The Rehumanization of Organizations: Moving From Mechanicsville to Anthropolis
Modern organizations shaped by the culture of Mechanicsville lose their capacity to nurture human beings in a spirit of community. In their drive for efficiency, metrics, control, and reductionist clarity, they hollow out the dignity of the individual, fragment thought, and render communities contractual. The task of rehumanization is then to reverse these effects, And not by merely adjusting existing processes, but by re-establishing a vision of organizations as human communities armed with understanding, and aimed at flourishing.
It is critically important not to consider the following ideas a checklist to be followed. It is not
another Seven-Step Process to a “better you.” Think of it rather as a conceptual framework to adopt in all thought related to your organization. Also, please do not reduce the list to an Organizational Psychology to be applied to greater effect. Modern psychology is nothing more than another set of systems and process that bypass the underlying belief-based basis that defines us as individuals – and as members of our communities. Lastly, please do not view Human Replacement Theory as just another in a long line of self-help books. It does not qualify.
1. Adopt the Framework of the Anthropic Profile
Any movement in the direction of rehumanization begins with the active acceptance of the Anthropic Profile, with its beliefs and priorities, as the precursor to all organizational thought and action. It is to acknowledge that all strategic plans, all economic pursuits, and all tactical actions are ultimately the result of the beliefs of the organization; not empirically-derived.
This is a shift from Doing to Being. Doing always follows Being. The arrow only goes one way.
2. Recognize the Dehumanizing Forces at Work
Rehumanization begins with a clear-eyed recognition of how organizations have been shaped by the thought-forms existent in Mechanicsville. The reductionism, instrumentalism, and relativism that propels dehumanization must be replaced with thoughtful consideration of the beliefs that populate the Anthropic Profile in its entirety. They all must be addressed.
This is a shift from Systems to People. Systems exist for people. Not the other way around.
3. Reassert the Primacy of Personhood
The core principle of rehumanization is the recognition that every member of the organizationis a person, not a mechanism. Thinking of the organization’s members as assets, treating them as inputs, and measuring their worth in “metrics” must be replaced with asserting the dignity of each individual as a member of the community.
This is a shift from Parts to Persons. Persons love their communities. Parts just break.
4. Reframe Purpose Beyond Productive Progress
In Mechanicsville organizations adopt a very narrow set of purposes as they seek to maximize productive efficiency and create “shareholder value.” Orienting the actions of the organization around the accomplishment of basic economic and statistical measurements must be replaced by cultivating an environment that sponsors human “goods” intrinsic to the people.
This is a shift from Productivity to “Goods.” Goods are good. Productivity is provisional.
5. Restore the Possibility of Synthetic Thought
One hallmark of the dehumanization inherent in Mechanicsville is the loss of synthetic thought; that is the ability to connect parts into a meaningful whole. The tunnel vision and moral blindness that envelops the Mechanical Mindset must be replaced with cross-disciplinary thinking that informs wisdom and sponsors creativity.
This is a shift from Calculator to Synthesizer. Synthesis is active. Calculation is blind.
6. Reintroduce Moral Foundations
Organizations stripped of moral foundations inevitably drift into a lack of concern for others resulting in an organization whose only real care is personal self-interest. Rehumanization requires a return to the type of moral anchoring and “codes of conduct” that reflect anethical framework that is broadly embodied across the entire organization.
This is a shift from Relativism to Objectivity. Objectivity provides grounding. Relativity – chaos.
7. Reweave the Bonds of Community
Organizations are not merely task-machines; they are communities of belonging. To rebuild community is to reestablish the trust that only exists in environments of shared beliefs andpriorities. When the lenses through which the organization see themselves and the world around them are “ground” in agreement within the Anthropic Profile, rehumanization thrives.
This is a shift from Deployment to Collaboration. Collaboration trusts. Deployment sucks.
8. Reorient Toward Reality Rather than Simulation
Organizations that are governed by models, projections, and simulations obscure the reality of existence that allows for successful futures. While all the “math” is important, there is nothingmore critical to rehumanization than escaping the grasp of all the numbers and of actuallyimagining the future of the organization consistent with its beliefs and interests.
This is a shift from Data to Truth. Truth is the defined reality. Data is but a thin slice of reality.
The Outcomes of Rehumanization
In a rehumanized organization, thought and spirits are revived. Intelligence becomes usable. Morality re-enters decision-making. The people regain dignity. The organization ceases to be more than a mechanism of profit and becomes a living body of persons in pursuit of shared flourishing. But of equal importance, nothing on the mechanical side need be sacrificed. Rehumanized organizations can clearly be better at operating the Mechanical Model than those who live in Mechanicsville. They recognize that the mechanical part is the “easy part.” Rehumanization is not a fix, it is rather a transformation. It requires rejecting the reductionist inheritance of Mechanicsville and embracing the richer, synthetic, moral, and “transcendent” vision of Anthropolis. Step by step, organizations can recover their humanity: by restoring personhood, purpose, morality, freedom, community, and reality. Only then can organizations think clearly, decide rightly, and act with creativity and foresight in a world of complexity and confusion.
“If you find your organization in Mechanicsville, please move backto Anthropolis. Life is infinitely better there – and fromevery perspective.”
– Brian Nygaard