From DJ democracy to Digi-democracy - Brighton steps it up

Many of Brighton's nightlife-loving  population may be familiar with home-grown party-starters extraordinaire, Stick-it-On productions. For those that don’t know, their tried and tested party format gives the ordinary Joe off the street a chance to spin 5 of their hand-picked fave tunes whilst on stage, hands in the air, Fat Boy Slim style, with a – hopefully - adoring crowd dancing their socks off in the throng below. They literally vote with their (dancing) feet. Their rather nifty term for this is 'DJ Democracy' and as far as I was aware for many years, this was our city’s most interesting claim to any kind of democractic innovation.

So, another tale of Brighton's famed party scene is not unusual, but last week, the democracy theme found altogether more serious partners in another area for which Brighton is gaining a big reputation: digital media. The WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces ™ 2013 was announced on the 9th of April, and 10% of the companies who made the list were based in Brighton, and all of those deal in digital media in some form or another. Since 2007, WorldBlu has been on a mission to find the world's most democratic workplaces - businesses who, through surveys of their employees, fulfil certain criteria which evaluate 'the overall design of an organization along a fear-based to freedom-centred continuum' . Those that excel on the points based system then qualify for the list, which make them, well, bloody good places to work quite honestly. It also seems to be making them pretty successful businesses. This mission of WorldBlu's is based on a goal to apply the best aspects of democracy in the workplace in a way 'that benefits the people, the bottom-line, and the world'. These aspects are summarised in the WorldBlu Principles of Organizational Democracy in fact, and they do indeed seem to make a lot of sense.
 
The WorldBlu list is a pretty serious one. OK so it's not the Fortune 500, and it may only be 51 businesses strong at the moment, but these businesses have a combined annual revenue of $17bn and not just any company can get on there. Member organisations range in size from 5 to 50,000 employees and are located in the US, Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Malaysia, Haiti, New Zealand, Singapore, and of course the UK. In fact, of the UK companies that qualified for the list, only 4 are not in Brighton, and only 1 of those 4 is really 'digital'. So what does this say of Brighton, and its digital sector that so dominates the Brighton and thus UK showing? A number of swift, off the cuff, conclusions could be drawn. So, let’s do that. Perhaps the influential Nixon McInnes who have been on the list every year since 2009 had an effect and encouraged some of their peers to follow their lead? Perhaps Brighton is inherently democratic? (Discuss.) Or is it something invisible and mysterious in the water coolers of these particular digital companies, that makes them so. Rather than just speculate endlessly, I picked up the phone to Miranda Ash, the UK's ambassador for WorldBlu.

Miranda says: "Brighton just seems to have some sort of 'collective consciousness' that can cultivate democracy in the workplace. People seem far more engaged than in other places with treating people as their peers, far more engaged in their communities, and the ideas and motivating reasons behind organisational democracy".
 
Having grown up myself in Brighton, both through school years and then a decent chunk of my working life, and particularly since running my own business the last two years, I've been fairly tuned into the discussions about what Brighton is, in terms of 'work versus play'. In fact we seem a bit obsessed with it. Are we just a town of slackers who don’t want to commute, with like the work-life balance weighing a little more towards life? Are we as much on the side of pleasure as we are business, or maybe more? The debate will no doubt continue, through LinkedIn group discussions, business events, pub arguments, and so on. Brighton's WorldBlu representatives are to me, somewhere along the line, a product of the dynamic that these debates skirmish around. Brighton's representation on the list though, is certainly an indicator. It is an indicator that Brighton's own brand of attitude, born perhaps from a solid foundation of pleasure, partying and taking it easy, is maturing into something special in the world of business.
 
Maybe I have some insight here. I am currently working with TEDx Houses of Parliament for their TEDx 2013 event on the theme of democracy and representation. I am also helping Brighton Digital Festival with their new re-focus as a step towards attracting more commercial interest from out of town (brand new website and branding out soon!). From the first I am learning about just how many ways democratic business behaviour is influencing new business ideas, from enterprise solutions to management consultancy. From the second, I am privileged to be involved with Brighton's digital sector, albeit in a small way, at an important stage in its development as it really starts to justify the oft quoted 'digital hub' tag. For me it is no coincidence that Brighton's WorldBlu members are all in our expanding and cutting edge digital sector.
 
This news is something to take note of. Dare I say it, something to be proud of as well. OK, unless you are one of the lucky massed ranks working within our WorldBlu listers - Propellernet, Brandwatch, Nixon McInnes, Bite Studios, or Do Something Different -  claiming to be proud may be standing in their limelight, but maybe all of us Brightonians, native and immigrant, can claim our part in the 'collective consciousness'  that got them there. If you are not sure about how much your company does, or could do to pull its weight, and maybe make the world a better place in the process, maybe taking a look at the WorldBlu Principles of Organizational Democracy wouldn't be a bad idea.
 
By Guy Wimpory, Founder of Brighton based sponsorship consultancy Sponsor Monster

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