Growth Online > Knowledge Base > Business Growth > Higher Levels of Organization Business: Higher Levels of Organization by Roy Posner and MSS   Overview | Cleanliness & Orderliness | Organizational Components of Company Systemization | Coordination & Integration | Authority | Misc. (Efficiency, etc.)   Overview (top) Definition of Organization Organization is the component that holds everything together and forms it into a living whole. Organization consists of the structures, systems, policies, procedures and activities of a business, the manner in which it exercises authority, takes decisions, communicates, coordinates and integrates its activities. Definition of an Organization Organisations are bringing together activities so that in their coordinated action, they would produce a greater result. It would be more accurate to say that organisation is to bring together SYSTEMS to work in union rather than activities.  (MSS)  Understanding Organization by Conceiving Its Absence Observe a child at 8 or 12. He is under the parental direction that has taken the direction of schooling. School organises the child's energies. Remove the parental direction. Now you see the role of organisation. It is evident. A man at 40 is under his own direction i.e. discipline. Remove the discipline in one year, a middle class man will be in the slum. One in the slum has al the slum opportunities. By organization, he becomes a middle class person. The role of organising can be seen in an office, school, army, family, etc. when it is removed. Conceive of the first occasion when organization was introduced at first and compare it with the unorganised state. (MSS) Nature of Physical, Vital, Mental, Spiritual Organizations Organisations exist at the physical, vital, mental levels. [and spiritual levels beyond] PHYSICAL ORGANISATION -- In a physical organisation, disparate individuals are brought together under the will of a single individual, who alone prevails. Here all decisions rest with that single individual. Violation of his will resulted in death (in earlier times), now in dismissal. The member acts on physical – written – instruction. In a physical organisation, we get all the benefits of an organisation, but the benefits are minimal. The benefits of ease of operation, saving of time, avoidance of the same operations, saving of money and greater results. A good number of our organisations are (currently) physical organisations. VITAL ORGANISATION -- A vital organisation does not differ very much from a physical organisation. Here violation is not punished by death, but by ostracism. Instructions are mostly oral, understood by the members. The finest of vital organisations is that where the members anticipate the boss’s will and act readily. Written instructions are often there, sometimes they follow. This organisation requires enthusiasm, devotion, dedication. Members act is if they are one single body. One can venture to say the results are ten times greater than the physical organisation. Speed is its most characteristic trait. Punishment is ostracism, dismissal, and humiliation. Skills required here are inclusive of physical skills, but essentially are vital skills of relationship, especially human relationship. Cooperation is the central strategy, but coordination is essential. Speed here is seen as the elimination of any gap in movement. MENTAL ORGANISATION -- The modern world functions by mental organisation. Here the exactness is to the minute. Each level of organisation is inclusive of all previous levels, but more efficiently. Planning is rational. It anticipates results by Time, Space and quality and quantity of results. What rules here is NOT the boss, but the RULE. Rule is to be obeyed. Violation results in loss of promotion, reputation, but not dismissal or liquidation. Records are the life blood in a mental organisation. What is not recorded is not admissible fact, even if the tangible results are there. SPIRITUAL ORGANISATION -- Self-givingness. Recognition of the inner value of the awakened Spirit. The spiritual organisation is meant only for those who have transcended all the previous levels. At the spiritual level, there occurs a reversal, the punishment becomes reward. Personality is the determinant. Personality determines how much it wants to receive. To build up one’s personality, one needs a spiritual organisation. Here it is useful to remember the 12 aspects of the Spirit – Infinity, Eternity, Unity, Truth, Goodness, Consciousness, Power, Beauty, Love, Joy, Silence, Peace. Strategies: Strategies vary as organisations vary. In the physical organisation, it is obedience, in the vital organisation it is conformity, in the mental organisation it is the obedience or adherence of the written instruction. In the Spiritual organisation, the strategy is self-giving. In any organisation, we find an old mixture of all these strategies giving sporadic results. Recognition: One recognises the physical organisation by an order of the boss, the vital organisation by the intention of the boss, the mental organisation by the written order. In the Spiritual organisation it is recognised by the inner value of the awakened Spirit that gives the recognition.  (MSS, somewhat reorganized)    Miscellaneous Thoughts on the Power of Organization ORGANIZATION is a systematic coordinated purposeful action. ORGANIZATION is a process of securing maximum results with the minimum expense of energy. Consciousness progresses by ORGANIZATION. ORGANIZATION is of ultimate value. Constant upgrading of ORGANIZATION leads to endless expansion in a business. ORGANIZATION is necessary for development. It is the power of ORGANIZATION that speeds up development. ORGANIZED life witnesses tremendous progress. Waste can be avoided by a higher ORGANIZATION. ORGANIZED work yields abundant results. It makes savings possible. Life is a field of energy ORGANIZED according to a system. Energy ORGANIZED is more forceful and effective than unorganized energy. ORGANIZATION can raise an individual or a nation from nowhere to everywhere. Life responds to those who are well ORGANIZED. ORGANIZED people are prosperous. ORGANIZING one's work saves time and increases efficiency, which in turn leads to increased inflow of money. Internal ORGANIZATION in business will make market respond. ORGANIZE time and energy for unfailing success. ORGANIZATION is a new communication network. It has the power to produce. ORGANIZATION is the result of spiritual light in vital work. When fashioned by spiritual energies, ORGANIZATION is the best and it outdistances all others. ORGANIZATION is a more powerful resource than technology. ORGANIZATION is an intangible asset. (MSS, miscellaneous extracted)  Impersonality Enables Organization Making the personal authority into impersonal policy, system, procedure is organisation. (MSS) Organization to Institution Power is greatest and most efficient where its exercise is automatic, subconscious as in the body’s autonomic nervous system and in the systems of a company. Very true. At this stage, society calls it culture, tradition, custom, way of life. We say at this stage organization changes into institution. (MSS) GM's Power of Organization In the first quarter of the 20th century, FORD ruled the automobile world as a colossus. Still Ford retains its height in a great measure. Sloan was an executive who joined General Motors, which was a distant second in the industry. Sloan rose to become the chairman of GM. He had an instinct for ORGANISATION composed of systems. Ford’s pride was technology and lower price. Systems in Ford were secondary. Steadily GM outstripped Ford and maintained that lead. It was a singular achievement of Sloan. (MSS) Organization Strategies for Improvement Here are a few organizational strategies for business improvement: Establish clear job descriptions for every position, and create a system whereby the responsibilities and authority of each position are clear to other people in the company. Analyze the jobs of executives, managers, and supervisors to identify tasks that can be delegated to lower levels and the conditions necessary to make that delegation effective. Conduct an analysis of major activities in the company (such as selling, order taking, etc.) to identify ways to increase speed, reduce cost, eliminate unnecessary steps, and improve quality. Also, insure there are systems for every activity. Asses the effectiveness of important systems in the company (e.g. accounting, budgeting, personnel, information, planning) in terms of their speed, their personnel requirements, quality of work, cost of operations, and whether fully being utilized. Try to coordinate and integrate any two systems to create a powerful organization. [GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR VALUES] Apply the value to every activity (and sub-activity); to every system (including every procedure), and to every job position task (and sub-task) in the company. Implement organizational values such as coordination, integration, discipline, freedom, standardization, teamwork, and communications. Determine whether we can innovate any new systems that will further improve our performance. Determine if there are systems successfully employed by other companies that could be used by our company. Free Market Competition, Unhealthy Competition, & How Companies that are Organized, Attuned to the Needs of Society that Survive It The free market is the surest mechanism to ensure economic democracy. USSR tried command economy administered by the State. It only stifled growth. The rules of the market are a powerful antidote to the greed of men. Before the private phone companies entered the market in India, phone calls were costly and service was poor. One paid Rs 24 for a three-minute STD call to Madras from Pondicherry. Phone repairs had to wait for days and demanded several reminders. Still the workmen had to be paid extra. Now when the competition is allowed, service is readily available and call charges are more than halved. Competition is necessary for keeping the market healthy. Even such a competition turns unhealthy often. Those who are flush with money reduce the price of the product below the cost price with a view to wiping out the smaller fries in the market. They die in vast numbers and quickly too. In a field where there are about a hundred small producers, unhealthy competition wipes out most of them, sometimes all of them, except one or two. Coca-cola faced such opposition from Pepsi Cola. Each year the cola wars have their own season. Smaller fries quickly vacate the field. Competition ensures fair price to customers. It stimulates the opposition to become efficient. The unhealthy price wars are ruinous to cash-starved companies. Also, ill-organised companies cave in under the mighty blow of an adversary armed with efficiency, enormous capital and unscrupulous motives. Is it all? Is there something beyond it? As usual, there is more than meets the eye. A fully ORGANISED company cannot die whatever the competition is, however unscrupulous they are. Organisation is health, vitality. It is healthy irrespective of the environment. There are various levels of organisation. The company that faces stiff competition will survive if it is organised enough to survive in the environment. A company that is integrated with the society will be vibrant. Any society is moving on certain lines. On those lines, the society will carry great force, as the Indian society is moving towards greater education and greater prosperity. To minister to THOSE needs consciously is to be vibrant. That vibrancy is a vibration of growth. Strong competition will stimulate that vibrancy. At a time when companies are dying like flies crushed by the competition, a vibrant company will find itself growing. Competition is a welcome stimulus for an organised, vibrant company. Forty new entrants in the scooter market twenty years ago struck terror in the heart of Bajaj. That year, he grew 100 percent. (MSS) The Survival of a Company