Author’s Update 2024: What a surprise to be writing this ‘Author’s Update’ at the invitation of Cornelia and the COIF project. Even though the story of the conference Caro Hall and I co-focalised here back in 1987: “From Organisation…to Organism: a new view of business and management” (FOTO for short), is explained in the original introduction to the book below, it felt appropriate to offer an update with a bit of background as to how this material came to be presented here and hopefully preserved for others to draw value from in the years to come. So here it is…

FOTO tapes photo

As the years march on we have recently taken steps to simplify our living situation. A major step on this path was our move to a smaller home in a new community here in Sweden. Having been in our previous place for 30+ years serving as both home and business there was a lot to go through and weed out in the move. While doing this, I came across a full set of audio tapes for the conference. A quick scan of the Findhorn Foundation archives sent for safe keeping to the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh showed that while the conference was in the list of conferences hosted by the Foundation, only one cassette tape was listed and it was not identified. So I set about asking contacts in the Community if there was a way to get this whole set safely stored, hopefully there. One thing led to another, and another and eventually through Leona and Cornelia I shipped them back to the Community so they could possibly be converted into digital format and protected for prosperity. Then I mentioned that we also had published the presentations in book form. That, along with a lot of work in between, has led to this opportunity to begin sharing them here.

As I revisit this conference through this compilation of the presentations almost 40 years later I am filled with memories of the amazing array of talent who came to share their experience and expertise under the spirit of the title: From Organisation…to Organism: a new view of business and management. It was a very rich, inspiring gathering of ideas still very relevant to the ongoing organisational, economic and societal challenges on the table today. And one lesson for sure – despite inspired visions and intense hard work over decades, change takes time, transformation even more. So the work goes on.

Another lesson re-emerges from a set of images I had while reflecting on what has happened to me since this conference and my time in the community. Beneath the floor of our everyday reality there is a cauldron of all possible futures bubbling away. The choices we make day to day, minute to minute, filter and distil these bubbling possibilities down to those few futures most probable to eventually emerge for us, and eventually down to just that one which materialises and flows forward, unfolding for us and us alone moment by moment. Often we are largely unaware of the influence of the myriad of choices we make daily. But sometimes we are gifted a precipitous point in our life, one of those “Y’s” in the road that present a clear choice to consciously make about direction, where if we chose left our life flows down the path to one probable future while right takes us down a completely different one to a completely different future. Such was that moment for me when I met the idea for this conference in a meditation and chose to go with it as I describe in the following introduction to the book. And now, almost 40 years later, reflecting in wonder on that moment of choice, of saying no to one path and yes to another, that led to 30+ years in our own consulting practice anchored as best we could in the spirit of this conference, I can only be filled with amazement yet again at how all of this works.

A number of the presenters have now passed on, but their inspirations, ideas and advice continue in their wake. Their passing has made it difficult to gain appropriate permissions for presenting their material once again in digital form. But with patience, persistence and perseverance I hope all presentations will eventually be documented here for those that follow us after we too have said our goodbye.

For those of you interested in the wide-ranging topics and/or the presenters themselves, several of whom have been long term supporters and contributors to the Community over the years, I hope you find nuggets of wisdom or ideas useful for your own life and work wherever you may be. I know I certainly did then….and now have once again.

In peace and gratitude…

Roger Benson
September 5, 2024
Nykvarn, Sweden

Click here for a list of conferences held at the Findhorn Foundation and Community over the decades.

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome….to what will certainly prove to be some most interesting reading. The papers contained within this volume comprise the thoughts and ideas of a wide variety of talented and innovative individuals, all of whom made up the faculty for our conference: ‘From Organisation….to Organism: a new view of business and management’, convened at our centre in Scotland in 1987,

The original idea for creating this gathering occurred in the Spring of 1986. I was back in the United States for an extended visit for the first time in several years, and I was strongly drawn to the world of management consulting. I happened to take part in a short course where I met several people doing this work, but coming from the position of working with vision and the inherent spirit within both people and organisations, as opposed to just the mechanics of structure, position, etc. Having spent some 4 1/2 years living and working in a highly complex and support-centred community, the organisation of which was based upon honouring this same common spirit, I was quite impressed to see it starting to be openly explored in mainstream corporate America….and quite intrigued.

