Tag Archive: community

December 6, 2010

Human Sized Social Change

community

My friends at the Engage Network recently asked me this provocative question:

What does it mean to create social change that is “human sized” and prioritizes people and relationships, rather than prioritizing large email lists, or campaigns, or raising money?  What does that mean to you and YOUR work in the world?

Here is my first take at an answer: Read More

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November 24, 2010

Whole Measures, In Sum

logo

Whole Measures | A Program of Center for Whole Communities

Just coming off the second public offering of Whole Measures: Transforming Communities by Measuring What Matters Most, IISC’s  joint venture with the Center for Whole Communities.  I have to say, the workshop experience keeps getting better and better.  More is yet to come (next stop, New Jersey in March), and I wanted to offer these words as a way of summarizing our evolving co-creation. 

What we talk about is what we see,

so must convene conversations that matter.

What we see is what we measure,

so we must see the whole (system).

What we measure is what gets done,

so we must measure what matters.

What must be done cannot be done alone,

so we must design and facilitate collaborative processes.

We cannot do any of this by transaction or command and control,

so we must embody transformational leadership.

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November 2, 2010

An Extraordinary Episode

vote

Vote Today! It does matter.  But you probably already knew that.  I’m down on the state these days.  And I don’t mean Massachusetts.  I mean “the state,” the dominant organizing structure for human affairs.  But I still think we should vote – wield some of the influence we have. Read More

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October 21, 2010

Dimensions of Social Space

staircase

|Photo by|www.flickr.com/photos/nikonvscanon/1302296182|

This post first appeared back in March of this year, and I am re-posting as I prepare to co-present a session tomorrow at the Bioneers by the Bay gathering in New Bedford, MA.  In our session, “Transformative Leadership for Sustainability” we will experience each of the dimensions below . .

As process designers, facilitators, and change agents, we are called upon to help create conditions in which amazing things can happen between people, whether alignment, agreement building, innovation, etc.  At times this can be a tall order. Thankfully we are supported by an array of tools and techniques at our disposal. Knowing which of the social architect’s tools to turn to in any given situation is a core challenge. Something I’ve recently found useful as a guide is consideration of the different dimensions of social space and how these can be leveraged so that collective work can bring about the very best.

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August 13, 2010

Squirrels and Shiny Objects

squirrel

|Photo by exfordy|http://www.flickr.com/photos/exfordy/1184487050|

Had you visited the IISC Cambridge offices a couple of weeks ago, prior to our staff putting all of our belongings in boxes and pink (yes pink) crates in preparation for our move, you would have seen a piece of paper on my computer stand with the following word in bold letters:

FOCUS

This has been my mantra for the past year, and there is is increased urgency around it these days, not simply because that paper is now sealed in some box on its way to Boston’s Seaport.  With so much in flux (including our move), with so many possibilities and so much to be done out there, with so much information flowing through the various channels into which I am tuned, I can easily find myself getting distracted – “Oh Look, A Squirrel!”.  And I know I am not alone.

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August 12, 2010

I Despair, Therefore . . .

“The seeds of Reunion are sprouting everywhere. That which was hidden for millennia is coming to light. Soon, fertilized by the detritus of our decaying civilization, the sprouts will mature, bloom, and bear fruit. Our job is first to receive them, then to spread them everywhere and to guard and foster them with every ounce of our love.”

“Three Seeds” by Charles Eisenstein

It’s awfully hard to read the news these days, especially if one is tuned in to the scientific and environmental communities:

“Northern Hemisphere Temperatures Shatter July Record

“Declining Phytoplankton Another Sign of Climate Catastrophe

“Climate Change and Illegal Logging Could Wipe Out Rainforest Wildlife by 2100” Read More

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August 10, 2010

The Power of Conversation

In this 10 minute video, Jack Ricchiuto, a friend of IISC’s, successfully distills the four conversations that build community and gives us a glimpse into the shadow conversations that keep us from success.  Evidently influenced by Peter Block, Ricchiuto is part of a wave of organization and community builders that have been inviting us to look at our work from a different lens.

Jack names the following four conversations with power: Read More

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May 25, 2010

Policy and Community

conversations

My recent post on the limits of policy elicited a very good conversation.  One of the things that became evident is that in some settings people are so focused on their personal development and their community life that they pay little attention to the issues of the day.  In other settings people are so focused on the fight for justice through policy change that they pay little attention to their own well being or to the hard work of building community. Read More

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May 14, 2010

Future Present

Future Present

|Photo by Ben Heine|http://www.flickr.com/photos/benheine/3881905581|

“A bright green future begins when each of us, today,              decides to live as if that future were already here.”

– Alex Steffen, World Changing

Many of us here at IISC were taken with Peter Block’s book, Community: The Structure of Belonging, and you have no doubt heard it referenced in other posts or ensuing conversations on our blog.  At this point our couple of office copies have been through many hands, bookmarked, underlined, and are readily referenced in work with partners and clients.  One of the most profound parts of the book for me is where Block makes the point that we often think of the future as this far off thing, and subsequently make our meetings and community gatherings all about planning for that eventuality.  What we miss is the opportunity to manifest a piece of that future now.

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May 13, 2010

Collaboration for Sustainability 4: How?

green

|Photo by Flowery *L*u*z*a*|http://www.flickr.com/photos/luchilu/747345256|

For the past few weeks, in a series of Thursday posts, we’ve addressed what it takes to tap the full potential of collaboration to shift to more environmentally sustainable ways of living and working.  We’ve explored the importance of bringing diverse systemic perspectives together and developing shared identities and values as a way of achieving greater ecological intelligence and commitment.  And as a friend of mine says, you can bring great groups together with the best of intentions and still end up with nothing or a mess.  So what else can we put into place to help ensure we reach the sustainable ends we seek?
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April 8, 2010

Framing Social Space

framing

|Photo by xb3|http://www.flickr.com/photos/bofh/150722915|

In a post of a few weeks ago I explored the different dimensions of social space we might be called to attend to as leaders and change agents in creating environments for people to collaborate.  I suggested that these dimensions exist in dynamic tension and together form a holistic picture of how we can leverage the potential of groups by respecting the values of autonomy, community, and divinity.  In recently reading a book by Tim Kasser and Tom Crompton, I was reminded that how we frame these dimensions matters in terms of what ends we seek and ultimately serve.

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