Order or Progress

Every organization must choose between order or progress since order and progress are rarely found together. Rules, manuals, regulations, codes of ethics, and bureaucracy restrict intuition and encourage conformity--not creativity.

Creativity, intuition, and excellence are developed when order is lacking. Did Mozart create his symphonies under the direction of another? Did the United States develop as a Super Power under the direction of a king or queen? Did Orville and Wilbur, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, or Nikola Tesla develop their ingenuity under the watchful eye of another? Does most innovation develop in large companies or small, chaotic start-up companies?

If this is the case, why aren't businesses intentionally structured to empower and free the ingenuity of individuals?

4,000 Years of Democracy

http://www.mapsofwar.com/

Bill Moyers' Last Broadcast

The long-standing PBS anchor, Bill Moyers, signed off yesterday (May 3, 2010) for the last time. During his final address, he spoke of democracy and the state of our union.

Bolivians to Reforest their Country...Without Money

What would happen if every person in the world walked outside and planted one tree? The effect on atmospheric CO2 levels would be greater than any multi-billion dollar, government project. According to TreesAreGood.com, in one year, an acre of trees can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven up to 8700 miles.

This week, Bolivia hosted the World Peoples’ Summit on Climate Change. Among other resolutions, Bolivians decided that on Earth Day 2011, they would each plant one tree in order to reforest the country. Bolivian President Evo Morales, in an interview on 4/23/2010, spoke of the peoples' plan:

In Bolivia, we are going to begin reforestation...We are going to begin to plant them as of next year on April 22 (Earth Day). We will plant ten million trees. What does that mean? That a Bolivian, whether a child or an older person, will plant a plant or a tree--and we are ten million, and there will be ten million--without any international contribution. This would just be an effort by Bolivians to reforest our country.

What would be the effect if every person in the world planted one tree on April 22, 2011? Or two? Or three? Is there a better example of democracy, in the world, than the people of the world solving the problems of the world themselves?

Fascism= The Marriage of Big Business and Big Government

On January 22, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that any corporation or union from any country in the world can spend as much money as it wants to win in any political campaign. Corporations can now recruit and finance, openly, its own candidates with however much money it is willing to spend. If, for example, Exxon Mobil decides that it will spend one percent of its earnings on it's own candidate, it will have spent more money on a Presidential Campaign than any candidate in history.

If left unchecked, this will be the straw that breaks the back of democracy in the United States. The sadest part is that, once again, the Republicans & Democrats are too busy fighting with one another to see that our country has just been hijacked.

Democracy is More Cumbersome than Dictatorship

Semco went through a radical, democratic transformation beginning in 1980. In 1980, Semco employees "each produced an average of $10,800 worth of goods a year." When Ricardo Semler wrote Maverick in 1993, his employees each produced an average of "$92,000 worth of goods a year (adjusted for inflation)--four times the national average; by the value-added standard, productivity rose six and a half times."

If democratic businesses are more profitable and motivating, then why do people insist on creating oligarchical/command-control organizations? Because...
(1) "so often it is power and greed and plain stubbornness that make bigger automatically seem better."
(2) "secrecy is a strong incentive to be conspicuously greedy."
(3) "bureaucracies are built by and for people who busy themselves proving they are necessary, especially when they are not."

"The era of using people as production tools is coming to an end. Participation is infinitely more complex to practice than conventional corporate unilateralsm, just as democracy is much more cumbersome than dictatorship."

(Quotes taken from Maverick by Ricardo Semler)

The U.S. is Not a True Democracy

"Give me a word, any word, and I show you that the root of that word is Greek." (Gus Portokalos from My Big Fat Greek Wedding)

How about Democracy?

'Democracy, democracy, democracy. Ha! Of course! Democracy is come from the Greek word demos, is mean people and from the Greek word kratos, is mean rule. So, who rules in a democracy? The people. You see: people, democracy. There you go!' (Gus Portokalos)

If democracy is rule by the people, the U.S. is not a democracy: (1) Democracies do not maintain favored citizens. Favored citizens are citizens with greater political sway or power than others. Equal political power is impossible to maintain in large communities. Only small communities can possibly maintain equal political power for its citizens. (2) Democracies de-centralize power. Never in the history of the U.S. has power been more centralized. The Federal government has power over our food, currency, energy, land, civil liberties, businesses, etc.
The solution is to create true democracy. The federal government needs to de-centralize all power not granted to it in The Constitution and give that power to the cities of the U.S. If a community is too large to be ruled as a direct democracy, then it is too large to maintain political equality.

Athenians Would Laugh at America's Claim to Democracy

To Athenians, an essential feature of democracy was the direct and full sovereignty of the majority of citizens. Appointment to important offices, a two-party system, unelected bureaucracies, a private federal bank, lobbying, judicial life tenure, terms for elective office of more than one year—all these would have seemed clear and deadly enemies of a sustainable democracy.

