Freedom without loneliness

Recently I watched the documentary of the IMU (Internet Marketing Unie): ‘Vrijheid zonder eenzaamheid’ (my translation: ‘Freedom without loneliness’). It shows what the IMU is and what they stand for. As a Business Consultant, online marketing is not my core business. I was mostly triggered by the way Tonny Loorbach and Martijn van Tongeren manage their organization. It’s truly inspiring!

When I look at the IMU operating model, the term Holocracy comes to mind. This model moves away from traditional top-down management and divides authority and mandate across all employees in the organization. To maintain a dynamic, transparent and flat (governance) structure enables the organization to be competitive and flexible. A holocracy is strongely purpose-driven. That’s all easier said than done. How does IMU do it?

First of all, the governance structure is flat, but everyone has clear responsibilities. Frederic Laloux states in his book ‘ Reinventing Organizations’: when everyone has the power to make decisions, the urge to climb a corporate ladder diminishes’. IMU puts this in practice, by looking at both strengths and ambitions of all employees, including themselves. This results in how IMU hires new people, but also how current employees grow. Martijn van Tongeren started out as a client of IMU, joined them as employee and is now co-owner. Two captains on a ship doesn’t work. So Loorbach and Van Tongeren also looked closely at their own strengths. Resulting in Van Tongeren being Director Today (operational and tactical focus) and Loorbach Director Tomorrow (tactical and strategic focus). Simple, yet effective.

IMU built a strong team and a strong culture. They invest a lot in their people and in maintaining the safe atmosphere. When individuals grow, the entire organization grows as a result. They went to Tony Robbins’ Date with Destiny once. They travel with the entire team every year. ‘You spend more time with your colleagues than with your partner in a week’. So a happy employee is a productive employee in their view. The way IMU builds networks among clients utilizing their platform, deserves a blog in itself.

What speaks to me most of all is the clear mission and purpose. Because of that, as an employee you can experience that ultimate freedom. To bring your entire self to work and to contribute in your own way. This may all sound straightforward, but is rather remarkable. Because most organisations I came across the past 8 years, still are often top-down managed and bureaucratic. Frederic Laloux states about the (holocratic) organizations he studied: ‘They look like aliens from an old tv-show: they live among us and aren’t recognized despite their extraordinary capabilities’.

Freedom is my personal, most important value as well. Every goal I set, every decision I make should contribute to my feeling of freedom. But how to define freedom exactly? Should I become a freelancer because of this value? Actually, no. In their documentary, Loorbach and Van Tongeren explain precisely what freedom is to them. Spoiler alert: it’s all about connection.

Watch the full (Dutch) documentary ‘Vrijheid zonder eenzaamheid’ of IMU here.