The Story So Far

AN INTRODUCTION BY HEALTHY ENTERPRISE FOUNDER, DAVE PATRICK

Welcome!

What is healthy enterprise? We all know intuitively what it is, we know it when we see it, or, more importantly, experience it - yet it remains very difficult to define.

Interestingly, it’s a term that seems to be being used more regularly, in a range of contexts, as a quick trawl through the web using any search engine will demonstrate. I first coined the term in 1998, extending the idea of the healthy company (taken from the book The Healthy Company, by Robert Rosen), because I believed that the issues being addressed were not just about business, and not just about organisations.
Three key questions emerged at that time. Firstly, concerning imagination - are we as humans exploiting our creative potential to its fullest? Secondly, balance - are we achieving it in our persona l lives, our relationships, our work, and our relationship with planet Earth? Thirdly, ability to navigate the future - we know the future is uncertain, but are we creating the future in a purposeful and meaningful way?

Since then, I’ve added a fourth component - authentic engagement (which I’ve defined as “a deep level of genuine collaboration between two or more individuals underpinned by an ethos of mutual trust and reliability”) - are we being authentic not only in our external relationships but in our relationship with ourselves?

These are not just abstract notions. They have emerged from experience - not just personal, but experiences of others shared along the way.

Now I’d like to invite you to share your stories in an expanding dialogue - to help create the next part of the story…