There is a lot of talk about change and transformation, but transformation is rarely defined. To me, transformation means willfully and creatively engaging with change. Change is inevitable. Nothing in this reality stays the same from moment to moment.

In a world of real-time global communications, change is accelerated through the memes, mediums and messaging available today… Providing evermore accelerated paths for transformation.

Shifting into new models

Business within this era has to – by default – be drastically different than before. While economics was beginning with the premise of scarcity, allowing for only two major models to evolve, we have come to a more advanced understanding where scarcity is limited to scarce systems, and where we can look to ecology and integrated systems to provide sustainable solutions – all within a global context.

Taking it personal!

Transformation is usually applied within the personal context. It appears to be used to describe an individual’s path toward a more advanced, empowered and connected experience. It tends to bring forth a shift in meaning.  In the business setting when applied to organizational transformation it tends to describe an attempt to migrate from one system of operating in collaboration to another, focusing much on the mechanics versus the shift in meaning.

A Business is a Community

Most of the time, a business is looked at as an organization, an institution. As Clay Shirky keeps pointing out, institutionalization and collaboration are two very different approaches. One thing a business seems to be, though, is a community, a group of individuals connected through a commonality: employees, vendors, customers, and the extended community of family members, end-users, and the neighborhoods the business operates in and affects.

Weakest Link

As a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a business is only as transformational as its least adaptable community member. A transformational business must hence embrace each individual within its community and realize that each is crucially important to the overall success of the business, and that for the business to transform, each member of the community has to transform as well.

An attempted Definition

Recently, I was invited to take over the business branch for the Institute for Global Transformation, a community working to bridge perennial wisdom with the 21st century. As part of this invitation, I had to become clear as to what transformational business means to me. Below an attempted first definition and distinguishing factors:

A Transformational Business is a community of individuals which – through products or services – aims to transform the lives of a larger community.

Distinguishing Factors

The primary distinguishing factors between a traditional business and a transformational business are:

Intent

• The primary goal of a traditional business is to create profit for its shareholders.
• The primary goal of a transformational business is to forward how we live on this planet.

Method

• A traditional business applies methods of production aiming to improve the mechanics of the organization.
• A transformational business applies methods of transformation aiming to forward meaning for its customers and the whole community it impacts.

So far, so good…

Obviously, this approach is rather high-level. This is purposely so, as the drastic changes in our environment warrant a root investigation in to how we exchange goods and services as well – and how we live in community.

Would love to hear your opinions about what makes a transformational business and how we can collaboratively improve how we live. Please let me know!