How alive is your organisation?

When the Company Thinks, Breathes & Moves as One

What if your organisation isn’t a machine, but something far more alive? Every living system has layers that work together, a consciousness that gives it meaning, a metabolism that keeps it renewing, and a nervous system that helps it sense and respond.
Organisations are no different.

🧠 At the centre is Consciousness - the heart and identity of the organisation. It’s how you see yourself, treat your people, and understand your purpose. When this weakens, everything becomes mechanical, efficient maybe, but lifeless.

🌿 Surrounding it is the Metabolic Layer - the breathing and immune system. Based on Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva’s work, this is reinvention as a daily practice, not a crisis response. It’s how organisations digest change and stay alive to what’s emerging.

🐙 Then there’s the Operating System - the nervous system and limbs. Inspired by the Octopus Organisation, this layer decentralises intelligence, letting teams sense and respond faster. Without it, organisations turn rigid when they should remain fluid.

When all three layers work together, Purpose at the core, Reinvention as the metabolism, and Octopus-Style Decentralisation on the edge, an organisation becomes truly alive.
It can think deeply, move intelligently, and evolve with grace.

That’s the model we use at Modern People, bringing identity, renewal, and execution into one coherent, human rhythm.

✨Why Renewal Wins✨

McKinsey’s State of Organisations 2023 found that only 43% of employees believe their company manages change well, down from nearly 60% in 2019.
Research from ChangingPoint shows that 70% of change initiatives fail, often because people feel disconnected from purpose.

When purpose is alive, renewal is active, and systems stay responsive, organisations don’t just survive change, they grow through it.