The Self-Authoring Organisation: Beyond Static Positioning

In 1990, a small design company spun out of Acorn Computers in Cambridge with just twelve engineers. They focused on creating a new kind of microprocessor—one that prioritised power efficiency over raw performance. At the time, industry giants like Intel dominated the market with increasingly powerful chips, measured primarily by clock speed. The conventional positioning wisdom suggested competing directly on performance metrics.

But this small company chose a different path.

ARM (Advanced RISC Machines) instead focused relentlessly on power-efficient designs that could enable computing in places where traditional processors couldn’t go. This wasn’t just a tactical decision; it reflected a fundamental essence about who they were and what they valued. This essence—enabling computing everywhere through power efficiency—has remained remarkably consistent for over three decades.

What has evolved, however, is how ARM expresses this essence in the market:

• In the 1990s, ARM positioned itself as an alternative to complex chip designs for niche embedded systems
• By the early 2000s, they evolved into the enabler of the mobile computing revolution
• Through the 2010s, they reframed their position as the foundation of the Internet of Things
• Today, they stand as the architecture powering AI at the edge of networks

At each stage, ARM systematically evolved its market position while maintaining its core identity. They didn’t just react to market changes—they continuously rewrote their story in a deliberate, organised fashion. As their former CEO Simon Segars put it: “Power is the number one design constraint for almost all computing applications, from sensors to servers… Our focus has always been on creating the most energy-efficient computing platforms. That’s been in our DNA from day one, and it’s what has allowed us to grow from embedded controllers to smartphones to servers.” This perfectly illustrates how ARM’s essence—power efficiency—has remained constant while their positioning has evolved to address new markets and opportunities.

ARM exemplifies what we call a self-authoring organisation—a business that continuously revises and refreshes its positioning through systematic learning and adaptation. And in today’s rapidly changing markets, this capacity for continuous self-authorship while maintaining essence integrity has become the ultimate competitive advantage.

The Positioning Paradox

Throughout this book, we’ve explored how to establish a clear, compelling position in the market. We’ve examined how positioning must express authentic essence, create meaningful differentiation, and build gravitational pull. This work creates strong foundations—but now we face a fundamental paradox:

• Stable positioning provides clarity, recognition, and efficiency
• Yet markets, competitors, and customers constantly evolve
• Static positioning becomes obsolete in dynamic environments
• Continuous adaptation risks inconsistency and confusion

This paradox creates a difficult choice for many organisations. Should you maintain consistent positioning even as it becomes less relevant? Or should you continuously adapt, potentially confusing customers and employees with constant changes?

The most successful companies transcend this choice. They build systems for continuous self-authorship—the capacity to evolve positioning while maintaining essence integrity. They recognise that positioning isn’t a destination but an ongoing journey of discovery, articulation, and adaptation.

Consider the cautionary tale of Kodak, whose essence centred on democratising image capture and preservation. For decades, they dominated photography through chemical film technologies. Yet when digital imaging emerged, Kodak struggled to evolve its positioning. Despite inventing early digital camera technology, they couldn’t reimagine their story for a new era. They remained fixated on expressions (chemical film) rather than evolving how their essence (democratising image preservation) could manifest in a digital world.

Compare this with Fujifilm, which successfully navigated the same transition. Like Kodak, Fujifilm’s essence included imaging expertise, but they systematically reimagined how this essence could create value in new domains—from digital photography to medical imaging to cosmetics using film collagen technologies. As CEO Shigetaka Komori explained: “We needed to both change everything and change nothing at the same time.”

This capacity for systematic evolution within stable essence boundaries wasn’t accidental. It emerged from deliberate systems for learning, adapting, and continuously refreshing their market narrative.

Autopoiesis in Business: The Biology of Self-Creation

To understand how organisations maintain identity while constantly evolving, we can draw insights from an unlikely source: biology.