and Its Inner Organization Thousands of companies sprout and fold up before long. Hundreds of companies have survived a hundred years or even two or three hundred years. Their secret is the quintessence of organised commercial activity. He who lives in tune with nature lives a long life and it is a healthy life, too. One’s external life can be in tune with the environment. His inner life too can be of the same vibration of the external surroundings. That inner life is known as character. Personality is a better description. These are words of psychology. In the field of work, the same will be described as structure. In the language of business, they are known as inner organisation and outer organisation. A company whose inner organisation is sound cannot die, however much the market changes. There can be competition, but this company will survive it. There can be chaos in its outer functioning but its inner vitality will be intact and will not permit this company to die as others who are not organised. Organic farming has proved that those fed on its produce are immune to epidemic or endemic diseases. Organic farming ORGANISES the inner Personality with vitality. That company which is well organised and is full of inner vitality is invincible. In 1979 when Chrysler contracted a record loss and consequent debt, the world unanimously pronounced its winding up. Some of us here in the Society gathered information about the company and found it had inner original vitality but the outer functioning was in utter confusion and chaos. Our conclusion was if right decisions were taken, there was no reason Chrysler would fail. We were observing the company with interest. We had a slender correspondence with the company. The one line letter of Lee Iacocca gave us a further insight. We felt that the company would not only survive, but prosper. When it turned the corner and released the US government from its guarantee, Chrysler’s sales reached $23 billion from the previous $11 billion. On the Fortune 500 list, she moved from the 23rd position to the 11th rank. (MSS) ARTICLE on How Organization is the Great Secret of Business Success   Cleanliness and Orderliness (top) Cleanliness in Business Enables Life Response Often the very first thing we tell our business clients is to clean or organize some aspect of their business one level higher. We actually ask them to do that before anything else! That gets an immediate life response (e.g. money comes in out of nowhere, good news arrives, etc.), which gains the client's trust.  Cleanliness in Business McDonald's restaurants is a prime example of the power of absolute cleanliness; how it can overcome mediocrity of product, and propel the company to the pinnacles of success, to the top of its industry. The first sight unseen advise that a consultant gave to his client was to clean up and make more orderly the center, one level higher. Everything that he advised after that turned out to be anticlimactic to the results received from that initial instruction. Untitled Make everything spotless and orderly in the company. Additional Entries   Organizational Components of Company (top) Company Organization The organization of a company consists of three basic building blocks. They are Job Positions, Activities, and Systems. The key to the growth of organization lies in understanding how each of these subunits of organization develops, and how they interact with one another to form an organic whole. Organization of a Company The subunits for organization in the company are structure, individual job positions, activities, and systems. The more organized these are, the more organized the company is. Job Positions Re: Job Positions: Structure -- The first thing to consider is if the structure of jobs in the company are right for today's business and for your plans for tomorrow. Therefore, its worth doing a serious analysis of whether or not the structure of your company contains the right makeup and balance of job positions. Authority -- Second we need to examine whether each job position in the company is matched by a level of authority for the person in that job to carry out the tasks contained within the job. In addition, the person filling the job needs to clearly know who he or she is to report to (for the overall job and for each task in the job). Distribution of Tasks -- Third, one needs to examine whether the job tasks that are assigned to the individual are the right tasks for that position. Perhaps some tasks for a job should not be included in the job, or some tasks may need to be added to the job, or some may simply need to be delegated to another job position (especially less important tasks involved in the job). Therefore, an analysis of the content of every job position the company is also worthy of a detailed analysis in the company. Right People, Training -- Fourth, once job positions in the company are properly allocated, and job tasks for individual jobs are maximized for efficiency, individual job positions need to be filled by the right people, and each person trained to the hilt for that job. Activities An individual person carrying out a task is an act, which is perhaps the minutest subunit that exists in a company. Individual acts are linked to one another in chains of acts called activities. Like jobs, activities can be continuously improved throughout the organization as well. Each improvement to an activity releases fresh energy and makes the organization more effective. Therefore, reviewing the major activities in a company is a highly worthwhile endeavor. For example, many high tech manufacturing companies are reviewing their product development activities, thereby maximizing the speed of products and services to market, as well as the efficiency and quality of their products and services. Therefore, a thorough activities analysis can simultaneously make the company more efficient and effective, releasing great energy and prosperity. Make a list of all of the activities in your company (such