Quantum Management

What Is Quantum Management?

Derived from Quantum Physics, where everything is connected to everything and where matter exists alongside energy in a symbiotic relationship, so Quantum Management* aligns the physical nature of business goals with the personal, purpose driven energy of entrepreneurial people.

Historically, most organisations have adapted management thinking born of the Industrial Revolution more than 150 years ago.

Taylorism** comes from the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor, an economist and engineer born in 1856. Taylor devised a method to organise work activity based on the time it took for each activity and how tasks were to be divided up into specialist departments (design, production, administration, accounts etc). Henry Ford embraced Taylorism when he built his world class production lines to mass produce the new Ford Pop… “any colour as long as it’s black”.

Taylorism models and their ageing approaches are no longer relevant or appropriate in today’s world and even less so in tomorrow’s. There’s a new way of creating autonomous, lean and agile teams. Quantum Management removes silos of individual functions. Quantum Management is the game-changer. It’s a new way of thinking and it’s here to stay (for now).

Most companies work on Taylorism principles focusing on the substance and operation of what needs doing but lacking the energy of how talented people want to do it. Companies create a way of doing things and all things are done that way. Design works in one direction with the client and then translates it with the production team. Marketing, sales and finance build a sales platform where profits are forecast and derived. It’s dry and lacks any real motivational purpose.

This means that companies grew by functional department size and as each grew bigger, they became less efficient and less agile.

We’ve been going to work, functioning, producing the most widely expected results and going home, day after day, largely unsatisfied. For many, this is a lifeless process and often leads to burnout. Our most talented people leave and start their own businesses usually improving on what you do now. Quantum Management retains and motivates the most talented in any organisation.

Quantum Management removes this siloed approach and instead creates lean, autonomous teams throughout the business. As projects increase so do the number of teams. Teams become entrepreneurial and act as though they are small businesses themselves. They set their own terms, drive their own profits and are self managing.

Quantum management organisations require a clearly defined vision, coherent values, agile teams, collaboration between all stakeholders (which can include both customers and competitors) and small entrepreneurial teams to market solutions and deployment in line with the master objectives. Teams are driven by goals just as people are satisfied by purpose.

Quantum management teams self organise, self regulate and are effectively self employed. Quantum Teams work with customers directly and they collaborate with all supply chain participants. In some cases, Quantum Teams collaborate with competitors and affiliates. Quantum Teams develop a sense of purpose in the wider good and benefit mankind through their work. Purpose.

Reaching a goal is a great team event but less satisfying for the individual as they simply crave another goal in order to further develop motivational hope. Establishing a real purpose has greater reverse entropic benefits and rarely ends. Humans seek purpose in their life ahead of results and rewards.

The 12 Key Principles of Quantum Management (Danah Zohar):

  1. Self Awareness
    • Know thyself – the starting point for all change lies within you. To truly know and understand yourself is the key to Quantum change. Read more…
  2. Vision and Values
    • Assigning meaning to all that we do. Being driven by purpose and evolving as a collective group of value driven teams. Read more…
  3. Spontineity
    • Developing an instinct for spontaneous responses. Remaining agile in the face of complexity. Adapting thinking for greater flexibility. Read more...
  4. Holisticism
    • Seeing the relationship between all things leads to desirable outcomes. Removing the illusion of separation. Seeing infinite possibilities. Read more…
  5. Leadership (creating independence)
    • Everyone becomes a leader able to stand alone or they possess the resilience to be unpopular if they believe they are right. Creativity is the key. Read more…
  6. Humility
    • Being vulnerable. Being wise enough to know we are not perfect. Being humble enough to know the limitations of our own minds. Read more…
  7. Reframing the paradigm
    • Standing back to see the bigger picture. Taking that helicopter ride. Observing our thoughts and what is shaping them. Read more…
  8. Asking the ‘Why’ Question
    • Teams that ask ‘why’ are teams that will improve outcomes. Learn to ask great questions. Create terms for adaptation. Bring about new outcomes. Read more…
  9. Celebrating Diversity
    • Being exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking. Leaving our comfort zones. Accepting the ideas of others. Challenge perceptions. Read more…
  10. Compassion
    • Recognising in others any concerns that might inhibit exploring possibilities. Showing respect and understanding. Helping others. Read more…
  11. Sense of Vocation
    • Being called upon to serve the vision, the aims, all others and the desired outcomes. Creating purpose and direction. Collaboration and adaptation. Read more…
  12. Using Adversity
    • Learning from setbacks. Growing wiser. Adapting to adversity and turning each into a positive force for good. Read more…

*Quantum Management is a practice defined by Danah Zohar. Danah is a management thought leader, physicist, philosopher and author. She extends the principles of quantum physics. She creates a new understanding of human consciousness. Danah uses the psychology and social organisation of companies to change how we work and how we find purpose. Danah’s books on Quantum are essential reading for any business leader. The views on this website belong entirely to Futura.

**Taylorism divided work into different sequences. Each worker works in a silo, they don’t take part in other steps within the process. They specialise in things like marketing, accounts, production, design etc. Taylorism refers to the organisation of activities carried out in the workplace. It’s defined as an organised system of work tasks. Taylorism is a limiting constraint in today’s marketplace. Today we need collaboration, cooperation, entrepreneurism, agility and customisation.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash