Dependence, Independence, Interdependence and Permission

Most of us are brought up to be dependent - on other's approval, on "experts", and to needing permission.

In the industrial era, it made sense, hierarchies were effective means of command and control, and compliance meant the difference between earning a living, or not.

As technology and social structures changed, we moved towards greater independence, often with money at the heart of it. Lifelong employment disappeared, and with it notions of loyalty and duty towards an employer, to be replaced by independence  for those who had marketable skills, or independent means. It gave us a sort of lonely freedom - not being governed, but without the work community that often provides support and meaning.

The most successful are now moving beyond this to interdependence - retaining all the options of independence, but choosing communities and "tribes" of those they choose to share their work and lives with. I work with a lot of fast growing businesses, and this feature - an interdependence with …