as selling, accounting, manufacturing, human resources, information technology, etc.). Then determine (e.g. through research, interviews, etc.) how each of the critical activities can be upgraded or reorganized. Then implement your plan for improvement. Follow this up with improvements of less critical activities. Systems The ultimate building block of organization is systems. Systems are simply mechanisms that automate activities, or interlinking activities. Systems posses the power to carry out activities much more quickly, precisely and regularly than individuals can perform them on their own. The productivity of an organization is determined by the extent to which routine and recurring physical activities are systematized and turned into standard operating procedures. Systemization doesn't just make activities work more efficient; it makes people more relaxed and cheerful at work because the activities almost "take care of themselves." In fact, the happiest people are often in companies that have turned most or all activities in the company into corresponding systems. Think about systems in your company (e.g. computerized bookkeeping, email, sales tracking, sales analysis, manufacturing, credit checking, etc.). Then think about the following questions. Do you have systems in place for every major activity in the company? Which activities needs to be systematized? How should they be systematized? And then there are the existing systems. How can they be upgraded to the next level of efficiency?   Systemization (top) Systemization in Business The most organized companies systematize every activity. Beyond that they coordinate and link existing systems to one another. This creates a dense "neural net" creating a tremendous underpinning for success. Organize and Systematize Everything Insure all job positions are well defined, all standard operating procedures are defined, and activities are clear. Turn every activity in the company into a system. Then coordinate systems to one another. Companies Should Computerize Fully Any company that fully computerizes – uses all available computer programmes – cannot escape expanding five to ten times. Computer companies will be seen not using computerization in their own administration. (MSS) The Company Can Become a Complete Fully Alive Organism You can move a company from an organization to a complete organism where every part is maximized. Complete computerization can enable this so no part is left behind. Organisation is the first stage of which organism is the final stage. The postal system is an organisation; the human body is an organism. An organism consists of many organs each of which functions as an organisation. It is possible to coordinate – not cooperate – the functions of all the internal organs of a body. Such a coordination can be extended from their central function to their cellular function. Cooperation is to function at different points to move collectively to the same goal. Coordination is the capacity to function in response to each move of a different organ appropriately. The company is dead in parts, alive in other parts, of course negatively. Negative existence means it exists enough for survival, not to make profits. To revive the dead parts is to revive the whole organisation. Computerisation prevents compartmentalization. Any company that fully computerizes – uses all available computer programmes – cannot escape expanding five to ten times. Computer companies will be seen not using computerization in their own administration. A company is organised in all parts but expresses only one part that it chooses, as the energy is limited. Presently companies expand by the market-drive, not driven by the founder’s energy. In a client we can computerize fully and that it will do the work fully. We can bring him to a realisation that he can drive the company on his own, instead of letting the market drive it. Computerisation can make a dead organisation LIVE. (MSS, slightly modified) Companies Should Computerize Fully Any company that fully computerizes – uses all available computer programmes – cannot escape expanding five to ten times. Computer companies will be seen not using computerization in their own administration. (MSS) The Company Can Become a Complete Fully Alive Organism You can move a company from an organization to a complete organism where every part is maximized. Complete computerization can enable this so no part is left behind. Organisation is the first stage of which organism is the final stage. The postal system is an organisation; the human body is an organism. An organism consists of many organs each of which functions as an organisation. It is possible to coordinate – not cooperate – the functions of all the internal organs of a body. Such a coordination can be extended from their central function to their cellular function. Cooperation is to function at different points to move collectively to the same goal. Coordination is the capacity to function in response to each move of a different organ appropriately. The company is dead in parts, alive in other parts, of course negatively. Negative existence means it exists enough for survival, not to make profits. To revive the dead parts is to revive the whole organisation. Computerisation prevents compartmentalization. Any company that fully computerizes – uses all available computer programmes – cannot escape expanding five to ten times. Computer companies will be seen not using computerization in their own administration. A company is organised in all parts but expresses only one part that it chooses, as the energy is limited. Presently companies expand by the market-drive, not driven by the founder’s energy. In a client we can computerize fully and that it will do the work fully. We can bring him to a realisation that he can drive the company on his own, instead of letting the market drive it. Computerisation can make a dead organisation LIVE. (MSS, slightly modified) Additional Entries Related to the Individual   Coordination and Integration (top) The Power of Coordination Coordination is to alter our work in such a way that another person’s work will be facilitated. The sugar mill’s scheduling its crushing operation in time with the farmers’ cutting the cane is coordination. Coordination creates a new opportunity that spreads to the end of the world. For personal progress one can coordinate his various faculties or talents.... To locate one’s faculties - Memory, Intelligence, Imagination, Patience, Capacity, etc. - and intelligently coordinate them will raise one in his career to the position he would normally achieve at the time of retirement. An industry which tries to consciously coordinate with the different wings of the society will soon spread all over the state or the nation. Thoughtful coordination generates new institutions all over.  (MSS, extracted) Coordination in a Company The highest performing companies are those that have the highest level of coordination, up, down, sideways throughout the company. It is a great organizational value to implement, with maximum power. Consider how you can coordinate any thing at any level -- activities, systems, projects, jobs, communication, learning, planning, feedback, news, results, etc. etc.  Coordination Coordination is to see one thing in terms of another. Coordinate Organization Components Make your organization more "dense" by coordinating departments (or divisions, teams, and other components) with one another.  For each department (or other component) think about how it can be coordinated with every other department (e.g. R&D with Sales, HR with R&D, etc., etc.). Then implement the best coordination ideas. Linking Systems, Disciplines as Higher Organization Just as linking any two systems in a business (e.g. sales and r&d) can dramatically improve it, so to a great scientific breakthrough can more readily come about by the coming together of two very different disciplines (e.g. genetics with computer science, biology with chemistry, biology with oceanography -- e.g. to create hydrogen fuel --, even biology with psychologist, and many others). This same idea holds true for any two work disciplines. In essence, linking two systems is a particularly powerful way to create greater, more dense organization; which means faster, greater, richer development and evolution.  Coordinating and Integration The ultimate truth of organization is the ability of the three building blocks to work together. The real power of organization arises from its capacity for coordination and integration of people, activities, and systems. When departments and divisions move from isolation to coordination and integration, the real power of organization is released. Coordination and integration are the advanced tools of organization. When people job positions are more coordinated with one another, when activities are more integrated and coordinated with one another (e.g. selling to accounting, manufacturing to information technology, and endless other connections), and when systems are interrelated (e.g. accounting and bookkeeping to sales tracking, or sales tracking to manufacturing, etc.), the real power of organization is released. This coordination and integration can lead to explosive energy and vitality in the company. Take the idea of integration of systems. Suppose there are 25 systems in a company with a minimum of coordination and they are all coordinated to a maximum extent, the same staff can accomplish twice or thrice more. To give a simple example, in a college if the timetable of the dozen departments is not coordinated, i.e. if each department has its own time table, the two year course will extend to five years and twice as many classrooms must be built.  Multiplier Effect of Integration of Sectors The integration of two or more sectors of social activity, organization or technology leads to a multiplication of their productive power, as the combination of computer and telecommunications has given rise to the Internet which integrates multiple functions including news delivery, education, commerce, and entertainment. (MSS) Value of Integration Reflects Higher Integration The value of integration -- such as in business where it enables smooth operation vertically between different levels of the organization in terms of plans, decisions, and priorities --  is an aspect of how each part of the Whole of a thing can see its relationship to other parts. This integral relationship is one aspect of having the integral knowledge of a thing, reflective of the integral knowledge and life one perceives from truth consciousness. Genius-based Innovation Garnered from the Collective Higher organizational values like coordination and integration can lead to the type of breakthrough innovation that companies and other organizations are looking for. I.e. innovation doesn’t always have to arise from the solitary genius, but from the current collective of people in the social entity. We could call it “collective innovation and genius.” The power that mutually interdependent people have to change the course of life thus emerges as an important theme. Across the Internet we can see such potential collective genius. E.g. Human Science, Karmayogi.net forums, Growth Online, etc. allow for collaboration in psychological and spiritual subject areas, blossoming  as creativity, insight, and innovation.   Adopting spiritual organizational values like harmony, oneness, wisdom, love, etc. suggest even greater collective, genius-induced innovation that can be garnered from the collective.   