culturework
working the way life worksA Radical Rethink
The Age of the Machine is ending. All over the world, at the frontier of every discipline and profession, there’s a radical rethink going on.
A Quiet Revolution
People are turning to the intelligence of living systems to break through cultural gridlock and transform the way we work and live, for the better.
A New Way of Working
In our practice, we’re pioneering more creative, participative, effective and liberating ways of working with people, culture and change.
We work with people and organisations on issues of culture and change, with the principles of life and living systems as our touchstone and guide.
It’s a bit like gardening: you prepare the soil, cultivate the space, nurture the relationships and respecting nature’s principles, create the conditions in which things can develop and change. Naturally.
We call it CultureWork.
Working the way life works.
When you look at your organisation what do you see?
A controllable, predictable machine? Or a complex living system?
What you see matters… because it changes what you do.
When you look at your organisation
what do you see?
A controllable, predictable machine?
Or a complex living system?
What you see matters… because it changes what you do.
If you want to improve the nature and culture of your organisation, focus on how it works – as a living system.
This means shifting your attention away from the parts – how the people work – to the whole – how the people work together.
Organisations have barely begun to explore what can be achieved when diverse perspectives collaborate in new ways around common concerns.
Culture is not a ‘thing’. It’s a process.
The full payoff for how people work together.
Do hierarchy and you get bureaucracy. Systemic inertia. Stuckness.
Do participation and you get agency. Systemic potential. Movement.
What we do
We design, host and curate conversational processes that help people think, talk, work, learn and make real progress together in structured, creative ways.
How we do it
We turn systems ‘thinking’ into systems ‘practice’ and take words like ‘collaborative leadership’ and ‘whole system change’ off the page and bring them alive in the room.
Where we focus
We focus on the system – how people work together. Our approach is a combination of relational and participative, emergent and organic, strategic and productive.
Working the way life works we help people do different things … and do things differently.
Develop a culture of participation.
Engage more people. More authentically.
Strengthen relationships. Deepen trust.
Access experience and intelligence.
Do whole-system planning. Together.
Build new alliances across boundaries.
Share knowhow and resources.
Testimonials
What People Say
The whole system
“The essence of this work is a deep respect for the ability of a system to meet its own challenges… to truly see it from all angles and involve the whole system in moving forward towards resolution. It is based on building real and strong relationships and developing the capacity of the system to best meet its needs…”
A powerful idea
“The idea of working like nature was so powerful but was so different to how groups work and arrive at decisions and it took me a while to really grasp it…”
Humanity and heart
“You brought to the work inspiration and guidance; direction; expertise; a sense of commitment, dedication and an extraordinary work ethic and yet a humanity and heart and a great respect for everyone and everything…”
Seeing more clearly
“I have grown in many ways. I realise that I see my part of the system but not the whole. Through conversation and interaction with others I’ve learned that I don’t always see what other people’s worlds are like, which issues they are dealing with and the stresses they are experiencing. I see more clearly now how all the parts influence one another….”
Do you have a project in mind? Let’s talk.
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Need a process that will help people talk, think and work better together?