The prospect that someone could make a life-long career of politics was and is contrary to the principles of democracy. The Athenian belief that political freedom and power was the right of every male citizen created an unparalleled level of stability in the Greek world. The Athenian democracy survived two occupations, constant wars, maintained peace between the poor and rich, and only one Athenian politician was ever assassinated.

Democracy & Valentine's Day

I know it is a stretch to find a link between democracy and Valentine's day. I decided I wanted to write a post about my wife and I needed a justification for putting it on a blog about democratic business--so bare with me while I attempt to link the two:

My wife is a lot of the reason I have an optimistic outlook on life. Spending time with her makes me realize that even though an oligarchical Wall Street is destroying our economy and will make a profit at the expense of individual rights, there is a lot of reason to have hope in humanity.

I have learned, from my wife, how important it is to nurture the goodness in people. I see her with our son and it is all too obvious to me how much greater this world would be if more women were given the voice they deserve.

My wife has taught me the importance of the democratic principle of keeping my sights fixed on a euphoric purpose. We have so much fun together. I can't think of a day of our marriage when we haven't laughed together at least once. Our common goals and ambitions inspire me to making our marriage great and not simply good.

Being married to my wife has taught me that the principles of democracy (i.e., transparency, limited power, ownership, and euphoric purpose) are just as important to every aspect of life as they are to government.

The Power of Stories: We Were Made to Be Free

Stories have the power to guide companies, organizations, and people to elevated levels of engagement. Here is the number one story that engages me to fight for freedom and democracy:

"That Satan...is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

But, behold, my Beloved Son...said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him...I caused that he should be cast down;

And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will..." (Moses 4:1-4)

How To Change Our Failing Businesses

Every day we hear about change: change on Wall Street, change in Iraq, change in Palestine, change in the car industry, and change in health care...Whether we speak of a country, a company, or an organization, how does successful, long-lasting change occur?

Ricardo Semler (CEO of Semco) put it this way, "How do you get a sizable organization to change without telling it--or even asking it--to change? It's actually easy--but only if you're willing to give up control. People, I've found, will act in their best interests, and by extension in their organization's best interests, if they're given complete freedom. It's only when you rein them in, when you tell them what to do and how to think, that they become inflexible, bureaucratic, and stagnant. Forcing change is the surest way to frustrate change." (harvardbusinessonline article)

What a completely counter intuitive statement. If we want a country, a company, or an organization to change, we give back, to the people, the power and control to change themselves; then, we get out of the way. Actually, it makes a lot of sense. So long as people feel that they have control, there is nothing to rebel against, and they act in their best interests and their organization's best interest.

No Longer As Strangers on Earth Need We Roam

"For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."

Gone are the days when controlling a country was as simple as putting up walls. Gone are the days when Washington D.C. exclusively decided foreign policy. Gone are the days when the people of other countries seemed like strangers. Gone are the days when corporations could commit atrocities in other countries without our hearing about it back home.

Here are the days when people all over the world are realizing that we are all appendages of the same body. If we cut an arm, we all bleed. If we cut an eye, we all go blind. Here are the days when the people, through information, are democratizing the world, and not the politicians.

Be part of the movement! Pass the word along! and Merry Christmas!

The People Are Democratizing the World and Not the Politicians

All of You Agree That We Do Not Live In The Democracy Our Founders Envisioned.

The voting period for my poll has expired and here are the results:

78% of you voted that our only chance to return to the democracy that our founders envisioned is "if we make some huge changes". Not one person voted that this is the democracy that the founders envisioned.

I'm interested to know, from all of you, what kinds of changes need to be made for our country to be more democratic. Please post a comment.

A $6 Billion U.S. Company Turns Democratic!

Take DaVita. Today, the El Segundo, Calif., company is the largest independent provider of dialysis services in the United States, with more than 30,000 employees and annual sales of nearly $6 billion.

But back in 1999, the situation was bleak: the company was functionally bankrupt, under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, being sued by shareholders, and the majority of senior executives had left. Its new CEO, Kent Thiry, understood that changing course meant embracing a fresh, democratic approach. So he and his team implemented the following:

“Town Hall” meetings to share information about new programs, spotlight achievements, and answer questions. Quarterly “Voice of the Village” meetings allow “teammates” the opportunity to ask the CEO and senior leadership any questions they want.

Opportunities for all employees to engage in democratic decision-making through voting on a range of issues including the renaming of the company, its core values, job titles, logos, and new initiatives.

Annual forums at which DaVita’s CEO and COO publicly share their personal successes and failures in front of more than 2,000 colleagues.

Decentralization that lets each of its 1,300 clinics be its own “boss.”