In the 1970s, Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela introduced the concept of “autopoiesis” (from Greek: auto = self, poiesis = creation) to describe living systems. Living organisms continuously regenerate themselves through self-creating processes. Your body replaces most of its cells every seven to ten years, yet you remain recognisably you.

This biological principle provides a powerful model for business evolution. Autopoietic organisations maintain their identity not through rigid preservation of every element, but through continuous self-renewal that maintains essential patterns while adapting to changing environments.

Consider Arup, the global engineering firm founded by Ove Arup in 1946. For 75 years, they’ve maintained a consistent essence around “total design”—a humanistic engineering approach that serves society through holistic problem-solving. As Arup himself articulated in his 1970 “Key Speech” (still shared with every employee today): “Our work is not a separate thing and our life another. They are the same.”

This philosophical essence has remained remarkably stable. Yet Arup has continuously evolved how this essence manifests—from structural engineering for Sydney Opera House in the 1950s to sustainable urban planning today. They’ve maintained identity through continuous self-authorship, not rigid preservation.

This autopoietic approach requires distinguishing between:

• Essence: The stable core that provides continuity and identity
• Expression: The evolving manifestation of essence in changing contexts

The self-authoring organisation maintains essence integrity while continuously refreshing expressions through systematic learning and adaptation.

The Learning-Storytelling Loop

At the heart of self-authorship lies a continuous cycle between learning and storytelling:

1. Systematic learning captures emerging patterns in markets, technologies, and customer needs
2. These insights inform how positioning expressions need to evolve
3. New positioning expressions create fresh market interactions
4. These interactions generate new learning opportunities

This cycle creates what organisational theorist Peter Senge calls a “learning loop” where positioning continuously evolves through systematic feedback. But for this loop to function effectively, it requires deliberate infrastructure.

The Financial Times demonstrates this approach in its digital transformation. Founded in 1888, the FT’s essence centres on providing high-quality business journalism. This essence remains constant, but how it manifests has evolved dramatically—from a printed “pink paper” to a digital-first subscription business.

This evolution wasn’t haphazard. The FT built systematic learning mechanisms that informed continuous positioning refinement:

• Data analytics teams tracking detailed reader engagement with specific content types
• Feedback loops between subscription conversion rates and content strategies
• Regular reader panels providing qualitative insight on evolving needs
• Editorial leadership forums interpreting these patterns into evolved positioning

As former CEO John Ridding explained: “We systematically evolved from selling news to selling perspective, from delivering information to enabling decisions, all while maintaining our core journalistic values.”

This learning-storytelling loop enabled the FT to maintain essence while completely transforming its business model and market position. Today, with over 1 million digital subscribers, the FT demonstrates how systematic self-authorship creates sustainable advantage in disrupted markets.

The Self-Authoring Framework

To implement continuous positioning evolution within essence boundaries, organisations need a systematic approach. The Self-Authoring Framework provides a comprehensive methodology:

1. Essence Clarification

Before you can evolve expressions, you must clearly define the unchanging core that provides continuity:

• Purpose and founding mission: The fundamental reason for your organisation’s existence
• Enduring values and principles: The non-negotiable beliefs that guide decisions
• Core capabilities and strengths: The distinctive abilities that create your advantage
• Foundational customer needs: The enduring problems you solve regardless of how solutions evolve

For example, Microsoft under Satya Nadella reconnected with its original essence of “putting a computer on every desk and in every home” by reframing it for the cloud era as “empowering every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more.” This clarity about essence provided both continuity and freedom to significantly evolve their market positioning.

2. Adaptation Capacity

Next, create systems for evolving how essence manifests in changing contexts:

• Positioning review mechanisms: Regular forums for reassessing market position relevance
• Expression evolution processes: Methods for updating how essence manifests
• Market testing approaches: Techniques for validating evolved positioning
• Implementation systems: Processes ensuring consistent expression of updated positioning

Adobe exemplifies this systematic approach. Their essence around creative empowerment has remained consistent, but they’ve completely transformed their business from packaged desktop software to a cloud-based subscription model. This evolution required deliberate adaptation systems:

• Quarterly business review cadences examining positioning effectiveness
• Cross-functional teams integrating customer insights into positioning evolution
• Controlled positioning experiments in different market segments
• Systematic rollout processes for updated positioning expressions

These mechanisms enabled Adobe to maintain essence integrity while completely reimagining their business model and market narrative.

