We transcend outdated thinking to offer new ways of navigating today's challenges
Almost every system we depend on is facing multiple crises. They are deeply rooted in outdated thinking and structural problems, amplified by the increasingly complex and volatile world we live in. Risks to society grow exponentially and few people are capable of understanding and coping with this Metacrisis.
The Enlightenment, now over three centuries old did served us well but it was in some ways flawed. A New Enlightenment is needed to address those flaws and realise new opportunities. To be a catalyst for that 21st Century Enlightenment is our objective.
We must also address the imbalance between the three sectors of society - private, public, and plural. "The Plural Sector," named by Henry Mintzberg, consists of civil society, the third sector, and the not-for-profit sector combined. In Rebalancing Society: Radical Renewal Beyond Left, Right, and Centre (2015) he warned us of the dangers of the imbalance. He was ignored. We are now paying the price.
We are confronted by a Metacrisis, but all is not lost....yet. In every organisation in every sector there are individuals who want change. They are heard saying, "there's got to be a better way." The Enlightened Enterprise Academy exists to support them, and bring them together to cooperate and collaborate in multi-disciplinary groups. That is the only way we can hope to address today's complex challenges.
Members of the Enlightened Enterprise Academy, subscribers to our publications, attendees of our events, and participants in our learning programmes can access the wisdom of our faculty. It will become the world's largest faculty of practice-based experts and pracademics* if we achieve our aim.
* Academics with real world experience and interests
ENLIGHTENED ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE
We offer a range of multi-media publications, the most important of which is the online Enlightened Enterprise Magazine published on Substack and available free of charge. It includes a range of regular columns, feature article, reviews, interviews and news about everything else the Enlightened Enterprise Academy is doing.
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In addition to regular columns form the Founder and Faculty of EEA, we invite article submissions from our members and occasional guest contributors.
THE SALON
The Paris Salons were an institution of the first Enlightenment. They brought together the leading thinkers of the day, representing the sciences, arts and humanities. The Enlightened Enterprise Academy's Salon brings today's leading thinkers together online and at in-person gatherings. In themed series of dialogues we facilitate the conversations to bring about change.
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The first salon series is called Inflection explores the reasons we are at an inflection point in human history, at the end of a three centuries old Enlightenment Epoch. A second series will focus on "Strategy in an Age of Radical Uncertainty," to address the ways of coping with the disruption caused by the massive challenges we face in transcending from one epoch to another.
LEARNING
The Enlightened Enterprise Academy works with our faculty to develop learning products and services that include online and offline courses, workshop and seminars, plus in-person retreats.
Our products and services we offer are designed for practitioners, so ideas can be put into practice. Most are not available from business schools or other executive education providers, because we transcend the traditional thinking, much of which is outdated.
Each product or services is focused on new ways of thinking, new methods, and new tools. Each is designed to challenge traditional approaches that no longer work. The programmes in "Critical Systems Thinking and Practice," designed to address the "systems thinking capabilities gaps" that result from being trained and organised in specialist functions, is one example.
EVENTS
The Enlightened Enterprise Academy offers a range of online and offline events of our own, including live online dialogues for a global audience, plus offline conferences, workshops and seminars. Some are related to The Salon. Others are related to our Learning products and services.
Our events are created and delivered in partnership with members of our Faculty. Some are free and access is open. Others are member only events. And some are paid for events. We also promote events offered by partner if they are aligned with our purpose and are deemed to be of value to our members.
THE FACULTY
In 2025 we began forming our global faulty of experts representing the broadest possible range of disciplines, plus pracademics (academics who have real world experience and wish to have a positive real world impact). Working in multi-disciplinary teams our will design our learning products and services, contribute to our publications and take part in our events. They have the ideas to help catalyse the New Enlightenment, and we will be the platform that supports them.
The initiative we have developed with Aperture Strategy, whose founders are Faculty members, illustrates the way we work. Their new approach to strategy is closely aligned with the enlightened approaches to enterprise we advocate, so we co-created an Executive Roundtable retreat with them. "Strategy in an Age of Radical Uncertainty" will also be the title of a new series of interviews and online dialogues for The Salon, starting later this year. And it is likely to be the title of a future book. The Aperture Strategy founders are very experienced strategists that challenge traditional approaches to strategy.
MEMBERSHIP
Anyone that believes "there's got to be a better way" and wants to help create it should join the faculty. We exist to support those people, the pioneers that will help catalyse the New Enlightenment. We offer "Pioneer" membership that is open to anyone, and "Young Pioneer" membership for those under 35. Both can be paid for annually or quarterly. Members receive a range of benefits including access to all the series offered by The Salon, subscriber only content in the Enlightened Enterprise Magazine, and substantial discounts on the cost of learning products and services. We also plan to run member only events.
Paying members will also be able to apply to join the Faculty at no additional cost if they meet the membership criteria. They will then be able to engage fully in a partnership with is to co-create learning products and services, events and publications.