As a result, DaVita dramatically reduced its turnover rate, stimulated organic growth above the industry average, and became the industry leader. Net operating revenue grew from $1.45 billion in 1999 to $5.26 billion in 2007. And over the past five years, DaVita’s stock has soared 279 percent, while the S&P 500 Index has returned 52 percent.

“We feel our approach adds more value to the American health system, not just in savings but also in transparency and accountability,” says Mr. Thiry. “I firmly believe that every company can be a democratic community. And I know it’s worth it!”

His statement underscores the potential of democracy to transform not only corporations but the millions of lives they affect. That, in turn, raises a pressing question: Do big businesses have a responsibility to be organized democratically because of the power they wield?

(Taken From: Even Big Companies Are Embracing a Democratic Style -- Traci Fenton)

Democratic Businesses = No Government Health Care

In a perfect world, all businesses would be democratic, health care would be affordable for everyone, and Michael Jackson would still live in Neverland.

If all businesses were democratic, companies would exist, first, to serve all of their employees.

If all companies existed, first, to serve all of their employees, all employees could afford health insurance.

Democratizing American corporations is the better alternative to politicizing the health care industry.

How do we democratize businesses? We petition the government to give a tax cut to all businesses that are run democratically, whether they be start-up businesses or former oligarchical businesses.

Southwest Airlines Statistics

Southwest Airlines Statistics

(1) The only airline to create an employee profit-sharing plan, simply, because they thought it was the right thing to do.

(2) The only airline to post profits for 35 consecutive years (going on 36).

(3) Since inception, Southwest Airlines has averaged a 26% (compounded yearly) return on investment. That is almost unheard of!

I don't want to focus on money when it comes to democratic businesses, but I do want to emphasize the viability of democratic businesses.

The World's Top 100 Economies

Of the world's top 100 economies, 51 were corporations in the year 2000. If you subtract the money made by these corporations from the national GDPs, I wonder if you would even find one country in the top 10.

The Tide of Democracy

After hundreds of hours (literally) of research, I have decided the direction of my website and, partly, my life. I want to organize and create a democratic business.

Sounds like wishful thinking? Well that's what I thought for a couple of days. I thought I was just being a little too wishful. Then I searched "democratic business" on google and I found a ton of results. I found out about businesses like Semco, DaVita, Southwest, and Great Harvest. I discovered that not only are the oligarchical-style corporations not necessary to create a stable company, but they impede stability. Most important, they undermine our faith and the faith of people around the world in democracy in so many ways.

I believe that if every American corporation was a democratic corporation, in less than 50 years, we would convert the entire world to democracy. Think of it. No more sweatshops. Everyone could feel invested in their job and company. What force would be strong enough to stop democracy from filling the world? Not even the world banks and oligarchy-style corporations could stop the tide.

I'm not the only one starting this movement. Research online. Discover for yourself the faith people are finding in democratic workplaces. Go to http://www.worldblu.com/. Many of the most talented people coming out of our universities are opting to be part of these democratic businesses because they offer work/life balance and they offer the ability to truly be part of the company and not just to work for a company.

I want to be part of starting another company on democracy's side. If you want to be part of the movement, email me, make comments, and tell everyone you know. I will be tracking the advancements of democracy in the workplace here, so keep updated.

What would the world be like if all businesses were democratic?

Democratic Business Principles from the WorldBlu.com Website:
1. PURPOSE AND VISION A democratic organization is clear about why it exists (its purpose) and where it is headed and what it hopes to achieve (its vision). These act as its true North, offering guidance and discipline to the organization's direction.
2. TRANSPARENCY Say goodbye to the "secret society" mentality. Democratic organizations are transparent and open with employees about the financial health, strategy, and agenda of the organization.
3. DIALOGUE + LISTENING Instead of the top-down monologue or dysfunctional silence that characterizes most workplaces, democratic organizations are committed to having conversations that bring out new levels of meaning and connection.
4. FAIRNESS + DIGNITY Democratic organizations are committed to fairness and dignity, not treating some people like "somebodies" and other people like "nobodies."
5. ACCOUNTABILITY Democratic organizations point fingers, not in a blaming way but in a liberating way! Democratic organizations are crystal clear about who is accountable and responsible for what.
6. INDIVIDUAL + COLLECTIVE In democratic organizations, the individual is just as important as the whole, meaning employees are valued for their individual contribution as well as for what they do to help achieve the collective goals of the organization.
7. CHOICE Democratic organizations thrive on giving employees meaningful choices.
8. INTEGRITY Integrity is the name of the game, and democratic companies have a lot of it. They understand that freedom takes discipline and also doing what's morally and ethically right.
9. DECENTRALIZATION Democratic organizations distribute leadership and power across their enterprise.
10. REFLECTION + EVALUATION Democratic organizations are committed to looking in the mirror and asking, "How can we be better?" -- not just quarterly or annually, but daily.