The rə://gen code
The rə://gen code
You’ve come to the very core of the rə://gen method. This is the nitty gritty. As you’ve learnt, the rə://gen method is made up of a canvas, a kete and a compass. And in the heart of the compass is a code - a set of 10 principles or patterns to guide your thinking and your practice, based on core values. Not “feel-good” values but value keys to unlock your growth potential. They are the very essence of a regenerative business, reflecting deep, proven patterns of unlocking value potential.
When we reject the linear, reductive mindset and disconnected practice we’ve been taught as “best practice”, we shift from zero-sum games and unfair competitive advantage to win:win games of symbiosis; from exploitation to exploration; and from playing short-term, shallow games of ‘externalities’ to playing a bigger game of biological potential.
Learn the rules of the new game.
(BQ not IQ).
Stop thinking like a machine. Start thinking like nature.
Contextual Interconnections
We stop orientating ourselves to broken linear market systems and start orientating ourselves contextually, in time and place, in the real world. We acknowledge how market patterns and norms play out behaviorally, and how they impact social and environmental systems as lived experiences. We harness the value potential of interconnections as points of disruptive power in creating tipping points and trophic cascades.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Maramataka.
Bio-science led
In this age of biology, our building blocks of value are not binary bytes, but biological atoms. We respect the life-force and personhood of all nature’s creatures, and we leverage, without exploitation, the massive untapped biological value potential that exists. We hold bio-science as the bedrock of our business performance, in providing us our greatest disruptive power and growth potential, and protecting us the most from stranded assets.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Mauri.
Sense to Seize
We recognize our adaptive strength comes from our sensing ability -not as isolated data points or shallow social media polls but as a constant, dynamic flow of rich, contextualized insight. We lean in with care and compassion to understand multi and diverse perspectives, and we embrace local knowledge as recognize opportunities are revealed bottom-up.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Manaakitanga.
Nodal, Nested and Networked
We flip the switch on top down, centralized, command-and-control, recognizing our scale potential comes from being bottom up empowered and networked in a decentralized, distributed way. We harness the nestedness of natural (not artificial) hierarchies and we reclaim our agency to affect change beyond narrow accountability lines and mandates. We understand nothing is fixed, everything is active and all of it is packed with potential.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Rangatiratanga.
Designed for Vitality
We stop designing mindlessly for differentiation with a limited lens of product features, form and UX. Instead, we start designing mindfully for vitality - creating functioning, circular, systems that respect the latent biological and human potential within and across every stage of our value chain. We design to disrupt broken market norms, reshape real world systems and accelerate tipping points for large scale behavioral change.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Mana.
Circular Flows
We move past linear value chain thinking and embrace the potential of everything as a nutrient, a feedstock for something else. Just as natural systems stay in flow, we maintain a dynamic circular flow of our resources – be they natural, human or technical. There is no waste, no end of life. We embed feedback loops into our sensing mechanisms so our insight stays in flow as well, allowing us to rapidly adapt to change.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Whakamana.
Integrity of Everything
We understand that it’s our actions, not our rhetoric that define us. Our reputation is an outcome of what we do, and how we do it - not what we say we do. We see past the ruse of ‘sustainability’, the gamification of ESG scores, the greenwashing of offsets and work to materially improve our impact at every level. We acknowledge our past legacy load, and lean into our future legacy for generations to come.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Pono (right things) and Tika (in the right way).
Real Returns
We move beyond defining returns in short term, narrow, shallow ways that don’t yet factor in real world natural and human capital. Instead, we measure ourselves on the real returns of the natural capital we harness, the energy we use, the human potential we tap into, and the technology materiality we plug into. We uphold equity and reciprocity as we know this builds resilience, lifts productivity and strengthens profitability.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Utu.
Value Contributing
We flip the switch on the human-centeredness of human centered design, with a ‘value creation for value capture’ orientation that creates so many ‘externalities’ in the real living world systems. Our anchor is value contribution; creating value that contributes value to the real world. We don’t chase differentiation, we aim for distinction. Like the oxygen a tree produces during photosynthesis, revenue and profit flows as a net result.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Whakapapa.
Abundance in Tension
We realize our true potential comes from leaning into tension, not away from it. Tension is structural; and tensional integrity makes us stronger. Embracing environmental and ethical tensions opens the door to our real strategic advantage. We realize the more we redesign our business to lean into real world tensions, the faster we find the turnkeys of disruption to unlock a more productive, profitable and resilient business.
This reflects the core Te Ao Māori principle of Waiora.
Tell me about the key traps I need to avoid (I’m a Start-Up, a Skunkworks, a Strategy lead).
Tell me about my learning options.