Shortly thereafter, people, books and ideas seemed to come my way, one after the other – so much so that I almost decided not to return to Scotland and instead begin my work in this emerging field called Organisational Transformation (OT). When I did finally decide to continue my own path of service by returning to the Findhorn Foundation, I immediately met this conference in a meditation as a clear and precise vision seeking expression. I still remember the strength of the intuitive knowing that it was to happen at the Foundation, and be a gathering point for like-minded professionals on the European front.

Roger Benson and Caro Hall in the Education Office

I immediately wrote to my colleague, Caro Hall, then director of Education at the Foundation, and shared with her my vision and enthusiasm. She, in turn, let me know that she had the same basic idea at the same time. The stage was set. In the ensuing months, there was quite a bit of work to do to get the idea accepted within the body of the community, but the vision only got clearer the more time we spent with it. Once we had a ‘yes’ from the Foundation, we set off together to create this gathering without one doubt of its eventual success. The next 15 months were filled with the type of stories that in the past would be attributed to luck and coincidence- the right person showing up; the right article coming to me in the mail from sources unknown; all happening at just the right time. And above all, each of our first-choice faculty members saying ‘yes’.

Throughout the organising process, we worked consciously with the spirit we felt was trying to be expressed. The entire conference felt as if it was organising itself and all we had to do was go through the motions. We used, both consciously and unconsciously, many of the ideas and strategies that you will find represented in these papers, so that when it finally occurred and 250+ participants showed up on our door step, the end result was a true living expression of the content coming to be shared….the organisation of an organism, if one can actually say something like that. And the resultant feelings and sense of spirit that were birthed at this gathering are still going strong on many fronts – a testimony not to our part in putting it together but to the tremendous dedication and depth of integrity of those who came to participate. For they are the ones who have glimpsed a better way to live, grow and relate together, and have decided to work actively to put these principles into effect – to help the struggling structures of our society to make the changes needed to stay alive and viable in the rapidly changing world we find ourselves in today.

Having lived with both the phrase, ‘From Organisation….to Organism’, and the evocative photographs seen on the cover, for almost two years now, I am constantly drawn deeper into the metaphor of their symbology. Everywhere in society, when looking at the leading edge of theory and thought, one meets the concept of ‘Life’, evolving from the older models of ‘mechanism’. It seems that the essential spirit that could be called Life, that indefinable quality that separates a living being from a mere lump of clay, is seeking to re-establish itself in the human psyche – and indeed, if the experience of this gathering is any indication, has already sufficiently re-anchored itself in enough of humanity to begin to be reflected in the forms and structures that we create in society. This, to me, is the force behind the growing interest in all things ‘living’, and the gentle guide showing us that perhaps more things have a ‘livingness’ than we would at first think, even including our organisational structures themselves.

It was our intention to create an event that would bring together several different groups of people to explore this topic. For the faculty, we wanted to have not only consultants and educators working directly within the field of Organisational Transformation (OT), but also those who have created actual working examples of the principles in action. In addition, we wanted to include talent from adjacent, or sometimes non-related, fields of experience, but who were, in their respective areas, working with the same values or essence. Thus there was an increased possibility for cross fertilisation and the magic of synergy to occur, as idea triggered possibility, and possibility met excitement. We had hoped that these leading thinkers and doers would themselves be challenged and stimulated in new and exciting directions, as well as the participants.

On the participant side, we again had several groups we hoped would attend. In addition to the pioneers of OT within the European arena, the main body was made up of an international blend of consultants and trainers, both independent and corporately based, many of whom had only recently been touched by the possibilities released under the broad heading of OT. We also had many individuals who were working quietly, and often alone, within their own area or business – who were at times struggling to maintain their own integrity, sense of vision and feelings about what was truly needed to create a better world, about how to express Love in the everyday world of traditional business, against what seems to be the constant abrasion of fear. We hoped these would find that they were not alone….that they, indeed we, are all part of a much larger common groundswell of human vision and spirit. And more importantly, that they would make connections with others to form the supportive networks so necessary in this pioneering work. It seems that this indeed has been fulfilled.

And finally, we had a few individual managers who thought they were coming to ‘your basic management conference’. Little did they know that a deeper sense of themselves was drawing them to a quite different type of gathering. For conferences at the Foundation often take on a deeply personal perspective as we gather in the presence of a common and uniting spirit. It is in this type of atmosphere that insight and intuition flourish, often yielding deeply moving and long remembered experiences of being touched….by one another, as well as by something greater.

