What does it mean for an organisation to die? It’s relatively straightforward to close a company down and take it off the Companies House register – but emotionally, it’s much more complex. In this episode, Kate and Mark explore their own experiences of being part of organisations that are closing down.
They are joined by Louise Armstrong, co-founder of the Decelerator, to explore organisational endings. This conversation covers the signs (beyond money!) that an ending might be on the horizon for an organisation, grappling with trying to do long-term work, the parallels between organisational endings and relationship breakups, and more. Endings are always beginnings – so are there opportunities that we are missing because of the stigma about shame and failure associated with organisational endings?
This is a really timely conversation given how much change and volatility there is in the world at the moment – as Louise says, “the work of tending to endings is going to continue for lifetimes”.
Resources:
Read the article accompanying the episode here.
The Decelerator
Louise’s other work includes Thirty Percy Foundation and more.
Guidance from Companies House on dissolving and liquidating a company
New Constellations - entering into a chrysalis phase
A “just transition” explainer
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Email us: at corporatebodiespodcast@gmail.com
Presenters:
Kate Swade (she/her), independent organisational development and governance consultant
Mark Walton (he/him), Founder and Director, Shared Assets
Interviewee: Louise Armstrong (she/her), Co-Founder, The Decelerator
Editor: Katie Revell (she/her)
Artwork: Hanna Norberg-Williams (they/them)
Supporters:
The series is supported by the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), which is a cutting edge research organisation based at the University of Surrey. CUSP explores the question: What does prosperity mean in a world of environmental, social, and economic limits? For more details, visit cusp.ac.uk.
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