The 14 Principles of the Future Organization
Corporate Development – April 26, 2022
By: İbrahim H. Kayral
Metaverse worlds, artificial intelligence applications, new job opportunities and disappearing professions, online education modules, changing learning materials, Generation Y, Generation Z, and new generations yet to come…
Change has already knocked on our doors. With the pandemic, new ways of thinking quickly became central to our lives. Exactly in the midst of this transformation, J. Morgan shared 14 principles for future organizations. These principles serve as a guide for institutions that want to remain relevant in the years ahead. Let’s take a closer look at each of them:
1. Enable Global Reach with Smaller Teams
Talent is no longer tied to physical proximity to headquarters. For example, Amazon applies the famous Two Pizza Rule: if a team cannot be fed with two large pizzas, the team is too big. Similarly, you may also look at the Rule of 150.
2. Keep the Workforce Connected
An organization must ensure constant connectivity between people and information. Without this, businesses lose the ability to improve their work and fail to distribute workload effectively. Technology must be actively leveraged to make this happen.
3. Support Intrapreneurship
Entrepreneurial spirit, passion, and creativity should not only be encouraged outside but also nurtured within organizations. Employees must have the opportunity to test, experiment, and develop promising ideas.
4. Operate Like a Small Company
Small structures make faster decisions, avoid bureaucracy, and remain agile. In a fast-changing world, organizations weighed down by endless meetings and constant email chains will simply not be productive.
5. Focus on Desire, Not Just Need
Talented employees prefer to work where they want to be, not just where they have to be. Future organizations must create environments that people are genuinely eager to join. This is only possible by prioritizing employee experience.
6. Adapt Quickly to Change
Fast decision-making and high adaptability are no longer optional—they are essential. The pace of business will never be as slow as it is today. Today’s “late adopters” will soon become tomorrow’s “unemployed.” The same applies to institutions.
7. Encourage Innovation Everywhere
Innovation no longer belongs to a single team or department. To succeed in a changing world, organizations must allow ideas to emerge from anywhere and provide pathways to turn them into innovation. Having ideas is easy; turning them into outcomes is the real challenge.
8. Work in the Cloud
In-house technologies have an expiration date. To remain competitive, future organizations must rely on cloud-based systems and infrastructures.
9. Provide More Leadership Opportunities for Women
Women’s participation in leadership is not only a matter of equality but also of organizational strength. Excluding women from top roles means losing access to a wide pool of skills, mindsets, and perspectives. Diversity in leadership enriches decision-making and culture. (If you need inspiration, watch Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in The Intern.)
10. Replace Vertical with Horizontal Structures
Having structure is useful for clarity, but this does not mean everything should flow top-down. Collaboration and communication can flow side by side. More horizontal organizations and micro-leaders will be at the forefront of the future.
11. Have a Story
Employees want to work in organizations whose values they believe in and that align with their own. The best way to achieve this is by sharing your story—why the organization exists, how it started, and where it is headed.
12. Foster Continuous Learning
In the future organization, employees must be able to learn anytime, anywhere, and from anyone. Collaborative approaches and learning technologies make this possible.
13. Prioritize Well-Being over Pure Profit
Profit represents financial gain; well-being encompasses employee health, social contribution, sustainability, diversity, and creating a positive global impact. Prioritizing well-being will distinguish future organizations from the rest.
14. Support Adaptability
Future employees and leaders must be able to adapt quickly to change. Likewise, organizations must evolve to remain aligned with the emerging profiles of tomorrow’s workforce.
Final Reflection
At this stage, two critical questions arise:
How many of these principles does your organization already embody?
Do you have an action plan to address the gaps?
The future is arriving quickly. Wishing success to all who are ready to embrace it.
✍️ İbrahim H. Kayral