Heart-Centered Organizations, Inc.

1. A Heart-Centered Organization (HCO), has a clear purpose. While the mind is entranced by many things and fascinated by complexity, the heart loves simplicity and holds only one wish. Each person has a wish in their heart that they have had since their heart was formed, and this is true of a corporate body as well. When a person's wish is fulfilled, their life comes to an end.

Similarly, the Heart-Centered Organization is created for a purpose; when it has accomplished that purpose, it dissolves. The goal of an HCO, like the wish of a human heart, is about what it can give, not what it can attract to itself. An HCO is defined by its sense of its contribution.

The success of an HCO is assured by its persistent focus on its one defining goal. Just as the heart broadcasts its wish to every cell of the body, the HCO proclaims its goal to every participant: employees, shareholders, suppliers and customers, in a simple and clear statement. The purpose gives direction; it also gives inspiration.

2. A Heart-Centered Organization has integrated "two" into "one". It has integrity; that is, every part of itself operates with awareness of the whole of itself. Specifically, it means that the hearts of the people who comprise the HCO are united in direction, motivation and method.

IAM offers a methodology for this coordination of hearts, whereby you can experience another's point-of-view as if it were your own. An HCO using this method is able to coordinate its goals with the goals of its individual contributors.

3. There are three paths an organization may take in its growth, and these are the same three paths that the sages have described in the path of life:

The Saint's passive path of service tries to provide what the customer says he wants.
The Master's active path of power provides what the organization has learned to produce efficiently and seeks to develop a desire for this in the customer.
The Prophet's path is to educate the customer to appreciate something better than what they asked for, and to provide that.

To attain a higher level of success, a Heart-Centered Organization identifies the path it's on, and tunes itself to the needs and requirements of that path. It also looks for every opportunity to take the Prophet's path.

4. There are four dimensions of the organization's heart, each of which describes a group of qualities and a leadership style. Dimensions of the Heart of an Organization:

Depth - Integrity, Service - Height - Honesty, Excellence
Width - Synergy, Collaboration, Expansion
Forward - Innovation, Leadership, Risk Taking
Inner - Capacity for Maneuverability and Growth

These dimensions of the heart can be measured by a variety of means. If one of the dimensions is missing, it can be built up by a process involving first, inner discovery and experience, then communication, and finally, expression in management practices.

5. There are five levels of focus that an organization can have. Each level produces a different kind of motivation. The organization can focus on:

5. Serving an ideal
4. Creating a culture of growth, a "learning organization"
   3. Developing people in the organization
    2. Delivering high-quality products and services
     1. Maximizing profits

The level at which an organization functions depends on the level of development of its heart. For example, in some organizations, it is understood that focusing on quality will maximize profitability in the long run. Some organizations see that a focus on profitability is all that's important. Both of these organizations can be successful, but the organizations will be very different.

Description of a Heart-Centered Organization