And this to tile, is the essence of this new thrust in organisations today….the release of Spirit in all its aspects and forms….the application of Love in its highest sense. Whether it be motivated by high ideal or simply the bottom line of profitability, one thing is certain: there is a new wave of energy, creativity and inspiration ready to sweep through the world of business which promises to unleash a potential for the common good that many have dreamed about for so long. This conference, and many like it – the faculty presented here, and many like them – the ideas offered and those yet to be – are all on the increase and proving to be more than merely the latest fad in the consultant’s bag. Something fundamental is changing the way we wish to relate together, and asking us to take the risk to do what we feel called to do….to become more fully human and create more fully humane structures….and to actively build the world we wish to give to our children. Our tasks are different, but our vision is shared, and is even now manifesting all around us. It is indeed a great time to be alive.

So, with this in mind, I invite you to spend some time with the material presented here, and to be open to possibilities not yet thought of in creating a world we would most like to see. The papers are arranged in the order presented, and while a few of the papers were submitted as the basis for the talks, most are edited transcriptions of the actual lectures. We have done our best to make them as readable as possible and still capture the more expressive essence of the moment. As with all material of this type, presented at what was a living event, the experience is bound to be richer if you were able to have joined us. But even if not, I urge you to contact any of the authors listed if you find your interest stimulated. Time was restricted so it was challenging to gain the full depth of insight that each had to offer. Therefore these talks were followed by longer workshop sessions on the topic at hand and most have additional material available. Their names and addresses follow each paper. […]

Finally, I wish to thank the faculty for the gift of their time in contributing to this conference, and for permission to offer these papers; to all of those individuals whose labours have helped with the production and editing; and a very special thanks to Caro Hall, Peggy Bray, Isabelle Duquesne, Katharina Brocke, Maria Adkinson, Thierry Bogliolo, and my partner, Maria Benson-Trap who together with myself, formed the organising group for this conference.

Thank you very much for your interest and support.

Roger Benson
General Editor

CONTRIBUTING CONFERENCE FACULTY
and title of presentation

Linda Ackerman: Linda is an innovative consultant and trainer specialising in managing complex change in the large organisations of business, industry and the military. She lectures widely and has just completed a book on Flow-State Leadership and organisational energy.
Flow State Leadership: A Change of Consciousness and Form
An edited version of this presentation can be found in One Earth Magazine article in Vol 8, Issue 1, Spring 1988 on page 8

Jan Backelin and Göran Wiklund: Jan and Göran work as consultants in their mutual company Banbrytarna (Pathfinders). Their main area is Organisational Transformation, working at an international level organising seminars and information transfers between Sweden and the rest of the world.
Nourishment and Life: The Spiritual Purpose of Business

Godric Bader and Peter Mattli: Godric is the Chairman of the Scott-Bader Group of Companies, a unique and pioneering organisation owned by the employees who both work in it and are members of the Scott-Bader Commonwealth. Peter joined Scott-Bader in 1958 as Works Chemist, a position he still holds, and has since served on a number of Scott-Bader bodies including Commonwealth Board of Management, Company Board, Community Council, and Council of Reference.
The Scott-Bader Commonwealth: Business as if People Mattered

Roger Benson: Roger is currently an educator and co-director of the Findhorn Foundation as well as a counsellor and business consultant. He offers a variety of educational and professional programmes centred on the themes of vision, creativity, personal and social transformation, and intuition development.
Essence of Community

Mark Braham: Mark is President of the Association for Integrative Education in Geneva, as well as an educational and systems consultant. He is a respected educator and specialist in natural organisations and their effects upon education.
A Model of Possibilities

Chris Elphick: A community activist for the last 20 years, Chris has a wealth of hands-on experience in development and structure of “community”. He works extensively with cultural and creativity development as a means of individual and group empowerment and has established his own consultancy in this field.
From the Ground Up: Community Creativity in Action

Gerard Endenburg: General Manager of Endenburg Electrotechniek, author and management advisor to industry and government, Gerard has written two books and numerous articles on Sociocracy, an organisational method based upon consent, and has successfully implemented it within his own organisation.
Business Without Owners: A Model of Sociocracy

Tony Gibson: Founder of Education for Neighbourhood Change at Nottingham University and author of several books on community development and planning for neighbourhoods, Tony is at heart a community organiser and was Development Officer for the Lightmoor Self-Build Community.
Growing a Working Neighbourhood: How the award-winning Lightmoor Project has taken shape and where it is headed.

