Flourishing Enterprise Institute: An introduction

Bill Baue, Bernd Herbert, Lyn McDonell, Tim Posselt, and Randy Sa’d

Due to accelerating change and a widening range of complex, interconnected challenges—the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate emergency, to name just two— contemporary leadership extends to responding to polycrises. Leaders face increasingly volatile and emergent conditions that challenge conventional management best practices. Some systemically designed innovations that are useful at a macro scale have gained popularity, such as the doughnut economics model (Raworth, 2017) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals; however, innovative management tools or methods that have proven more reliable for effectively managing high levels of complexity are underdeveloped or under-represented—or incorporate system thinking but are narrowly focused on economic considerations and without focus on social and ecological considerations (e.g., Adner, 2017).

Recognising this gap, a diverse group of systemic innovators, experts, scholars, and practitioners—convening as the Strongly Sustainable Business Model Group (SSBMG)—have been applying systems theory and scientific knowledge to develop a new generation of advanced management knowledge, methods and tools designed to match the increasing complexity leaders face and support achieving a sustainable and just future. The SSBMG, hosted at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada, since 2012, has met in over 100 online interactive knowledge mobilisation sessions supporting collaboration and exchange among its members. In 2019, the SSBMG transitioned to a new format, the Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI). In doing so, what had been functioning for almost a decade as an informal community of practice began to operate as a functioning research and innovation institute.

In 2019, through a collaborative partnership established with the Viessman Centre for Engagement and Research in Sustainability at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada was secured to support establishing the FEI. Building on the results of over a decade of convening and the Founding Forum, attended by over 30 prominent systemic innovators, scholars, experts and practitioners from across North America and Europe, the FEI has re-oriented toward research and innovation. The Institute has amassed a transdisciplinary, global network of more than 2500 professionals engaged in developing, testing and mobilising systemically designed knowledge, methods and tools. Members of the FEI’s global community of practice are applying systems theory and scientific knowledge to develop a new generation of advanced management knowledge, methods and tools designed to match the increasing complexity leaders face and support achieving a sustainable and just future. The FEI is positioned to play a critical role in developing and disseminating practical, systemically designed management innovations designed to ensure the well-being of organisations and the social and ecological systems within which they sit (Posselt et al., 2022).

On an individual level, systemic innovators enable leaders to better understand dysfunctionalities, learn how to create truly effective change and envision what sustainable development could look like—all of which are crucial knowledge and skills to manage in a complex world (Riemer & Schweizer-Ries, 2012). Systemically designed management innovations can provide an advantage over traditional management approaches by enabling leaders to take into account key characteristics of complex systems, such as the interdependency of all actors and elements in the system, as well as the resulting emergent nature of—and therefore lack of control over—outcomes of management activities (Posselt et al., 2022). As a consequence of these characteristics, organisations are able to take forces of change into account in a holistic way instead of feeding them into departmental silos, collaborate with stakeholders through trusting relationships instead of transactional engagements, and remain adaptive to the emerging needs of the system.

As the FEI moves forward, the focus on knowledge creation and mobilisation will intensify, and it can be considered into two distinct channels.

1 | Mobilising systemically designed management innovations, which themselves represent a form of newly created knowledge. 

To develop future-ready solutions, innovators must deeply study current management practices, including the concepts and theories behind them. Building on this understanding—to match the complexity of our reality—a research and innovation lens is applied to exploring how these practices would evolve by applying systems theory as well as the natural and social sciences. The innovation, eventually produced and refined through experimentation and field testing, is a practical piece of knowledge, tool or method that aims to redefine an aspect of management practice in a manner that is adequately sophisticated for the complexity of our world. As such, a systemically designed management innovation reflects a new, more holistic and integrated way of understanding the management of an organisation and an approach to practising that is considerate of significantly more than what is typically within view. Such innovations are the product of years and, in some cases, more than a decade of research and innovation activity. The FEI is focused on building awareness of these innovations and encouraging their wider adoption. This activity is as much about promoting a practical solution as it is about the significant and innovative body of knowledge that resulted in its development.

2 | Focus on mobilising knowledge created by conducting action research while such innovations are being applied in practice. 

