February 21, 2013
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
|Photo by David Hogg|http://www.flickr.com/photos/davehogg/74341943|
Winter is certainly a time that can test our resolve in the Northeast. This winter in particular feels like it has done that on many fronts, including the volatility of the weather and the seemingly exceptional virulence of multiple strains of viruses making their way through the region. And this is to say nothing of the ongoing personal and social challenges with which many of us are wrestling. Read More
November 14, 2012
Seeing the words “Critical Systems Heuristics” may tempt you to run screaming from this post, but please hang in there while I distill what this important framework and addition to the systems thinking body of work has to offer our social change efforts! CSH is attributed to Swiss social scientist Werner Ulrich and his efforts to bring critical analysis to the boundaries that we construct around and within systems. Far from being primordial, these boundaries and divisions are an expression of what people see and value from their particular perspectives. As Ulrich writes, ” The methodological core idea [of CSH] is that all problem definitions, proposals for improvement, and evaluations of outcomes depend on prior judgments about the relevant whole system to be looked at.” His effort is to help make these boundary judgments explicit so that both those affected by and those implementing such judgements might see alternatives that better serve the whole. Read More