3. Learning Infrastructure

To inform positioning evolution, establish structured approaches for gathering continuous insights:

• Customer feedback systems: Methods for capturing evolving needs and responses
• Competitor analysis processes: Approaches for monitoring market positioning shifts
• Technology and trend monitoring: Techniques for identifying emerging opportunities
• Internal pattern recognition: Forums for synthesising insights across the organisation

Rolls-Royce’s aerospace division demonstrates sophisticated learning infrastructure in their evolution from engine manufacturer to “power by the hour” service provider. Their essence around engineering excellence remained steady, but they fundamentally repositioned from selling products to delivering guaranteed uptime.

This evolution was driven by systematic learning mechanisms:

• Continuous engine performance monitoring generating operational insights
• Airline customer advisory boards providing direct feedback
• Competitive intelligence teams tracking industry positioning shifts
• Cross-functional “future of aviation” forums interpreting emerging patterns

These learning systems enabled Rolls-Royce to maintain engineering essence while completely transforming their value proposition and market position.

4. Narrative Development

Finally, create a structured process for evolving your market story:

• Positioning evolution ownership: Clear responsibility for narrative development
• Cross-functional involvement: Diverse perspectives in story evolution
• Leadership storytelling role: Executive guidance in narrative direction
• Cascading communication: Systems ensuring consistent expression across touchpoints

Siemens exemplifies effective narrative development in their evolution from electrical engineering conglomerate to focused digital industries leader. Their essence around technological innovation for society has remained consistent, but they’ve systematically evolved their positioning through structured narrative processes:

• Dedicated brand and positioning teams with clear evolutionary mandate
• Regular “future forums” bringing together diverse perspectives
• Executive storytelling training ensuring leadership alignment
• Comprehensive implementation systems for updated positioning

These narrative development mechanisms enabled Siemens to maintain continuity while significantly reshaping their market position.

Example: Self-Authoring Framework for a Software Company

Let’s examine how this framework might apply to a software company transitioning from on-premise to cloud-based solutions:

Component	Fixed Elements (Essence)	Adaptive Elements (Expression)	Learning Mechanisms	Review Cadence
Purpose	Democratising access to professional-quality design	Target audience focus, specific pain points addressed	Customer interviews, usage analytics, market trends	Annual reflection, quarterly review
Value Proposition	Simplified design tools with professional results	Feature emphasis, competitive differentiation, pricing model	Competitor launches, customer feedback, industry evolution	Quarterly reassessment
Brand Identity	Creative empowerment, accessibility, quality	Visual language, tone of voice, campaign themes	Brand perception research, engagement metrics, cultural trends	Annual refresh, ongoing optimisation
Product Focus	Core design tools serving creative needs	Platform emphasis, integration points, expansion areas	Feature usage data, customer requests, technology evolution	Monthly prioritisation, quarterly roadmapping

By systematically applying this framework, the company maintains essence integrity while continuously evolving its market expressions.

Leadership in Self-Authoring Organisations

Self-authorship requires a distinctive leadership approach. Rather than dictating a fixed positioning, leaders in self-authoring organisations:

1. Guard essence boundaries: Maintain absolute clarity about what doesn’t change
2. Create evolution processes: Build systems for continuous positioning refinement
3. Ask learning questions: Focus on insight gathering over premature answers
4. Translate essence into new contexts: Show how core identity applies in changing environments
5. Balance continuity with evolution: Provide stability while encouraging adaptation

Satya Nadella at Microsoft exemplifies this approach. Upon becoming CEO in 2014, he didn’t start by dictating a new positioning. Instead, he reconnected the organisation with its founding essence while creating systems for continuous evolution. As he explains in his book Hit Refresh: “Our culture had to change from a know-it-all to a learn-it-all company.”

