Name: Outlandish LLP
Based: London
Website: outlandish.com
Since June 2014 we have used sociocracy to make all our key business decisions. We have found the change refreshing, challenging and highly effective.
Sociocracy is consent-based decision making - everyone, who is interested, can raise a proposal, attend a circle (the activity when a proposal is discussed) and contribute to the decisions businesses normally allow only their senior staff to make.
Outlandish started as a partnership of four like-minded freelancers doing interesting work (data tools, prototypes and social media analytics). We began to grow and wanted a way of maintaining the collaborative, friendly and effective culture we had. None of us were interested in hierarchy, in managing lots of people or believed we knew the best way to do things.
We wanted to bring to all those who joined us the benefits, problems and responsibilities of running a business (as well as giving them a fair share of all profits).
Anyone can change anything, as long as they can convince all who attend the circle that their idea is better than the status quo.
Personalities don’t take over the decision making process, compelling cases do. It opens up the discussion around problems in the business. If people complain about how something is done, they have the power to change it. This saves time as a team and means talking regularly.
Abigail Murphy is a partner at Outlandish.
