innovates cyber-space. Simply, business is everywhere, and wonderfully it’s changeable.

I have pursued for essentially the entirety of my life how to instigate positive change for others and myself. I began to get really interested in business about five years ago. It was an awakening with universal impact. It was of L.A. Story billboard portions screaming: If you want to create change, look here. And the here is business.

After a lot of consideration, and all ready being a student and member of the integral community, I naturally began looking at what an integral business might look like. And, one thing that I constantly come back to is that the most exciting thing about this work is that no one knows what an integral business really looks like.

I’m not sure a successful integral business exists yet, outside of perhaps a few sole-proprietorships, intellectual property firms, and training and consulting firms – essentially those few consultancy, coaching, training and development firms, and a few very small revenue minimally staffed regional business. We don’t yet have a business that is not in the business of change operating with an integral perspective as an integral organization. We’re a long ways from this.

That said, I am currently building a few businesses with others that are interested in the same. And excitingly, I think we are well on the way to creating this. One of our operations is on track to gross over $1,000,000 in revenue this year. This is a huge and exciting step.

Right now, the majority of work on integral business is academic (Leo Burke, John Forman, Brett Thomas, and Michael Putz’s 2005 paper titled Integral Business), literary (Fred Kofman’s book Conscious Business), and theoretical .

As I said, I am not sure a large-scale, successful integral business exists yet, and I am really passionate about creating them - at least none that I have found. Of course there are inklings and aspects here and there – the work Pacific Integral is doing in leadership, personal development, and organization development and the work Holacracy One is doing in organization design, for example, and I know there are some great people out there exploring progressive business models, like Kevin Clark at Content Evolution. And I don’t feel we have the whole package. Not yet, anyway.

And this is why: In order for anything to be integral, it has to be completely novel – it has to include all that has come before and also be something completely new integrating each component that makes something, well, something (in this case, a business) and this is no easy feat.

Most of what I see coming out of the integral world these days in regards to business is mostly related to leadership development. For example, Kofman says, on the second page of his book, Conscious Business, “My effort is to unlock the black box of leadership” – Conscious Business is really about leadership. Kofman’s Conscious Business is really about conscious people consciously leading. This is great. And it does not fully address business as a whole.

I sense that an integral business will create value in five areas (instead of just profit), and that’s profit, people, planet, progress and principles, and will consider equally, in all it does, the development and motivation of individuals, the actions and outcomes of individuals, the culture of the organization, the effectiveness of the organization’s systems, and the organization’s unique purpose backward and forewords through space and time. When you bring these things together, something novel begins to emerge. An integral business begins to emerge.

The business that I mentioned earlier is an outsource sales and distribution company. We are applying the above principles and awarenesses, and already some amazing things have happened – the organization has a culture like none I have ever experienced in a business context, we are already cash positive after just six months of operating, and, as I mentioned, we’re on track to gross a million dollars in revenue this year. That’s cool!

Though complex, integral business is fairly simple to think and theorize about – the maps aren’t hard – compared to its application, which is very challenging. Consider how hard it is to create a conventional and profitable business. Now take the many essential things that make an integral business and require really developed people to implement while keeping ensuring the organization profitable. This is why I’m so passionate about assisting businesses and people in growth, and creating integral businesses myself – it’s what has to happen.

Follow up: What is the impact that Integral business is having now and what will the impact be once enough businesses awaken to such a thing?

Right now, I think the fully developed impact of integral business has yet to be realized – right now it’s still a vision and a dream for the most part, shared by many people. However, we have been seeing the impact that some of the components have produced. For example, the impact triple bottom line thinking and practice (a value development) has had on both the marketplace and the environment, and the impact social media (a systems development) has had on a company’s orientation to consumers. And, though post-conventional, these shifts in business are not yet integral; they’re birthed from Green Meme consciousness.

I believe that in the future, integral business will be responsible for birthing integral government (Steve McIntosh’s passion), it will integrate spirituality in people’s everyday lives in meaningful and practical ways (what if doing your job was your spiritual practice?), it will care for and protect the environment and the world’s people, and it will become the main force of human development.

Could you imagine going to work to generate your income, engage in your spiritual practice in an explicit way, develop as an individual, care for the environment and for others, while creating and experiencing the life you want to live? That’s an integral business!

Telecourse: Integral Strategic Planning

Telecourse: Integral Strategic Planning
April 7, 2010, 4:00 PM PT - 5:15 PM PT

Integral Strategic Planning is essential for both individuals and leaders that are committed to achieving their very best and the best in their respective organizations in 2010.

Integral Strategic Planning is an integrated process of creating dynamic change and reaching defined goals for both individuals and organizations. This process considers the goals and intentions of the future and establishes a clear, measured and simple path towards achievement, with considered regard for the complexities of our world today.

In this 75-minute course, you will:

• Learn to perceive the present from the future
• Gain tools for perceiving the future from the present
• Discover how to listen to what the future wants
• Create strategic stepping stones that incorporate the complexities of our current time
• Refine your capacity to anticipate resistance and challenge, and plan to avoid these challenges

To register please email kris@kramaconsulting.com

Kris Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com

Telecourse: The Seven Relationships of an Integral Business

Telecourse: The Seven Relationships of an Integral Business
with Kris Nelson
March 31, 2010 | 4:00 PM PT - 5:15 PM PT

In the post The Seven Relationships of an Integral Business I discussed the seven essential relationships that an integral business continuously cultivates in order to achieve the Penta Bottom Line. I am now offering a complimentary 1 hour and fifteen minute telecourse discussing The Seven Relationships in detail while offering micro practices and contemplations in each area.

In this course you will gain:

• A greater understanding of what an integral business is
• The key measures of an integral business
• How these measures lead to growth
• Practices and reflections to relate these measures to your life and business

To register, please email kris@kramaconsulting.com.

Kris Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com

Patterns of Success

Patterns of Success

By Kristoffer Nelson

Long gone are the days of “recipes” and “secrets” for success, though the business and personal help sections at major bookstores stock hundreds of titles guaranteeing business prosperity and personal fulfillment. Many business owners, strategists, philosophers, and teachers are more consistently recognizing that things-life-reality is too unpredictable and complex for such recipes – what works for some individuals will not work for others, and the formula that creates victory for one company will not necessarily repeat in another. A recent Harvard Business Revenue article said that the only consistent connection between really successful enterprises is luck – you’re at the right place at the right time.

This isn’t a very marketable concept: luck. So many will continue to guaranteed recipes for success, and sometimes these will work and sometimes they won’t.

I like the luck perspective, for I agree that reality and life are unpredictable, complex and chaotic (and I personally thrive on this). I don’t entirely agree though. It’s clear that luck, right-place-right-time, and just the down-right unexplainable is a major component of successful people and businesses, and there are consistent patterns that successful businesses tend to show. It seems clear that out of the mystery of reality patterns emerge. These patterns balance the challenging flux and flow of life and the constantly shifting markets.

Here are a few of the most prevalent patterns:

This list isn’t exhaustive and the picture above isn’t the only way to visualize this concept – the Mystery bit could also sit behind the patterns – and considering that they are patterns and not recipes one or several may not always be a pattern or patterns of any given successful company. However, almost all successful companies that have sustained the test of time continuously display most of these characteristics.

Interestingly, most executives think that they have these components, and interestingly and not surprisingly most companies don’t. Most companies do not have a clear and simple strategy and mission. They typically and simply take the last five years of financials and reproduce them with adjustments for inflation and market share assumptions. This isn’t a strategy and mission it’s financial analysis. Most companies fight against competition for small successes and temporary wins in a never-ending battle with other competitors while chasing the leader in their industry. Really successful companies don’t compete they play their own game.

Most strategists and analysts think about the future in only one perspective: financials. This is good and helpful. But, financials aren’t the future they are a product of the future. Financials isn’t a strategy they are the result of a clear mission and strategy.

Companies typically are slow to integrate new technologies for many reasons with resistance to change and unknown risk often at the top; however, companies that practice this carefully continue to be leaders and game changers in their respective fields.

The last few on the list deal strongly with the people aspect of business, which is still very often overlooked by most companies. Companies that continuously seek enrollment in the vision, mission and strategy of the company for every employee (not just the executive or management team) push further faster. Companies that can balance on the shifting tight rope between individual empowerment and team integration access the full spectrum of their greatest resource. Companies that support and emphasize the development of their culture typically retain the best talent. And, lastly, companies that listen to and serve their customers will have valuable relationships for life.

Interestingly, almost everyone agrees with these patterns and practices. They are in a sense, well, common sense. And, again, most companies, almost all companies think they do well in each area on this list. For failing companies, denial is probably at the top of the list of consistent patterns. Take a good, hard, honest survey of your life, company or organization: are you balancing the relationship between mystery (something you can’t control) with the patterns of success (something you can adapt and control)?

