What is Chaordic?
A chaordic organization is a self-organizing and self-evolving entity, which ends up looking more like a neural network (like the Internet) as opposed to hierarchically-organized bureaucratic organizations where decision-making power is centralized at the top and trickles down through a series of departments and managers. Chaordic organizations do not fear change or innovation. They are, by their very nature, supremely adaptive. They also tend to be inclusive, multi-centric, and distributive and, ultimately, strongly cohesive due to their unshakable focus on common purpose and core principles.
Chaordic is a method of principle-based organization that liberates the energies of all elements of the system so that they may make their contributions without restraint. It gives life to people because it allows them to find their place and make their contributions as they desire, according to the principles, without being restrained by bureaucrats. It gives freedom and enthusiasm to participants and and permits rapid growth. It is the system of organization that ISKCON functioned under in its rapid-growth phase, and it can be put to use again in order to START THE HARE KRISHNA MOVEMENT AGAIN!
I believe very strongly that this is the method of organization needed to create another Hare Krishna Explosion needed to save the world from the demonic forces now running amok. Please read this page to familiarize yourself with the Chaordic principles.
The word chaord was formed by borrowing the first syllable of the two words:
cha- from chaos, -ord from order.
Chaord (kay'ord) 1: any autocatalytic, self-regulating, adaptive, nonlinear, complex organism, organization, or system, whether physical, biological or social, the behavior of which harmoniously exhibits characteristics of both order and chaos. 2: an entity whose behavior exhibits patterns and probabilities not governed or explained by the behavior of its parts. 3: the fundamental organizing principle of nature and evolution. Chaordic (kay'ordic) 1: anything simultaneously orderly and chaotic. 2: patterned in a way dominated neither by order nor chaos. 3: existing in the phase between order and chaos.
Chaordic is a method of principle-based organization that liberates the energies of all elements of the system so that they may make their contributions without restraint. It gives life to people because it allows them to find their place and make their contributions as they desire, according to the principles, without being restrained by bureaucrats. It gives freedom and enthusiasm to participants and and permits rapid growth. It is the system of organization that ISKCON functioned under in its rapid-growth phase, and it can be put to use again in order to START THE HARE KRISHNA MOVEMENT AGAIN!
I believe very strongly that this is the method of organization needed to create another Hare Krishna Explosion needed to save the world from the demonic forces now running amok. Please read this page to familiarize yourself with the Chaordic principles.
The word chaord was formed by borrowing the first syllable of the two words:
cha- from chaos, -ord from order.
Chaord (kay'ord) 1: any autocatalytic, self-regulating, adaptive, nonlinear, complex organism, organization, or system, whether physical, biological or social, the behavior of which harmoniously exhibits characteristics of both order and chaos. 2: an entity whose behavior exhibits patterns and probabilities not governed or explained by the behavior of its parts. 3: the fundamental organizing principle of nature and evolution. Chaordic (kay'ordic) 1: anything simultaneously orderly and chaotic. 2: patterned in a way dominated neither by order nor chaos. 3: existing in the phase between order and chaos.
Summary of the Chaordic Design Process
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Six Lens Overview (the links will take you to the Chaordic website for detailed information)
Purpose summary - A clear, commonly understood statement of that which identifies and binds the community together as worthy of pursuit. Full Text Principles summary - Clear, commonly understood statements of how Participants will conduct themselves in pursuit of Purpose. Full Text Participants summary The members of the community necessary to its effective initiation and continuance -- all relevant and affected parties. Full Text Organizational Concept summary - Characterization of participant relationships that all can trust to be just, equitable and effective in achieving the Purpose in accord with the Principle. Constitution summary - Codification of the Concept specifying rights, obligations and relationships of all Participants, giving rise to the organization as a legal entity. Full Text Practices summary - Activities, products and services through which the Participants pursue the organization's Purpose and create value. Full Text Phases and Areas of Focus Full Text - Process Notes summary - This section is from the Chaordic website: www.chaordic.org |
The chaordic design process has six dimensions, beginning with purpose and ending with practice. Each of the six dimensions can be thought of as a lens through which participants examine the circumstances giving rise to the need for a new organization or to preconceive an existing one.
