Mind Your Business: Understanding a Business as an Organism

by Shannon Bond

“Hello, I am no longer with the company. Please contact Lisa in human resources or Rebecca in operations. Thanks, and have a great day.” Hired, retired, fired, and resigned. People come and go. So, what exactly is a company if it’s made of people? People are constantly moving in and out, affecting organizational culture with every change.

However, we often treat organizations as if they were people. Nouns instead of verbs. We say that the “company” did this or the “corporation” did that. But what are we really talking about? One could argue that an organization is an idea, a vision driven by a rotating cadre of people. And under this idea, one can observe an organism always in flux. But to define what the organism is, one cannot simply tally the different parts. A head, an eye, a brain. No, as systems theory tells us, a system is more than the sum of its parts. So, at the most fundamental level, a business is an idea driven by a systemic organism, which is always changing with the people who carry the vision.

Each person, group, and team serves a different role, dependent on each other, keeping the whole alive. The only thing keeping the idea or corporate “identity” alive is the passing on of vision, values, and infrastructure (processes, IT systems, product development methodologies, etc.). And that’s the goal, keeping the organism alive. But, unlike a person, living doesn’t mean literal breathing; it is a metaphorical breath that organizations take, defined by the stakeholders.

Regarding a for-profit business, breath is the flow of money in and out. Operating costs, manufacturing costs, deliverables… profit is a breath in, expense, breath out.

For a non-profit or government organization, the breath could be centered on services instead of profit. Funding community services, food, education, etc. While money is important here, too, it’s the services that define life instead of profit, and the stakeholders have a different approach to defining life. The same is true of government agencies. Life for the government is defined by quality for constituents and customers, not profit for boards and stakeholders. That’s an important distinction. To breathe in is to receive funding provided by donations and tax payers and to breathe out is to provide needed services, safety, and goods.

What is the purpose?

If the breath of the organization is to make a profit or provide a service, the overlaying purpose is what drives the business. Maybe it manufactures computers, purses, or offers software as a service. Maybe the nonprofit feeds the poor, educates the underprivileged, or develops affordable housing and helps adults with disabilities. Maybe the government agency provides medical services, social security payments, or keeps water supplies safe.

Purpose is where mission statements come in. Something like, “To make the best computers on the planet,” or “to provide affordable housing to citizens in every city.” Now, with breath and purpose, an organization has life.

How does the organism work?

People define a business. There are managers, project managers, developers, business analysts, carpenters, plumbers, and so on. These people together use the breath of a business to execute the purpose, the same way that organs in a human body come together to serve the whole.

Processes and business functions serve the business organism. But when a part is inefficient or loses its use, just like tonsils or an appendix, it can be removed or operated on. In this case, it can be cut or reimagined based on market need or changing vision. Remember, as people come and go, the vision of a business will change.

Why does it matter?

As we read stories, headlines, or social media about businesses, non-profits, or government agencies, it’s helpful to remember that these entities are not nouns or a single CEO, they are an organism made of people. These people have different backgrounds, worldviews, and lives, and each is contributing to the whole, but does not carry the whole.

And, as the business organism breathes, it serves an ever-evolving purpose. That evolution is driven by the people filtering in and out of the “idea and vision” for that organization. And with each change comes a new direction, large and perceptible by the public or small and nuanced. Beyond our outside judgment of a company, as we look upon our own careers and the jobs we apply for, it helps to understand how a business’s values, ideas, and vision align with our own and how we would like to contribute to the organizational organism if we are one of the people filtering in.