Background

Dynamic governance, known as sociocracy in Europe and many other parts of the world, was developed by Gerard Endenburg in his electrical engineering corporation, Endenburg Electrotechnik, in the Netherlands. As an engineer, Endenburg was educated in the physical sciences and found the art of management to be unclear and unproven in its ability to create a harmonious and productive workplace. Using his company as a laboratory and reasoning by analogy, he experimented by applying the principles of cybernetics, the science of communications and control, to the management of his business. In the process, he developed a unique method of organization.

The name, dynamic governance, reflects the method’s roots in system dynamics and cybernetics. These principles are ingeniously combined with decision-making and governance to create a comprehensive and elegant feedback system that guides production and planning. This optimizes an organization’s ability to respond to internal and external pressures while maintaining security and stability.

Just as all the principles of system dynamics apply to all systems, dynamic governance applies to all organization. It enhances unique missions and goals and provides benefits that are specific to the environment in which it is applied.

Over the last forty years, dynamic governance has been implemented in hundreds of businesses and organizations  around the world.

Since the 1980s, John Buck has been working with Gerard Endenburg and his associates to master the principles and techniques to become the first certified dynamic governance consultant in North America. In 2006, he formed Governance Alive.