Willis Harman: President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and former Senior Social Scientist at SRI International, Willis is an “exemplar futurist” and widely published author whose works include An Incomplete Guide to the Future, Higher Creativity, Changing Images of Man, Paths to Peace, and his most recent addition, Global Mind Change.
Participative Wholes and Autonomous Parts: The Organism Metaphor in Science and Societal Change

Roger Harrison and Celest Powell: President of Harrison Associates, Roger was educated as an industrial psychologist before teaching organisational behaviour at Yale University. He has since become an independent educator and consultant both in the USA and Europe, focusing upon organisational purpose and mission, and the development of responsive and caring service.
Celest, having been a consultant and systems designer for many years, is cofounder of Kenwood Associates, a consulting and training organisation, and as well has a private practice as a psychotherapist.
Organisational Culture and Quality of Service: A Strategy for Releasing Love in Business
An edited version of this presentation can be found in One Earth Magazine article in Vol 8, Issue 1, Spring 1988 on page 15

Hazel Henderson: Futurist, visionary, radical economist, author, lecturer, television producer…and more, Hazel is consistently in the forefront of evolutionary thought and perspective on the challenges facing society today, as well as the evolving forms of tomorrow. Her books include Creating Alternative Futures: The End of Economics and Politics of the Solar Age.
Living Earth’s Lessons Co-Creatively
An edited version of this presentation can be found in One Earth Magazine article in Vol 8, Issue 1, Spring 1988 on page 4

Margrit and Declan Kennedy: Margrit has a Ph.D. in public and international affairs, has published and lectured widely, and has also done research for both UNESCO and OECD.
Towards an Ecologial Economy: Money, Land and Tax Systems
Declan is Professor of Urban Infrastructure at the Technical University of Berlin, has previously edited a journal dealing with the science of human settlements and is currently co-founder and Director of the Permaculture Institute of Europe.in much demand giving lectures and courses. Both are architects and urban planners, and their work has led to a wider understanding of the principles of living systems and the relationship of money, tax and interest systems to the organisation of society.
Ecology and Economy: Permaculture as a Way of Mind

Charles Kiefer: Founder and President of Innovation Associates, Charles is a graduate from MIT in physics and management where he held both research and administrative positions, and currently lectures widely in addition to his creative work in training and consulting. His specialities include visionary leadership and enabling organisations to create the future proactively.
The Metanoic Organisation: An Organisation that Creates the Future

Francis Kinsman: Author, futurist, and consultant, Francis has a wide scope of experience in business and financial affairs as well as being a trained counsellor in Transpersonal Psychology. He has also co-founded the Business Network, a group of individuals who share interest in emphasising the human factor in business and management.
Creativity at a Distance
An edited version of this presentation can be found in One Earth Magazine article in Vol 8, Issue 1, Spring 1988 on page 11

Christine MacNulty: Managing Director of Taylor-Nelson Applied Futures, a leading futures research group doing innovative work looking at values, motivations and evolving social trends in the UK, she as well was a pioneer in the use of scenarios in corporate planning.
Women and Men and Power

Danaan Parry: Noted for his international work in conflict resolution and his ability to bring ordinary people from East and West together, Danaan is also an author and founder of the Holyearth Foundation and Earth Stewards Network, a connecting point for people who are committed to positive change.
Conflict Resolution Within the Circular Organisational Structure

Anita Roddick: Anita is the dynamic founder and Managing Director of the Body Shop International, a world-wide network of natural cosmetics and body care outlets, all adhering to common holistic principles based upon respect for people and the environment. She “is passionate about retailing and improving customer care” and “would rather wear out than rust to death”.
The Responsibilities of Profit
An edited version of this presentation can be found in One Earth Magazine article in Vol 8, Issue 1, Spring 1988 on page 6

Peter Russell: Author of the widely acclaimed book, The Awakening Earth, Peter is also a psychologist, futurist and international consultant, holding degrees in theoretical physics, experimental psychology, and computer science, all of which contribute to his unique perspectives on human and planetary evolution.
Redemption of the Executive

Roger Benson

Originally from the US, married at the Foundation with Maria Trap in ’87, have had an organisational consulting practice for 30+ years after leaving the Foundation, now retired.