Giving power to the people in enterprise

There is a lot of talk about empowerment in business. To bring into the condition of power. Empowering people.

Nice, better than nothing…but what if we shifted from empowerment to giving people power?

If we removed the majority of hierarchy and operated businesses as a living organism? You know, like nature has done for a few billion years?

Trust would have to be a foundational organisational value. Not trust as a platitude, but real trust.

There would need to be a few conditions, and it is these conditions that generally scare the beejesus out of the Board and the leadership team.

The executive team would no longer exist. It would be replaced by a Stewardship team – specifically to support the success of the people in the enterprise – those people who now have the power.

All data must be available. To everyone. Because if it isn’t, then you will get the in-group and the out-group and a new form of hierarchy would emerge. Besides, how can someone make decisions on the factory floor without all the information?

If there was a decision-making process in place – if people had to seek counsel from everyone who was likely to be affected by the decision before acting on it, and if information was available to all, and if you had a culture of trust and respect – this just might work.

It does work. It is the architecture of a Syntropic Enterprise.

Written September 29th 2014

Photo Taken January 11 th, 2018, Article published January 12th 2026