Humaculture®
The Seven Dimensions of Humaculture®
Humaculture® is a dynamic paradigm through which we can understand, form, and optimize organizations. It is also a powerful, holistic framework in which to make ALL organizational decisions.
Horticulture provides a keen metaphor through which we can better understand the nature of an organization, its purpose, and how it attracts, engages, grows, retains, sustains, and transitions the people work within it or interact with it. A skilled, knowledgeable horticulturist understands that success and sustainability of a garden or landscape depends on recognizing, addressing, and balancing The Seven Dimensions of Horticulture™. Likewise, a Humaculturist® understands how to recognize, address, and balance the corresponding dimensions in business or other organizations – The Seven Dimensions of Humaculture®.
| Dimension | Metaphor | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Environment | Climate and Terrain | Laws, community, customer needs and wants |
| Organization | Soil | Entity structure, purpose, job design |
| Real Assets | Space and Fertility | Capital, other resources, available jobs |
| Intangible Assets | Garden Arrangement | Brand recognition, organizational culture |
| People | Plants | Shareholders, employees, customers |
| Rewards | Nutrient Distribution | Pay, benefits, training and support, customer value |
| Created Value | Harvest | Products, services |
Think of the Seven Dimensions™ like this:
- The Humaculturist® must design the organization, pay, benefits, hiring practices, and all other aspects of carrying out the activities of the business or organization within the business and political Environment, which includes things like laws and regulations, customer needs and desires, and the community – the horticulturist designs and builds a garden within the constraints of Climate (hot, cold, wet, or dry) and the Terrain (hilly, flat, rocky, sandy), or finds ways to address or overcome some of those constraints (by building a green house, for example).
- The Humaculturist® develops, identifies, or clarifies the organization’s purpose and then designs and establishes the best type of Organization and organizational structure to carry out that purpose, as well as the best approach to fund or capitalize the organization – the horticulturist lays out the garden and amends the Soil to assure it has the correct structure, space, and fertility for the desired crops.
- The Humaculturist® effectively employs the Real Assets of the company (capital, buildings, equipment, etc.) to carry out the business activities – the horticulturist designs and tends the garden based on the available Space and Fertility of the soil (acres available to plant, rich clay or thin sandy soil, etc.) so the plants are productive.
- The Humaculturist® works to create and maintain the company’s Intangible Assets (brand and culture) – plant arrangement, Garden Layout and appearance are important to the horticulturist and depend on the purpose of the garden.
- The Humaculturist® designs jobs and selects People according to the required skills and temperaments of people for particular jobs based on the purpose and goals of the organization – the horticulturist selects specific Plants according to their characteristics to achieve the purpose and design of the garden and produce the desired fruit.
- The Humaculturist® designs Rewards (compensation, benefits, time off, educational and professional development, etc.) to assure optimal use of Real Assets in Value Creation – the horticulturist creates the best conditions to optimize the Availability and Absorption of Nutrients (soil moisture, soil structure, support structures, etc.) to assure the most abundant crops.
- The Humaculturist® Creates Value by assuring the right products and services are produced, they are of the highest quality, meet customer needs and desires, etc. – the horticulturist evaluates the quality and quantity of the Harvest, and makes adjustments in the other Dimensions as necessary to improve the harvest.
So, Humaculture® is the art and philosophy of creating profitable, healthy organizations, or “soil,” in which people can thrive and be abundantly productive. Humaculture® forms the basis for a systematic approach to making ALL decisions of a business or organization in the context of the Seven Dimensions of Humaculture®.
Humaculture® philosophy guides all aspects of the Humaculturist’s® work, even when engaged selectively on narrowly focused topics. The Humaculturist® always helps an organization’s leaders, managers, and employees understand how any aspect of their role and work can be understood in the broader context of the Seven Dimensions of Humaculture®, as well as how to apply the Seven Dimensions to make the best, most impactful decisions.