Also See Harmony, Oneness, Unity   Authority (top) Keys to Delegation of Authority One part of organisational effectivity is that the AUTHORITY has moved down from the top and functions at various low levels on its own. Authority is effectively delegated. Delegated authority defines the personality of the worker. He is thus enthused, energised, and motivated because what he does he sees as his own achievement. In India, it is still at the conceptual stage. Top management pays lip service to delegation. Executives in a private establishment do not go by the rules laid down, the speeches given, by the tone of those speeches and what the top actually desires. Very readily they tune themselves to the real inner requirements of the employer. When Khrushchev announced liberalisation in the USSR, he still behaved like Stalin and the rank and file treated him as Stalin. If you are presiding over a vast organisation, and you are genuinely interested in delegating authority, you will see that it is very hard for you to persuade the executives to act as you wish. People are not used to freedom. They can be licentious. You cannot easily persuade people below to act on their own. They will, time and again, do what you had wished long ago. Suppose you successfully persuade them, you will witness the entire organisation becoming lax and no one taking any substantial responsibility. It is an art to delegate authority and it is a science of management to make that delegated authority have the desirable effect on productivity. It is not enough to instruct. It is necessary to train. Before training your executives, look into yourself. See how much you are HAPPY to part with the authority vested in you. There will be a wrench in giving it up. Let it be a true desire that is translated into action through instructions followed by training. (MSS, slightly edited) Trading Management Authority for Work Authority as Employee Enthusiasm in Company Management believes in authority. Exercise of authority does work. There is an alternative method, which is better. Release the enthusiasm of the worker. Then authority will be superfluous. Train the enthusiasm into a skill. In that case, no supervision will be necessary at all. Each will be conscious of his own skill. In such an atmosphere it is not easy to make the worker leave the factory at the closing hour. It is the authority of work which is far better than the authority of the management. There is something even greater than the work. It is the Spirit of the work. (MSS) Authority, Delegation, and Freedom in Company -Power issues from authority, the capacity to control and direct energy. -Power is personalized authority. The ego taking joy in the capacity to control and direct energy, authority becomes Power and taste of power. -Power expresses impersonally through policy, systems, procedures. (Making the personal authority into impersonal policy, system, procedure is organisation.) -Power is exercised personally through the decisions of managers at all levels. -Power of the organization increases only in the measure authority is delegated down from owner to CEO to executives to lower levels. (Usually it is wrested collectively in a revolution, individually by a Rebel. Man concedes it when the climate changes) -The delegation must be by example not compulsion. (The CEO can be educated to delegate, i.e. he can see the overwhelming advantage. Education is mental discipline, i.e. self-compulsion.) -Delegation of power is achieved only through freedom. (Revolution is by destruction. Evolution is by education in freedom.) -Power is greatest and most efficient where its exercise is automatic, subconscious as in the body’s autonomic nervous system and in the systems of a company.  (MSS) Impersonality Enables Organization Making the personal authority into impersonal policy, system, procedure is organisation. (MSS) Levels of Authority at Planes of Matter, Life, Mind, and Above -The leader must know when to be detached and when to assert authority. For each level of consciousness/activity, there is a corresponding status of the leader. Matter – subconscious -- survival -- routine matters should be handled through system and procedure – authority delegated to a system. Life – conscious execution of work -- growth – areas requiring conscious discrimination and choice should be handled through conscious exercise of authority by managers. (The lower the level it can be handled, the more efficient and powerful the organization. The corresponding poise of the CEO here is that of the Witness who consents and supports and intervenes only as and where necessary.) Mind – planning & organizing -- development – in areas in which the organization is not yet fully conscious or in which thinking and analysis are required to formulate strategy through exercise of authority by Management Committee. (When the mind of the worker exercises, organisation at his level emerges, which is the last word in efficiency. CEO’s exercise is least efficient. Management committee does it better. The very best is the worker thinking about the work. He then becomes the CEO. Ford became Ford by such thinking.) Even here, the objective should be to impart the perspective and attitude of the pioneer/leader to executives/editors so they will take development initiatives on their own. Supermind – evolution – in areas in which the organization is unconscious of the potential, the leader as pioneer must lead purely on the strength of his own knowledge and faith. The goal is to move all decisions to the lowest level at which they can be competently taken. (MSS) From Authority of Ego to Impersonal Authority of the Company -Exercise of power is irresistibly attractive to the ego. (Now it is the ego of CEO. Let it move down to the ego of others. When the ego dissolves, it will be an explosion. Decision moving down expands in arithmetic progression as it is still exercised by the ego at a lower level. Sears expanded by serving the ego of the customer. Walmart serves lesser egos. Still, it is ego. When the ego of the last person dissolves, the organization will acquire the subconscious efficiency.) -Organization is most effective where power is exercised impersonally with the minimum of egoistic assertion. (Moving away from the ego is to move towards impersonality.) -This is best achieved when the leaders of the organization subject themselves to the impersonal authority of the organization. (They do so under compulsion, not by themselves.) The owner surrenders his authority to the company management. -Whoever exercises authority, it is the authority of the company that is exercised. (The US president, the police officer and the court all exercise authority of  the society.) -It is not the authority of the boss that needs to be protected and reinforced, but the authority of the company – the power to fulfill its aspirations.  (MSS) Non-Imposition of Will Question: As a CEO of a company, one knows that imposing one's will over others is often necessary to move forward. How goes one avoid this assertion (which often results in conflict and disharmony) and still have the power and respect necessary to to drive accomplishment? Answer: Authority is essential for accomplishment. Imposing one's will without personal egoistic assertion achieves results with a minimum of reaction in other people. Imposing one's will with egoistic assertion evokes maximum conflict, disharmony and is detrimental to work. Since any disturbance has a negative consequence and any act expresses ego, Silent Will is more powerful than external initiative because it avoids stirring up other people. (MSS) Power Acting in Freedom Leads to Abuse Where POWER acts in freedom, man is uncompromising. [E.g.] The employer will be merciless if there is no law restraining him and if the workers are timid and unorganised. The workers will not be reasonable if the courts take their side. How far these expressions of power - assertions - will go has been seen in different decades. When the situations change, it will be a sight to see the parties on their own switching sides and becoming rational. (MSS) Authority Types in a Social Entity -Social authority (e.g. the pressure of the boss or management or the ruler) is better than no authority. -Organizational authority (e.g. the authority of procedural rules in a system in a company) is better than social authority. -Personal authority (e.g. of the individual worker, such as a programmer) is better than organizational authority. At that point the social entity evolves from an organization to an institution, i.e. it is a matured organization. The Internet may be an example of this. Authority in Organization & Institution An authority should give way to an impersonal organization. E.g. from "I (or we) said you should do this," to the fact that there is a system setting out the rules for doing this, which furthermore you can actively participate in. The culmination of this is when that organization matures into an institution, where there are no signs of authority; authority is vested in and emanates completely from the individuals. From Authority to Authority of Affection In one's family or company where there is an established degree of good-will relax the authority a little. Replace it by the authority of affection, or other high or deep concern, attention, appreciation, etc. for those individuals. Watch then how the external discipline of authority gives way to inner self-discipline based on these higher values. See the positive energy rise, and good fortune come one's way. Continually moving life from the external compulsion of authority to self-discipline through higher values is the evolutionary progress we seek. (MSS, paraphrased and expanded on) Also See Thoughts on Leadership   Misc. (top) Efficiency Efficiency To achieve more with less is efficiency. (MSS) The Greatest Efficiency The greatest "efficiency" gives us the greatest result with the least effort in the shortest period of time. (MSS) Building Efficiency -Efficiency comes from experience. -Expertise raises efficiency. -Doing simultaneously works that are done successively saves time, energy and money. (MSS) Efficiency Efficiency is the means by which the goal of prosperity is realized. (MSS) Efficiency Efficiency is to enhance the volume of results. (MSS) Efficiency & Plane of Consciousness The company's level of efficiency is the plane of consciousness that it is currently organized at. Efficiency of Organization As we rise in the scale of organisations, from physical to vital to mental to spiritual the efficiency rises from one to infinity. Infinity means it is the infinity of the personality. Personality is the determinant. (Paraphrase of MSS) Raising Work from Physical to Spiritual Raising the efficiency is in other words raising the work from the physical to the Spiritual, which is evolution. (MSS) Scale of Efficiency It is possible to create a comprehensive scale of efficiency as determined by energy, direction, organisation, values at the physical, vital, mental, spiritual levels so that we will have before us hundreds of paths of efficiency rising from below. (MSS) How High Should the Company Aim to Improve Itself? The company should enter at the maximum level where it is positively organized, and do so with full intensity. By "positively organized" we mean where the company has the full complement of skills, knowledge, expertise, technology, energy, will, time, sales and marketing prowess, financial stability, structure, job positions, levels of systemization, etc. etc. This is the firm's level of efficiency. The company should then start at the maximum possible area (given the above constraints) where it can more efficiently function; and then, on the way toward that achievement, aim at the peak of what can be accomplished in the undertaking. For example, one company wanted to take itself to a whole new extension of its current work; but hadn't the skills, the infrastructure, the marketing reach, etc. to reach this level. Still executives saw that it could take what he was currently doing to a much higher level within the constraints of his current efficiency and organization. When the firm took the effort to provide the maximum level of services at his current level of efficiency, work boomed. E.g. with the same effort the company was able to perform the same services as before to a higher level audience directly (without the intervention of other referral companies), enabling its revenues and profits to quadruple. Life responded from all sides to his effort to do the maximum possible at the firm's current level of efficiency. What will then succeed for the firm is determined by its level of efficiency in life. The company's level of efficiency is the plane of consciousness that it is currently organized at. Life will suddenly and abundantly respond to an aspiration to take the company to a higher level within the constraints of its current efficiency and organization. Of course, the firm can raise that efficiency, and aspire for and achieve at an even higher level. Still at each point the firm still must judge if it has all, or at least most of those elements of that efficiency in place before the firm risks placing all of its bets on something decidedly new. As the company then succeeds at a higher level at its current level of efficiency, the firm should always aim for the highest achievement within that possibility of products and services offered. That aspiration and will for the peak will get the company to that peak. If, when the firm sets out on this journey, and it also sheds its negative propensities and values related to the work, top management will see that they will acquire an energy in their imagination which will in fact be the size of its accomplishment later on. You will see that life has a way of responding quickly and abundantly by building a bridge between what is imagined and what is accomplished. (MSS) Efficiency, Silence, Silent Will Efficiency is sought after in execution. To achieve more with less is efficiency. Participating in a wedding for the conduct of which three lakhs of rupees was spent by someone who wanted to be known as rich, one visitor explained to his friend how things were unorganised. Lack of organisation demands greater expenses. Planned execution, organised arrangements save Time. Time saved is money saved. He explained how the same work could have been done in two lakhs, which was self-evident to the listener. Efficiency comes from experience. Expertise raises efficiency. Doing simultaneously works that are done successively saves time, energy and money. Coordination is to see one thing in terms of another. In a function like a wedding, we hear from friends, “Had you told me, it could have been done cheaper.” We realise that we never thought of such a help. To be informed is to be efficient. To think of one work from the point of view of other works makes it efficient. Quantum physicists are turning management consultants extending the theory of chaos to decision-making. The army is known for its efficiency. War brings out one’s best. In a family, a crisis releases all the energy. There are occasions when a three-day work is done in one day, even half a day, as everyone evinces interest and offers cooperation. There is something that raises the efficiency of Efficiency. It is the power of Silence. What we know of efficiency and all its great aspects belong to the surface mind. It is governed by Time, Ego and thought. Our Mind has a depth. It is Timeless and Egoless. It is not governed by Thought, but is ruled by Silence. Achieving efficiency makes one tense. Acting in SILENCE makes us quiet, generating quiet efficiency. One may wonder how to act silently? Achieve efficiency and raise its level. Suppose you are shifting your factory and the engineers, by their best efforts, have planned to do it in six months and some experts have saved two weeks out of it, you have a good occasion to practise SILENT WILL. The work is divided into six or ten categories. Each category subdivides into two or three parts. Each such part will split into forty or a hundred steps. If you are the CEO or the owner, go through each of these categories, parts and steps mentally. You will be surprised to see new ideas arising in the mind. Maybe five and a half months can still be reduced to five months. Do not speak out your thoughts. Be SILENT. The shifting will be done in four months. You can go further. Don’t dwell on it in your mind. It will be inner silence. Every thought you have not expressed will be expressed by someone and get incorporated in the project. It is very powerful. Outer circumstances will be dramatically changed. The 5½ months or 4 months will be reduced to four weeks. SILENCE is powerful. It achieves what cannot be achieved. It strengthens Efficiency. (MSS) Inner Efficiency When you live within in the depths you live your greatest "efficiency" in life. Your efficiency is your ability to create great results with the least amount of effort in the shortest period of time. Efficiency of Following the Process of Growth Conscious growth is the ability to use the power of our minds to self-conceptualize that which we wish to become, and then follow a process that enables us to turn that wish into great results and achievement. If we understand this process, and ardently follow its methods in our lives, we can achieve at ten times the level we are now achieving and we can do it with one tenth the effort, and in one tenth of the time. That is the overwhelming efficiency of following the process of growth and accomplishment, as opposed to our current inefficiency of growth and progress. (MSS) Skills of Efficiency Efficiency arises by man learning the skills of efficiency till they become capacity to accomplish. (MSS) Efficiency Results are physical, but far greater than the sum of the individual’s work, working alone. We call the greater result efficiency. (MSS) Mind of Worker as Last Word in Efficiency When the mind of the worker exercises, organisation at his level emerges, which is the last word in efficiency. (MSS) The Skills of Efficiency Efficiency arises by man learning the skills of efficiency till they become capacity to accomplish. (MSS) Linguistic Efficiency Shortening the length without loss of sense is linguistic efficiency. (MSS) See MSS Article that Covers Efficiency       New Insights into Infinite Business Success A Growth Online Portal Visit Now     Growth Online   Contact Us