This learning-focused leadership approach created the conditions for Microsoft to systematically evolve its positioning from a Windows-centric company to a cloud-first platform while maintaining its essence around empowerment and productivity.

The Self-Authoring Assessment

To evaluate your organisation’s capacity for continuous positioning evolution, consider these dimensions:

1. Essence Clarity (Scale: 1-5)

• How consistently can people across your organisation articulate its core purpose?
• Is there clear agreement on values and principles that don’t change?
• Can leaders distinguish between essence elements and positioning expressions?
• Do decision-makers understand the non-negotiable boundaries that preserve identity?

2. Adaptation Capacity (Scale: 1-5)

• Are there structured processes for reviewing and refreshing positioning?
• Do you have mechanisms for testing evolved positioning expressions?
• Can your organisation implement positioning updates consistently?
• Is there a healthy balance between stability and responsiveness?

3. Learning Infrastructure (Scale: 1-5)

• Do you have systematic customer feedback collection and analysis?
• Are there effective competitor and market monitoring mechanisms?
• Is knowledge sharing about positioning insights happening across functions?
• Are leaders receptive to emerging patterns that challenge assumptions?

4. Narrative Development (Scale: 1-5)

• Is there clear ownership of positioning evolution in your organisation?
• Do multiple functions collaborate on narrative development?
• Are there implementation systems for updated positioning?
• Do you measure positioning effectiveness consistently?

Interpretation:

• 16-20: Advanced self-authoring capability
• 11-15: Developing self-authorship with key areas for improvement
• 6-10: Significant gaps in self-authoring systems
• 1-5: Static positioning approach vulnerable to market shifts

This assessment helps identify specific areas where your organisation needs to strengthen its self-authoring capabilities.

Implementation Across Organisation Types

The application of self-authorship varies across different organisations:

Startups Building Initial Positioning

For early-stage companies, self-authorship means:

• Establishing clear essence foundations that won’t change
• Creating agile systems for rapid positioning experimentation
• Building learning loops from first customer interactions
• Developing a minimum viable positioning that can evolve

Monzo, the UK digital bank, exemplifies this approach. From its founding, they established a clear essence around customer-centricity while creating systematic learning mechanisms—including community forums, transparent roadmaps, and continuous feature testing—that enabled rapid positioning evolution in a highly regulated industry.

Scale-ups Managing Growth Transitions

For growing companies, self-authorship focuses on:

• Maintaining essence clarity through rapid expansion
• Formalising positioning evolution processes as teams grow
• Preserving learning agility while adding operational scale
• Ensuring consistent narrative across proliferating touchpoints

Notion, the workspace platform, demonstrates effective self-authorship during scaling. Their essence around flexible workspaces has remained consistent, but they’ve systematically evolved from a tool for startup founders to a platform for teams across organisation sizes, using structured learning mechanisms to inform each positioning refinement.

Established Companies Requiring Repositioning

For mature organisations, self-authorship centres on:

• Reconnecting with authentic essence beyond current expressions
• Creating cross-functional systems for positioning reassessment
• Building new learning capabilities that challenge assumptions
• Managing the transition between established and evolved positioning

Adobe’s transformation from packaged software to subscription services exemplifies this approach. They reconnected with their essence around creative empowerment while building systematic mechanisms to evolve every aspect of their positioning—from value proposition to pricing model to customer relationship.

Legacy Businesses Navigating Disruption

For organisations facing fundamental disruption, self-authorship means:

• Distinguishing between essence elements and outdated expressions
• Developing radically new positioning while maintaining identity coherence
• Building learning systems that overcome confirmation bias
• Creating narratives that bridge past contributions with future relevance

Fujifilm’s successful navigation of the film-to-digital transition demonstrates this approach. Unlike Kodak, they systematically distinguished between their essence (imaging expertise) and specific expressions (chemical film), allowing them to evolve their positioning into diverse new areas while maintaining identity coherence.

