What is a MGO?

Meaningful Growth Organizations (MGOs) aren’t only focused on ‘doing’, but also (maybe even more so) on ‘believing’. An MGO is organized around the simple, yet radical, conviction that organizations prosper best when they are more deeply aligned with people’s strongest motive: to grow. Due to the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous nature of modern society (a so-called VUCA world), traditional organization designs no longer cut it. In a VUCA world, organizations should expect more of themselves and the people that work for them.

Why INFO wants to become a MGO

INFO believes in the philosophy that we can only help our clients together – that everybody has a certain role within INFO and that we need all those roles to provide the best service to our clients. So, from day one, INFO’s focus has been on collaboration and the development of individuals, and, with that, the disciplines, teams, and INFO itself.

INFO has been around for over 25 years and re-invented itself multiple times. But some things haven’t changed. INFO isn’t just a workplace but a place to feel at home, to experiment, learn and grow together. While we’ve found a successful way of working for (and with) our clients with the implementation of team-based Scrum, the growth and development of INFO’s workforce remained implicit and sporadic. Many initiatives have been started in the past to improve this, such as hackathons, connected lunches, and the INFO Academy, but we have lacked the structure to embed these initiatives into the daily life of INFO. And that’s where the Meaningful Growth Organization comes in.

“INFO is only INFO because of the people who work here, so personal development and happiness are important to us.”

For us, making the move towards becoming an MGO is about facilitated growth. In short, adding more structure to what we’ve been doing all along and improving on it. From now on, actively coaching and encouraging each other to grow will be part of INFO’s daily practice. This will keep our people motivated, up to speed, and relevant. And it will help INFO to deliver better products, to adapt itself better to external changes and to stay relevant in the market.

Key beliefs of an MGO that apply to INFO

– We have an equal responsibility to our people, our society, and our shareholders
– Reinforcing each individual of the organizational engine is essential to be successful in a VUCA world (people-first)
– Business growth equals people growth Everyone in the organization must (be able to) grow
– Learning is as important as performing
– People must grow in technical skills as well as in their mental states
– People development is a team sport
– People are willing and able to grow, take responsibility, and aim to give their best (Theory Y)

How will INFO become an MGO?

In short, we won’t. Becoming a company that facilitates growth and that grows, as a result, is an ongoing process that will never really end and requires teamwork. This process has a base that consists of eight building blocks: Strategy, Governance, Leadership, People & Skills, Culture, Way of Working/ Tools, Places, and Organization. We will focus on improving these building blocks and slowly but surely become the people-oriented company that allows and encourages its people to thrive.

“We challenge each other and brave the unknown together.”