Let things flourish

Part of the garden at Great Dixter

At the poles there seem to be two sorts of gardeners. At one end, those who create beautiful, ornamental gardens with nothing out of place, with flowers in neat lines, trees in geometric patterns and well defined "garden rooms". At the other are those who create places of stunning, but almost chaotic beauty. Both are highly skilled.

They provide a neat metaphor. We are just coming out of a business period where the "garden room" approach has predominated. Organisational boxes, functional reporting, clear lines of responsibility. Careful analysis of business sectors and "gardeners" with Lean Sigma Master Black Belts and MBA's.

We're moving into a chaotic beauty phase. All sorts of new opportunities are appearing that don't fall into neat patterns or previous categorisations, and those who are used to the ornamental gardening style of business are increasingly stressed. The businesses that are thriving are tended by those who rather than try and lead thei…