Kristoffer Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development | 310.779.8587

The Seven Relationships of an Integral Business

The Seven Relationships of an Integral Business

by Kristoffer Nelson

Introduction

With the complexity of our world today and the volatility of our current market, it’s now more important than ever for consultants and businesses to have a big picture perspective. The 7 relationships of an integral business provides this perspective.

In the blog post It’s Time for the Bottom Line to Get Bigger I discussed the five major bottom line values of an integral business. This is a transcend-and-include hierarchical model from profits-only, to people-planet-profits, to profits-people-planet-principles-progress. This hierarchical line of development for business once realized creates sustainability, long-term success, and greater impact. This, though, is one measure of an integral business. To have a fuller picture, we must consider the Seven Relationships of an integral business.

The penta bottom line is a path of evolutionary growth that looks something like this:


With this view of evolutionary growth, an integral perspective allows for a whole picture recognizing that reality, life, business and all human disciplines exist in several distinct perspectives. If these perspectives are reduced key elements of consideration are lost. The crux of integral theory is the four quadrants, which represent the perspective of the individual interior (subjectivity, thoughts, feelings, worldview, development), individual exterior (actions, objectivity, objects), the collective interior (intersubjectivity, culture, shared value), and the collective exterior (systems, society). Coupled with the evolutionary line of business value, from a singular bottom line to a penta bottom line, we begin to get a more clear picture of what makes a sustainable, profitable and impacting business with great meaning and value.

The last key consideration in an integral perspective is time: past and future. I like to view all of these pieces as relationships. When I analyze a business or an individual, I look at their relationship with each of these elements noting their degree of awareness and action creating a healthy or unhealthy relationship.

In a business system, these seven relationships each hold and create value and profit. Instead of a hammer seeking a nail, we need a big toolbox to build a profitable and sustainable business.

The Seven Relationships of an Integral Business

Quadrants:

Individual interior: Development, Worldview, Awareness

Individual exterior: Actions, Roles, Assessment, Customers

Collective interior: Culture

Collective exterior: Systems, Organization Structure, Market

Time:

Past: Data Analysis, Retrospectives

Future: Strategy, Projections

Development:

Value consideration: The Penta Bottom Line


Individual Interior:

This considers individual motivation, perspective, development, and worldview, all which create an individual’s actions making effective and efficient employees, skillful managers, and game-change leaders. Most coaching and development processes focus on individual interior development to improve exterior action and interaction.

Individual Exterior:

The individual exterior perspective views the actions and objective measures of individuals as they engage in their specific role in business. This also considers all of the individual roles (and the people in these roles) that make up a business, and their impact of the business as a whole. The individual exterior also considers a business’ customers.

Collective Interior:

This considers the collective culture created and sustained by each individual of the organization, and is typically steeped from the top down. Though, new and emergent organization models like Holacracy http://www.holacracy.org/ (Collective Exterior) are changing this.

Collective Exterior:

The collective exterior is the key perspective of organization structure, the work environment, and interacting systems (finance, human resources, teams, IT, etc.). This also considers the greater regional, national and world market (depending on the reach of the organization).

Past:

Resting on analysis the perspective of the past includes data analysis (sales, performance, budget, etc.), and specific industry history, and business history as a whole.

Future:

Strategy and projections light the way into the unknown, taking valuable information from the past.

Value Consideration:

A huge leap from traditional business’ singular value consideration of profit-only, the penta bottom line creates a bigger and necessary consideration of value.

Conclusion

A complex world requires complex perspectives. Take time to consider each of these relationships in your life and business. Which are healthy? Which are unhealthy? Have any been reduced or unconsidered? Opening up to a larger bigger and adding more tools to your tool box will build a more profitable and more sustainable business.

Kristoffer Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com

Dissonance and Innovation: The Careful Art of Disagreement

There is a lot of focus in businesses and organizations on creating and maintaining “healthy” teams. Healthy in this sense generally means the team efficiently completes its tasks and meets or exceeds its’ goals while everyone gets along. Individuals that challenge the process, question assumptions, or disagree with popular ideas are generally thought of as problems that need solving.

As a consultant working from the outside of organizations I have the pleasure of viewing things from a larger picture, a less entangled place. I’m not in the system so I can see the value of those challenging the system (which is my job as a consultant).

Typically when I work on organization development projects teasing out deep vision, building strategy from the wisdom of the masses, while developing teams and leaders, I often work to support the wisdom of descent. In my and many others experience, indeed overarching in development theory and practice, the wisdom, innovation, and refinement (ultimately: greater success) that dissonance brings is invaluable.

Considering this, it’s interesting that while running a project this fall I became very frustrated with a member on my team for ironically doing what I typically support and praise: questions and challenge. As the project continued and I continued working with this person I noticed a myriad of feelings and thoughts towards team dissonance and challenge.

Sometimes I appreciated it greatly, for his insights we helpful in refining the process and practice we were building. Other times, when his ideas didn’t seem to add value, I successfully (and sometimes unsuccessfully) redirected the disagreement with ease, gained consensus and moved forward. Other times I felt completely frustrated with the disagreement and wanted to say what I never thought I would as a manager, “because I said so and I’m in charge.”

Through the experience I thought a lot about my assumptions around dissonance, disagreement, challenge, and the skillful act of “perturbing the system,” as we say in the development world. It is true that disagreement is essential to any healthy system or relationship (note Lincoln’s Team of Rivals); however, all challenge and no agreement causes the system to fall apart and the process breaks down.

Dissonance, disagreement and challenge, in an organizational context requires great skill and awareness. If the individual is unconscious of the impact and is unskillful in their action, things fall apart fast. Considering my experience on this project, the amount of times this individual’s disagreements caused refinement compared to the times when his disagreements caused breakdown were unbalanced and frustrating for me and the rest of the team – the conversation most often ended in standstill.

A few essential things are necessary for healthy, strategic dissent: a well developed, emotionally aware leader that appreciates the fruit of challenge, a well developed team steeped in refined communication practice, and a well developed dissenter. It takes great awareness in the leader, team, and dissenter to know when the balance between dissonance and resonance tips too far towards dissonance.

As much as I appreciated the refinement that the dissenter in my team created, and the personal challenge and learning of managing this person, I ultimately choose not to bring him on forward on another phase of the project – it was simply too much challenge: dissonance to breakdown.

Each moment is different, each team is different, and each leader and manager is different. It takes great skill and awareness to know where the line rests and moves beyond dissonance towards breakdown and momentary failure. The line between essential challenge leading to innovation and breakdown is very thin.

An essential practice for every team and leader is to engage in challenging conversations and practice skillful moments of dissent. One simple question I like to ask after proposing a new practice or idea to a team I am managing is “who disagrees and what can we do better here?” Practices like these and many others opens the system allowing the disagreement to become a conscious and valued part of the conversation ensuring greater innovation and success for everyone.

Kris Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com

Telecourse: Becoming Change - January 20th

Telecourse: Becoming Change - Essential Awareness and Capacities for Our Changing World
January 20th - February 24
Complimentary Initial Call January 20th

with Kris Nelson

Ever feel like you can do better? Do you find yourself in the same action and thinking patterns? Are you on the edge of change and growth but unable to move forward? Do you feel you're being pulled towards something new but are unsure what's next? Are you ready to again step forward into a more conscious, effective, and actionable life?

The world needs your service, vision and hope, and you need the capacities and awareness to offer.

If you have recently found yourself:

• inspired to create change and support others,
• moving through job and career transition and want a new direction,
• seeing a new potential but are unsure how to create it,
• tired of helplessness and are looking for a new empowered conversation,
• interested in shifting the way you feel about our current culture and economy,
• seeking new solutions with hope and vision,

Then Becoming Change - Awareness and Capacities for our Changing World was created for you!

Becoming Change is a course designed to empower effective transition. Through a month and a half, 6 conference calls, and 2 coaching sessions you will be guided through a process of transformation. Stepping into new perspectives, strategies, and a community of support you will create the life that you desire and the world needs.

Through your participation in this course you will get:

• tools to alleviate stress, fear, confusion, and anxiety.
• practices to create a clear picture and open to a broad view.
• empowering experiences of vision and purpose.
• methods to stop knee-jerk reactions and make powerful choices.
• practical processes and support for creating and implementing strategy.
• a community of support and guided, hands-on help.

Join us for a complimentary introductory session on January 20th at 5:00 PM PT (8:00 PM ET). Start your journey of transition, vision, and purpose, and experience an interactive conversation with Kris. You will be given practical tools, a course experience, followed by a question and answer session.

To register please email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com

Course Outline:

January 20th, Week One: Complimentary Introduction

January 21st - 26th: Orientation and Intention Coaching Session with Kris

January 27th, Week Two: Becoming Change

February 3rd, Week Three: Transition

February 10th, Week Four: Vision

February 17th, Week Five: Strategy

February 24th, Week Six: Being the Change

February 25th+ Continued Support Coaching Session with Kris


Detailed Information:

Investment: $295 (credit cards accepted)

To register now contact Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com or call 310.779.8587

Kristoffer Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com