The corporate world is dominated by profit-orientated goals. This focus, characterised by the pursuit of growth and profit, seems almost inevitable in many organisations. However, for those familiar with Spiral Dynamics theory, it is clear that this focus mainly stems from the orange stage of development. In earlier stages, the focus is on other values such as justice and order, while in the red stage, power and enforcement are central. At higher stages, such as the green stage, the common good and sustainability take centre stage.
Despite these diverse perspectives, companies tend to be primarily profit-orientated. For further development towards the yellow or turquoise (holistic) level, the question arises as to which values we want to derive our goals from and whether we want to stick exclusively to profit maximisation or integrate more diverse goals.
Corporate goals and visions have a decisive influence on our daily work and direction. It is therefore essential to consciously choose which goals to pursue. In the yellow stage that we promote, for example, we strive to bring wholeness to our interactions with individuals, as Frederic Laloux puts it.
One goal could be to make sense of the world and promote meaningful action. This includes considering how responsibility and decisions in the organisation can be decentralised and how experts can be granted more autonomy in their areas.
There are numerous ways of pursuing other goals in addition to profit-orientation and thus diversifying the focus of the entire company. The aim is to question the one-sidedness of profit maximisation and to focus on other aspects in order to promote a more holistic and meaningful corporate culture.
By asking such questions and adjusting our goals accordingly, we are helping to shape an organisation that takes human values and a sense of purpose into account alongside profit maximisation.
