By Carolyn Shomali, PAR 

At a time when so much of the conversation in the association community centers on AI integration, there’s a new book that explores a business approach focused on something equally critical: the intelligence of an organization’s people.

The Octopus Organization by Phil Le-Brun and Jana Werner offers a fresh analogy for building growth-oriented business cultures, and may resonate strongly with associations today. The model doesn’t dismiss the importance of process; rather, it emphasizes the need for adaptability and highlights the power of trusting the people within those processes to respond with intelligence and insight.

The concept, explored in this Harvard Business Review article, feels particularly relevant for associations. It takes the backbone of our organizations, human connection, and shows how it fuels the agility and responsiveness that define the Octopus Organization.

For decades, organizations have been compared to machines: designed for efficiency, predictability, and risk reduction. But Le-Brun and Werner argue that this metaphor is now outdated. Instead, they suggest that modern organizations should operate more like an octopus—a creature whose arms “can think and act independently yet work in perfect concert.”

“The need for the Octopus Org arises from a fundamental mismatch: Most companies are built for a complicated world, but the one they now inhabit is irrevocably complex.”

While “complicated” and “complex” may seem like words with similar meanings, the authors distinguish the two: a complicated world can be better managed through process and precision. They suggest thinking of an airplane, where success depends on following detailed checklists. A complex world, by contrast, is more like the ocean. Navigating it requires the ability to sense, learn, and adapt in real time.

The Octopus Organization model offers a design for moving more fluidly through uncertainty, something all associations face to varying degrees. And for our associations who by their very nature are built like a many-armed creature – think membership, education, partnerships, volunteers, boards – it’s a model worth exploring.

Le-Brun and Werner outline three principles of the Octopus Organization that associations may find particularly relevant.

1. Make Changes With People, Not to Them

As organizations adapt to changing environments, the people implementing those changes must be part of the design.

“If your people aren’t identifying what’s holding them back or suggesting solutions and experimenting to achieve them, then you’re not evolving into an Octopus Org,” the authors note.

This idea is especially relevant for associations. It’s also a point that upcoming PAR RevUP Summit keynote speaker Rhonda Payne emphasizes in her work on change leadership:

“Too many association revenue leaders treat change initiatives like a project plan with a tactical rollout when it’s also very much a people process,” Payne says.

Change triggers human emotions, and successful change leaders see not only the operational steps but also the people who will bring that change to life.

2. Entwine Learning and Impact

Octopus Organizations don’t rely on multi-year initiatives or massive top-down transformations to grow. Experimentation is part of their organizational DNA, and it happens continuously at all levels.

This approach isn’t one associations are particularly comfortable with. We tend to overtest or overdevelop ideas before sharing them with members, or confine innovation to a single department rather than encouraging it across the organization.

But the American Geophysical Union (AGU), a finalist for the PAR Pierre Award, demonstrates what’s possible when innovation is woven into association culture. Through its Design Sprints – two-day, cross-departmental brainstorming sessions – AGU staff developed a plan to use Natural Language Processing and AI tools to connect scientists across its vast membership.

Technology made the program possible, but it was employees (empowered to think differently in a complex environment) who sparked it in the first place. As Heather Lent, Director of Digital Development, shares, innovation is weaved throughout the organization: “We don’t have a lot of bureaucracy to get through. We have adopted this learn, adapt, execute framework.”

3. Do Less to Achieve More

This principle should resonate with associations who consider themselves short-staffed or resource-constrained. Rather than layering on more, Octopus Organizations simplify.

The American Society for Non-Destructive Testing (ASNT), another Pierre finalist, simplified their membership offerings from 11 to four — including a freemium option. The result? More than 2,500 new members and $100,000 in new non-dues revenue.

But the real impact wasn’t solely in the numbers, it was cultural. With over 100 new members joining each month the organization’s energy shifted, inspired by the outcome of a new approach.

“By removing the barriers, they are showing up—and we are delighted,” says Pat White, Director of Membership and Engagement.

Sometimes, progress itself becomes the most powerful motivator to continue to innovate.

It’s Not Easy, but Associations May be Naturally Suited

If your association tends to shy away from process, the Octopus Organization model is not about eliminating it altogether. Data, insights, and process are still important, but this approach shows how transformative an organization can be when its people are trusted and empowered to test, experiment and think critically.

Le-Brun and Werner note that adopting this mindset requires a commitment to culture above all else, and a heightened attention to organizational behaviors. Leaders who assume their teams understand the vision, treat employees like cogs in a system, or undervalue a member-centric focus across all levels will fail at this approach.

Recognizing the value in experimentation – and not just with new products but with organization operations – can spur action. The authors point to experiments from familiar companies: Netflix removed its formal vacation policy to signal trust; Google simplified its interview process to empower decisive decision-making; Coca-Cola shortened company-wide approval cycles.

Additionally, as teams experiment, the Octopus Organization approach avoids “scaling” one success to another department and instead encourages ideas to “spread.”

“A successful practice (or the removal of one) inspires curiosity in another group, which then adapts the idea to fit its unique challenges,” the authors write.

The Octopus Organization positions something associations often see as a challenge — multiple arms focused on different elements of their mission — as a key advantage if given the support to experiment and evolve.

Each arm of an association can sense, learn, and act on what its stakeholders need. Collectively, the organization can leverage the knowledge from each arm to advance the industry as a whole.

If any sector is ready to embrace that kind of intelligence and agility, it may be associations.