Abundance Leaders

CHAPTER 5Macrolevers

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

—RICHARD BUCKMINSTER (BUCKY) FULLER

In this chapter, we'll explore the big changes you can make for a healthier organization: macrolevers. I will share four examples of these broader and deeper changes you can consider making to your organization. These changes are focused on increasing employee well-being and productivity simultaneously, and rethinking our historical conceptions of work, organizations, and power. Macrolevers take longer to implement and require more thoughtful planning and engagement with staff members and other leaders than microlevers, which we'll explore in Chapter 6.

We will look at four macrolevers: charrettes, the four-day workweek, workspace design, and circadian rhythm.

“… concentrated effort together with outstanding results …”

—Source unknown

CHARRETTES

One way to shift the annual schedule while promoting innovation is by introducing a charrette, an intense period of design or planning, which is a common practice in the field of architecture and has recently been adopted across many industries. OPG undertook charrettes as an experiment in 2017 and 2018 in order to test its impact on team creativity, productivity, and staff member engagement. We now hold a charrette every year.

What Is a Charrette?

Historically, a charrette is a process during which architects undergo an intensive ...