Being that it can be exceedingly difficult for systemic innovators to initiate applied academic research independently, the FEI will partner with community members to launch action-research projects. Rigorous, applied academic research will support identifying how solutions can be refined and improved to be more useful, especially when applied within different contexts. It will also help to credibly substantiate the benefits of applying a systemically designed management innovation (especially in contrast to conventional practices) beyond what anecdotal evidence may lend. These activities will serve to accelerate how quickly such innovations are recognised within the field of mainstream management and adopted by organisations at scale. In addition, this research will contribute to the identification of gaps that highlight the need for new knowledge and solutions to be created. We will also facilitate the sharing of such development opportunities across our community and attempt to provoke members to launch new initiatives in response.

ProfileS

Bill Baue is a corporate sustainability architect who designs systemic transformation and company-level solutions and is recognised as an expert on sustainability and stakeholder engagement. He is Senior Director of r3.0, where he co-leads work related to the regenerative and distributive economy. Bill designs systemic transformation at global, company, and community levels and his experience spans projects with multinationals such as GE, SMEs such as Cabot Creamery Cooperative, and startups such as OpenEyeWorld. A serial entrepreneur, he’s co-founder of a number of companies and initiatives: ThriveAbility Foundation, Sustainability Context Group, Convetit and Sea Change Radio. Profile adapted from r3.0.

Bernd Herbert is a business consultant with over 30 years of global experience in consulting, industry, and startups. He specialises in business design, innovation, sustainability, and systemic design, focusing on business modelling and circular economy. As a certified consultant, Bernd offers advisory services and workshops on strategy, facilitation, and project management. A certified trainer for the Flourishing Business Canvas and Systems Innovation Network, he advocates systemic design to help organisations evolve their strategies toward human and ecological flourishing. He lectures at ISEG in Lisbon and leads courses on systemic design at the School of the Possible. As an independent consultant, Bernd applies systems thinking to drive innovation, leading the Systems Innovation Hub in Lisbon and contributing to Catalyst 2030. His research includes systemic management innovations such as the Flourishing Business Canvas. ResearchGate | LinkedIn

Lyn McDonell, Principal of The Accountability Group, has served as CEO, COO, Board Chair, and Director. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario and a Chartered Director. An experienced facilitator and adjunct faculty at York University, Lyn applies systems thinking to organizations and is active in communities of governance and regenerative practice. Lyn is a contributor to The Handbook of Board Governance: A Comprehensive Guide for Public, Private, and Not-for-Profit Board Members, 2nd (2020) and 3rd (2024) Editions. (Wiley). Richard Leblanc (Editor). LinkedIn

Tim Posselt is FEI’s Director of Learning and Innovation. He is a German native and has been living in Toronto, Canada since 2020. Tim holds a PhD in Business Management from FAU in Nuremberg, Germany, and has gained extensive experience working in a research consulting environment at Fraunhofer Society in Germany, where he managed a team of researchers focused on Business Transformation. Throughout his professional life, Tim has been applying systems thinking to facilitate organizational transformation in various settings, from multinational businesses and small enterprises to local governments. As co-owner of a manufacturing business, he intimately understands the challenge of bringing transformative change into a web of pre-existing values, beliefs and organizational structures. tim@flourishingenterpriseinstitute.org

Randy Sa’d has functioned as the executive director of the Flourishing Enterprise Institute since co-founding the organization in 2019. As a career management consultant, Randy has worked with both multinational and boutique firms, including his own private practice for more than fifteen years, and advised a wide range of private, institutional and not-for-profit clients. Randy also serves as the Executive Director of REFOCUS, a non-profit cooperative focused on enabling senior leaders to respond more effectively to the accelerating change and increasingly complex issues emerging. Through REFOCUS, Randy co-developed and facilitated the Enterprise Evolution Program to support organizations in adapting strategic management practices and building new capabilities. As a speaker, facilitator and lecturer, Randy’s unique perspective on management and sustainability has allowed him to engage with dozens of professional and academic audiences in Canada and beyond. Randy is recognized as a Fellow of the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo and the Viessmann Centre for Engagement & Research in Sustainability at Wilfrid Laurier University. randysad@flourishingenterpriseinstitute.org

Tim and Randy’s profiles are adapted from flourishingenterpriseinstitute.org/core-team/