Measuring Self-Authorship Effectiveness

How do you know if your self-authoring systems are working? Consider these indicators:

1. Essence Consistency: Stable articulation of core purpose and values
2. Expression Evolution: Regular refinement of how essence manifests
3. Learning Velocity: Speed of insight gathering and pattern recognition
4. Adaptation Coherence: Consistency of evolved positioning across touchpoints
5. Market Relevance: Sustained resonance with target customers despite market shifts

The Financial Times tracks these dimensions systematically:

• Regular pulse surveys measuring employee understanding of purpose (essence consistency)
• Quarterly review of positioning expressions across platforms (expression evolution)
• Metrics on reader feedback integration timeframes (learning velocity)
• Regular audits of messaging consistency across channels (adaptation coherence)
• Ongoing subscription conversion and retention metrics (market relevance)

This balanced measurement approach ensures they’re maintaining identity while continuously evolving their positioning.

The Essence-Expression Spectrum

A crucial tool for self-authoring organisations is the Essence-Expression Spectrum—a visual framework that clarifies what remains constant versus what evolves:

Essence Domain (Stable)

• Core purpose and mission
• Fundamental values and principles
• Enduring customer needs served
• Core capabilities and strengths

Expression Domain (Evolving)

• Market positioning language
• Target customer segments
• Value proposition articulation
• Competitive differentiation emphasis
• Product and service configurations
• Communication channels and approaches
• Visual and experiential elements

This spectrum helps organisations maintain clarity about what should remain consistent versus what should adapt. ARM Holdings uses a version of this framework to guide their positioning evolution across technology waves—maintaining unwavering focus on power efficiency (essence) while continuously evolving their market expression from embedded systems to mobile computing to IoT to AI.

Conclusion: Writing Your Ongoing Story

Static positioning is a liability in dynamic markets. Your capacity to systematically evolve your narrative while maintaining your essence is the ultimate competitive advantage.

The self-authoring organisation doesn’t merely respond to external change—it actively writes its own evolving story in the marketplace. Through systematic learning and adaptation within essence boundaries, it maintains both identity coherence and market relevance.

This isn’t positioning as a one-time exercise but as a continuous process of discovery, articulation, and adaptation. It requires clear essence, systematic learning, and disciplined evolution—the foundations of ongoing resonance in ever-changing markets.

As we move into the next chapter, we’ll explore a critical aspect of this evolution: breaking free from conventional corporate communication approaches that undermine positioning impact. Because once you’ve built the capacity for continuous self-authorship, how you express that evolving story becomes the next frontier.

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Self-Authoring Framework Worksheet

1. Essence Clarification

   • What is your organisation’s unchanging purpose?
   • What values and principles are non-negotiable?
   • What core capabilities create your distinctive strength?
   • What enduring customer needs do you address?

2. Expression Identification

   • Which elements of your current positioning should evolve?
   • How might your essence manifest differently in today’s context?
   • Where are your positioning expressions becoming outdated?
   • What new expressions might better convey your essence?

3. Learning Infrastructure

   • What mechanisms capture evolving customer needs?
   • How do you monitor competitive positioning shifts?
   • What forums synthesise insights across your organisation?
   • Where are the gaps in your current learning systems?

4. Narrative Development Process

   • Who owns positioning evolution in your organisation?
   • What process exists for evolving your market story?
   • How do you ensure consistent expression of updated positioning?
   • What prevents narrative evolution in your current approach?

5. Implementation Plan

   • What specific actions will strengthen your self-authoring capacity?
   • Who needs to be involved in developing these capabilities?
   • What timeline makes sense for implementation?
   • How will you measure progress toward self-authoring capability?