This book considers what governance could be if we thought about it differently - thought of it less in terms of rules, compliance, and 3rd party regulation; and thought of it more as a system of framing and relating, through which we internalise our purpose. Governance is the way in which we organise ourselves to do and be what we intend. But this cuts both ways - the felt experience of being governed, of being in a governance system and subject to its dynamics, can be both a symptom of the gap between espoused purpose, and an experience of the extent to which it is internalised; yet, the felt experience of a consciously designed governance system can help make sense of a turbulent world, and support innovation.
Based on 30 years working in a wide range of organisations, in many settings, the author, Andrew Harrison, contends that governance is an under-examined aspect of organisational life and how we organise - for individuals, groups, and society more widely. The book makes six claims about governance systems, and proceeds to explore these through 30 or so conjectures in which experience and theory are brought together to provoke thought, and develop the themes. In this sense, the book invites the reader to join in an inquiry, rather than arguing a case.
The claims cover the role of governance as a system for internalising purpose; as the way of un-sticking an organisation (but also the place where its stuckness will be most keenly felt); as the design of the way we do things round here; as a particular kind of work, on behalf of the organisation, in particular its system of proprioception, through which an organisation is orientated in the world; as an experience in the here and now of value; and an expression of the 'governing' metaphor of any organisation. As such, governance systems and their design have far reaching consequences - and there is an urgent case for their re-imagining.
The 33 conjectures explore governance as - amongst other things - a somatic system, as metaphor, as a form of immersion, as reverie. We re-imagine the role of the Chair, the nature of regulation, and the function of governance in metabolising differences in value. How might you design a governance system to support innovation? How might a governance system provide a resting place where new possibilities arise? How do we arrive at a settled account of what is good, except through a consciously designed governance system?
Drawing on ideas from frame theory, psychoanalysis, biology, and systems' theory, the process of re-imagining ranges across a rich variety of perspectives, inviting you to see governance in a new light.
This is the first volume in a series of three books on governance - the second explores the nature of governance in platform enterprises (Platform Governance: how intimacy regulate networks, learning studio forthcoming); the third concentrates on the role of governance in deciding on value (Governance creates value: how we decide what is good, learning studio, forthcoming).
Harrison, Andrew: - "Andrew Harrison is an international consultant, adviser and facilitator with 30+ years' experience of work at the edge in most organisational sectors. Expert in partnership working, systems' design and development, economic development, urban regeneration, organisational design and governance, innovation, social movements. Experienced as facilitator, evaluator, strategic adviser, executive coach; uses collaborative working practices (such as co-design), public narrative, service personalisation and integration, customer experience mapping. Andrew studied literature at university for his first degree, and has always written about the work he does; but this interest crystalised into more sustained pieces of writing around 2008/9 when several papers were accepted for international conferences on organisations and their dynamics. A longtime admirer of essayists like Adam Phillips, Andrew decided to develop a form of book which was an inquiry into a topic - closer in its guiding principles to an exhibition than an argument. The style of these books is conjectural and aphoristic, reaching for the feel of a conversation in that it provokes thought, rather than a polemic that seeks to persuade. The first of these was Intimate Innovation, which explores the contention that the ways that we relate are the dna of innovation. This led directly to an interest in governance, prompted by the question, 'what would a governance system be like if its purpose was to foster the conditions for innovation?' Inquiry into this, has prompted further research and conjecture about platform enterprises and the role of governance systems in helping groups of people arrive at a shared view of what is good. He has other books on the 'drawing board', with similar formal characteristics, but concerned with leadership, entrepreneurship and design. He makes sculpture, sails when he can, and would like to be able play the saxophone in ways which held an audience. He is married to Sarah Sutton, psychotherapist and author of Being taken in: the framing relationship (Karnac, 2014). They co-direct the learning studio from Birmingham, UK."
