A model to explain human states, realms and the activities (business) associated with them
Solihin is the developer of an ontological approach that helps reveal, organise and re-integrate organisations and businesses at the micro and macro levels. Ontology is the study of being, but at a micro level, it infers the examination (or question) to reveal what may be missing within an organisation to make it whole. I use (and teach) our Human Template© constellation process to help elicit the state of a company’s various components and help identify present assets that have not been considered yet and may be of great value for the organisation’s future development and also rectify and reorganise any dysfunctional state. This is illustrated by the organisation’s innate constitutional, physiological, behavioural and psychological organisation state that is reflected within each of us–the shareholders (internal members of the organisation and also the environment of the organisation like clients, competitors, etc.), and how this relates to the overall function of the back, middle and front office dynamics, management and interdepartmental processes that may or may not facilitate a dynamic state of affairs within the organisation; in its values, purpose and efficiency. We look at the internal structure of a person(s) as a microcosm of the functional state within a department or company itself. In parallel, the same human structural organisation applies to and will be reflected by the business organisation.
My wife, Alicia, and I had the good fortune to spend seven years in Moscow, Russia, developing and shaping a human-oriented business model within a large corporation of around 32,000 people. Our brief was to help put a human face onto this large corporation, which had 16 or so components, which included the 5th largest bank within Russia. Where applicable, we also helped change the corporate culture of nepotism, thievery, obfuscation, grandeur, bribery and corruption, and the general laissez-faire approach many took. We initially worked with a ‘top-down approach’ using this Human Template and constellation process with feedback and homework sessions almost daily. Initially small, the constellations morphed into far larger groups. Our participants were initially the top, middle and lower management of around 1800 people throughout the corporation. They then included the whole corporation, from top managers down to drivers, guards and the back office components, with which one typically has little contact.
A brief explanation of our constellation process can be annotated as such:
We start with management, a department or division or even an individual, and place the participants in their respective roles, and, if a department or management, delineate them into their different realms or stations. This is a formulaic initial process.
- We use the ‘Knowing Field’ – a sacred or quiet space within which the participants and /or representatives receive or sense changes in their somatic, sensory, or ambulatory bodies to act out a dynamic within themselves. These urges are spontaneous, unexpected, and often incredulous. They occur while the group is in a moment of silence.
- The facilitator manages the assembly, listening to each person to understand what has occurred and, if required, re-organising the initial array to accommodate this new information.
- The new array or altered scenario tells us information hidden in the whole.
- The facilitator articulates this information.
- The process of quiet, stillness, and surrender is repeatedly used to reveal and understand the underlying narrative or dynamic pervading the person (if we are constellating a single person), the department, the division, or the whole company.
- Post constellation, we get one of the representatives to draw up (on a board so that we see the graphic nature of the situation within the assembly) and articulate what the process has revealed (from their understanding). We will further elaborate if necessary. We then get the participants to create a group or forum to brainstorm a new outcome, new resources or, if absences are revealed, how to rectify them.
We were able to change the face of the corporation’s business practices, elevating doing business within the corporation (cross-selling) or outside it to a more cordial, pleasant, egalitarian, and competitive process that helped the bank stay relatively stable after 2008.
We also were able to provide tools for business decisions based on the sustainable future development of the corporation by using a comprehensive approach – taking into account all the influencing factors as:
- Available material resources include assets, finances, and historical experience (knowledge), which is the business’s DNA. We call this the material foundation of the business or back office.
- Considerations for sustainable growth depend on the available resources that support the appropriate activities. This falls within the realm of the middle office, which includes accounting, processes, and services that support the front office: the purchasing of raw materials, production, and the removal of residues and waste. The efficiency and flexibility of processes, ordering, purchasing, delivery and installation workflows—if applicable—and maintenance are crucial.
- The realm of the front office, supported by both the back and middle office, is the organisation’s driving force: ambition, power, social and tribal and/or group dynamics.
- Decisions are managed by considering all the available realities (internal and external). The steering part of the business (Managers and CEO) needs to proactively implement the company’s vision and report to the Owner of the business. They must learn to surrender the outcome so that the workforce is not motivated by simple profit but by future outcomes, including philanthropy and social welfare. This management dynamic is primarily human and facilitates a business that runs optimally without bullying, coercion, or punishment—management by example.
- The owner establishes the business’s vision, path, and human outcomes. The company’s members need to take and mutually accept these as higher goals. Declaring the ultimate motive as a philanthropic vision is a unifying principle.
Last but not least, we also managed to change (albeit not wholly) underlying corruption, theft and backstabbing and enabled the elevation of a more human business process within a more cordial, less menacing work environment.
All businesses or organisations vary in substance, management skills, and purpose. This methodology seeks to assist individuals in modelling human qualities or virtues and developing new interpersonal skills, such as empathy, compassion, and honesty. This transformation alters the work environment, initiating changes at an epigenetic level within each of us and within the company’s DNA.
A person who cultivates deeper ethical, moral, and inherently noble values by understanding the complexity of their internal states will not only benefit personally, but the business will also gain a renewed sense of identity. This can positively impact the bottom line and the overall internal environment of a company with exceptional qualities. Each participant, whether in management or subordinate roles—terms that seem somewhat outdated—will, as they learn to be organised, functional, behavioural, and psychologically resilient individuals, discover new resources in management, people skills, and cognitive and interpersonal abilities that will benefit not only themselves but also those with whom they interact.