The living company is considered as an “Owner’s Manual” in setting up a company that would last for centuries. The book sited to companies namely Stora from Sweden and Sumitomo from Japan. These companies are examples of what the author of the book calls a “Living Company,” this is defined as a company that surpasses the mortality rate of an average corporation.
Arie De Geus used a lot of metaphors in the reading which made it a clear visual representation on what are the best strategies in order for one’s company to become a living company. I agree with his analogy that if a typical company is portrayed similarly to the existence of humanity, that the typical company is like that of a Neanderthal, meaning that a typical company has so much potential and yet isn’t utilized to the fullest extent. The typical company doesn’t grasp the fact that a company is a social entity and because of this one must understand that the people comprising the company are far more important than profit.
With this said he elaborated a few correlations of living companies namely:
• Conservatism in financing – I’ve noticed in the reading that the value of conservatism is irreplaceable and is the key to prolonging the life of the company.
• Sensitivity to the world around them – as the reading said, adaptability is a very important part of the company, that with adaptability one could overcome the new environment.
• Awareness of their identity – it is an important fact that identity for a company is very important that one must be lost in the vastness of a business, one must still understand that in a company there is also a singularity present and one must work to achieve an “independence” within t ...