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How is a philosophical framework that argues "how" individuals, companies, organizations and governments behave in a "hyper-connected" world matters more for their success than what they do. [1]

How was introduced by The New York Times best-selling book of the same name,[2] written by Dov Seidman in 2007 and expanded with a foreword by former United States President Bill Clinton in 2011.[3]

The How framework and is frequently discussed in the New York Times.[4][5][6][7] Since 2011, The HOW Column has appeared in Forbes[8] and several international publications[9][10] and previously appeared in Business Week.[11] How has been a presentation topic at the World Economic Forum,[12] the United Nations[13][14] and the Aspen Ideas Festival.[15] The philosophy has been cited as influencing the work of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman [16] and journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin.[17] In the The World is Flat, by Friedman, How is number eight in his rules for the new world: "HOW you do things as a company matters more than ever."[18]

Overview

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Individuals

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US Book Cover

How refers to how individuals should behave, rather than how they can behave. Instead of thinking about behavior in terms of obeying rules, and whether behavior conforms to regulations, How advocates thinking about behavior in terms of values.[3]

Since the world has become more transparent, connected and interdependent, especially because of information technology, the How framework says that behavior matters more than it has in the past and in different ways. Individual behavior can affect the world much more than it has previously, for good or bad. It also can affect people and organizations far removed from the individual. The world is in an "era of behavior", according to Seidman.[6]

He argues that principled behavior provides a sustainable competitive advantage to people and organizations. Behavior provides a means of differentiation, even in circumstance where goods and services become commoditized. "Outbehaving" as opposed to just "outperforming" or "outproducing" has become a source of advantage. [3]

Organizations

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According to How, the most sustainable organizations are also the most moral — via "sustainable values" (as opposed to "situational values"). Such organizations have a culture of sustaining relationships over the long term, with values such as "integrity, honesty, truth, humility and hope". Organizations that "outbehave" their competition are more likely to achieve success.

How argues that companies need to differentiate themselves via behavior toward clients because globalization has made many products and services commodities. Information technology has has amplified the consequence of good and bad behavior and made it more difficult to hide the latter. [3]

The theory has been questioned in Strategy + Business by an editor who argued that among "the most successful companies were quite a few that were known for visibly amoral — or, in some cases, exploitative — values and practices." But Seidman maintains the global trends of interdependence and transparency will make such behavior increasingly difficult to sustain.[19]

How says a better way than top-down command and control is for organizations to regulate and guide their own behavior based on "connect and collaborate." How says there are four models of group culture: "Anarchy and lawlessness", "Blind obedience", "Informed acquiescence", and "Self-Governance." How promotes self-governance as the most values-based model and therefore, most likely to allow an organization to thrive.[3][20] The idea is also described by Seidman in the Harvard Business Review as the "human operating system", where companies value humans and behavior at their core.[21]

In a a time of unprecedented transparency, the effect of good and bad behavior is compounded.[22] Reputational capital is as important to success in business as physical capital. Winning organizations build cultures based on humanity, How argues, defining humanity as "how you connect with and inspire other humans."[3]

Research

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In a 2011 independent study of several thousand corporate employees conducted by Boston Research Group, and designed by Dov Seidman's company, LRN, 43% of company cultures were top-down management; 54% were "informed acquiescence" and 3% were "self-governance." More than 90% of employees in self-governing firms, and two-thirds in the informed-acquiescence category, agreed with the statement that "good ideas are readily adopted by my company." At blind-obedience firms, fewer than one in five did.[23]

A 2016 study called the How Report included about 16,000 employees in 17 countries, 8% said they work for self-governing organizations. About 30% said they worked for “blind obedience” organizations and 63% said they worked for “informed acquiescence” companies. Some 99% of those self-identified from "self governing" organizations said they would recommend working for their employer compared to 31% of those at “blind obedience” organizations. Organizations described by employees as having both "strong character" and "inspired trust" performed four times better than those with other cultural markers, such as collaboration and celebrating others. Performance was measured by market share, employee engagement, customer satisfaction, long-term sustainability of the company.[20]

Applications in Society

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A wide range of organizations have engaged in formal How education. These include the NFL,[24] the U.S. Army,[25] and Kelloggs.[26] U.S. Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno included the How book on his recommended Leadership reading list.[27] Retired four-star U.S. Navy admiral and NATO supreme allied commander James Stavridis included How on his 2017 list of five non-fiction books U.S. President Donald Trump should read.[28]

Critical Reception

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References

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  1. ^ "Why 'How' Matters More Than Ever". Bloomberg.com. 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  2. ^ NYT Best Seller list - How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything, November 2011
  3. ^ a b c d e f Seidman, Dov (2011). How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything. Wiley. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Friedman, Thomas (January 6, 2015). "Time for a Pause". New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  5. ^ Friedman, Thomas (23 August 2014). "Order vs. Disorder, Part 3". New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b Friedman, Thomas (May 15, 2010). "A Question from Lydia". New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  7. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (3 February 2014). "Too Many Sorry Excuses for Apology". New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  8. ^ Seidman, Dov. "The How Column". Forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  9. ^ Seidman, Dov. "La Columna How". Semana Economica.
  10. ^ Seidman, Dov. "Dov Seidman Chroniques de Dov Seidman". JDN. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Why 'How' Matters More Than Ever". Bloomberg.com. 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  12. ^ "Dov Seidman". Word Economic Forum. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  13. ^ "From Leadership to Reality, Leadership for the future corporation with Dov Seidman - 2014 LEAD Symposium: The Future Corporation". U.N. Web TV. United Nations. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Dov Seidman at UN Global Compact". YouTube. LRN.
  15. ^ "Inspirational Leadership and Sustainable Values". AspenIdeas.org. Aspen Ideas Festival. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  16. ^ McGill Murphy, Richard (2 February 2010). "Why doing good is good for business". Fortune. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  17. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (3 February 2014). "Too Many Sorry Excuses for Apology". New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  18. ^ Friedman, Thomas (2005). The World Is Flat. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  19. ^ Kleiner, Art (29 May 2012). "The Thought Leader Interview: Dov Seidman". Strategy + Business. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  20. ^ a b "Why Trust Motivates Employees More than Pay". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  21. ^ "From the Knowledge Economy to the Human Economy". Harvard Business Review. 2014-11-12. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  22. ^ "Keen On … It's Official: Privacy Is Dead (TCTV) – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  23. ^ "The view from the top, and bottom". The Economist. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  24. ^ Pompei, Dan (24 March 2014). "Can This Man Help Save the NFL's Soul?". SportsOnEarth.com. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  25. ^ Seidman, Dov (21 April 2014). "Army's Basic Training Is No Longer Basic: Lessons for Business". Forbes. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  26. ^ "LRN's "HOW-A New Lens" Course Brings New Focus to Kellogg's Efforts to Inspire Values-Based Behavior". LRN.com. LRN. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  27. ^ "Ray Odierno's Reading List". SmartWar.org. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  28. ^ "Five Books for a President Who Doesn't Read". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2018-05-03.

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Category:Philosophical theories

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