Owning Our Future

IIICreating Living CompaniesThe Five Core Elements of Generative Ownership Design

All acts of design are governed by a pattern language. Patterns recur when the language we use to make our world becomes widely shared. Among the most basic elements that create patterns of ownership are purpose, membership, governance, capital, and networks. These form a simple language of ownership design. With these elements, we can create a variety of kinds of ownership, just as ordinary language allows us to create a variety of sentences. In their generative form, these elements are Living Purpose, Rooted Membership, Mission-Controlled Governance, Stakeholder Finance, and Ethical Networks. Employed toward creating the conditions for life, these elements combine ...