Developing a self-organizing, self-governing organization worthy of the trust of all participants usually requires intensive effort. To maximize their chances of success, most groups have taken a year or more on the process. During that time, a representative group of individuals (sometimes called a drafting team) from all parts of the engaged organization or community meet regularly and work through the chaordic design process. The steps involved in conceiving and creating a more chaordic organization are: Develop a Statement of Purpose The first step is to define, with absolute clarity and deep conviction, the purpose of the community. An effective statement of purpose will be a clear, commonly understood statement of that which identifies and binds the community together as worthy of pursuit. When properly done, it can usually be expressed in a single sentence. Participants will say about the purpose, "If we could achieve that, my life would have meaning." Define a Set of Principles Once the purpose has been clearly stated, the next step is to define, with the same clarity, conviction and common understanding, the principles by which those involved will be guided in pursuit of that purpose. Principles typically have high ethical and moral content, and developing them requires engaging the whole person, not just the intellect. The best will be descriptive, not prescriptive, and each principle will illuminate the others. Taken as a whole, together with the purpose, the principles constitute the body of belief that will bind the community together and against which all decisions and acts will be judged. Identify All Participants With clarity about purpose and principles, the next step is to identify all relevant and affected parties - the participants whose needs, interests and perspectives must be considered in conceiving (or preconceiving) the organization. As drafting team members pursue their work, their perceptions of who constitutes a stakeholder will typically expand. They now have an opportunity to ensure that all concerned individuals and groups are considered when a new organizational concept is sought. Create a New Organizational Concept When all relevant and affected parties have been identified, drafting team members creatively search for and develop a general concept for the organization. In the light of purpose and principles, they seek innovative organizational structures that can be trusted to be just, equitable and effective with respect to all participants, in relation to all practices in which they may engage. They often discover that no existing form of organization can do so and that something new must be conceived. Write a Constitution Once the organizational concept is clear, the details of organizational structure and functioning are expressed in the form of a written constitution and by-laws. These documents will incorporate, with precision, the substance of the previous steps. They will embody purpose, principles and concept, specify rights, obligations and relationships of all participants, and establish the organization as a legal entity under appropriate jurisdiction. Foster Innovative Practices With clarity of shared purpose and principles, the right participants, an effective concept and a clear constitution, practices will naturally evolve in highly focused and effective ways. They will harmoniously blend cooperation and competition within a transcendent organization trusted by all. Purpose is then realized far beyond original expectations, in a self-organizing, self-governing system capable of constant learning and evolution. Drawing the Pieces into a Whole The process is iterative. Each step sheds new light on all of the preceding steps and highlights where modifications or refinements need to be made. In effect, the process continually folds back on itself, more fully clarifying the previous steps even as each new dimension is explored. Over time, the elements become deeply integrated. None is truly finished until all are finished. Two risks are frequently encountered - moving onto the next stage too quickly and allowing the striving for perfection to bog down the process. The first risk is common when working on purpose and principles, where agreement on "platitudes" can often be reached even when underlying differences persist. In these situations, finding an easy answer that pleases everyone is not enough; digging deeper to find richer and more meaningful understanding and agreement is essential. This can be taken to an extreme, of course, which leads to the second risk. Perfection is not required and will never be attained. Getting a very good answer that is "good enough" to move on to the next step is the goal. Keep in mind that what is done at each stage will be subsequently refined. The most difficult parts of the process are releasing preconceived notions about the nature and structure of organizations and understanding their origins in our own minds. We often catalyze this process by asking the question: "If anything imaginable were possible, if there were no constraints whatever, what would be the nature of an ideal institution to accomplish our purpose?" There is no absolutely right or wrong way to undertake and proceed through the chaordic design process, but we typically observe the following pattern in our work with organizations:
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