Insights from Jennifer Abrams

Every month I look forward to getting Jennifer Abrams newsletter. I'm passing along this month's. She talks about a recent learning opportunity with George Lakoff. I was there too and look forward to sharing some of my learning from that in future posts. Hope you enjoy this. Cassandra cassandraoneill@comcast.net Jennifer's website is linked at the bottom.


Hello! My book,(Jennifer's book) Having Hard Conversations, is coming out in January of 2009. I have been giving the workshop on which the book is based for several years and I often hear murmurs of resistance during the session. I was giving the workshop to a group of new teacher coaches last week and I overheard the comment, “I can’t believe she’s telling coaches to have these types of conversations.” This comment has come up before so I am taking time here to address it in more detail. Why would someone need to study this topic? Isn’t a hard conversation the superintendent’s job or the principal’s job? Yes, I believe that it is their job to speak up when they see something they feel doesn’t align with the vision of their district or when they witness something they don’t feel is good for students, and I believe we all lead from whatever position we have in our organization. This month’s newsletter is a first attempt to articulate my ‘why’; why I feel it is everyone’s responsibility to learn how to have hard conversations and learn to do them with clarity and compassion.

“Getting into Necessary Trouble”

Collective Responsibility

This summer I watched a video of Congressman John Lewis being interviewed by students at Mount Madonna School. They asked Congressman Lewis about his values and how they informed his work as a legislator. At the end of the talk, he looked at the students and said, “Get into trouble, necessary trouble.” Given his history in the Civil Rights Movement, what was in the ‘white space’ around his comments spoke to me through that video just as loudly as what he said. It is our responsibility to speak out and have hard conversations when we feel the collective isn’t being served. There are times when we are the ones who witness something academically unsound, physically unsafe or emotionally damaging. It could be a comment that wasn’t supportive of a fellow colleague or an action that wasn’t helpful to a student. In those situations, it is our responsibility to speak out and create a safe and supportive climate for the growth of adults and children alike. We should all feel the responsibility to learn how to have hard conversations and increase our capacity to do so for the social good.

Creating Cultures of Excellence

Last year, Palo Alto USD had a statement at the top of their home page on their web site that said, “Excellence by Design.” There is a certain sense of confidence in that statement. It said to those who were looking at it, “We are deliberate and self-assured.” Yet while design is necessary and critical, one can’t believe design is an end goal in itself. In education, we need to also be excellent in our communication, delivery and follow through. Do we truly provide the excellence we are aiming for? And if we don’t, do we have a hard conversation with ourselves and acknowledge it? I aspire to be excellent and I want to work in an organization that also aspires to do so. When we aren’t at our best, we need to recognize the gap between our existing state and our desired state. We need to skillfully articulate that difference and speak honestly to the potential we have to become our best selves.

Having Humane and Growth-Producing Conversations

One of the core beliefs foundational to my work on hard conversations is that we have them with one another so we can all become our best selves. We aren ’t having hard conversations to be cruel or shaming. We aren’t having hard conversations to blame or gain power. We have them so we can begin a dialogue that centers around all of us learning and becoming more human human beings. We are all in a process of ‘becoming’ - growing in our personal and professional identities. At times, we don’t see our impact and how it might not align with what we intended. If I am off the mark, I want someone to help me see how I could do an even better job as a teacher, trainer, facilitator and leader and tell me so in a humane and growth producing way.

We might have terrible memories of hard conversations that were hurtful. There is a better way to do them. No matter the roles we have, learning how to speak up in a way that is respectful of ourselves, respectful of others and holds a bigger vision of respect for our schools is at the core of what we need to be doing.


On the topic of the conscious use of language in positively shaping our conversations, take a look at these books...

* I spent this past weekend studying with George Lakoff, a professor of linguistics and cognitive science at UC-Berkeley – his work on reframing concepts and being conscious of our use of language is stimulating and mind-bending in the best sense. Check out Metaphors We Live By or Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind.

* Connected to education, check out http://www.teachersmind.com. Judy Yero, author of Teaching in Mind: How Teacher Thinking Shapes Education writes about how your beliefs about teaching, learning, and students influence your perceptions and behaviors—indeed, all of your teaching decisions. Worth looking at…

Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleague. You may reprint this newsletter in whole or quote with attribution to Jennifer Abrams and a link to www.jenniferabrams.com


http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com

Resources on Strengths Based Approaches

Resources on Strengths Based Approaches compiled for Azenet and SLHI Consultant Community Meeting on November 18, 2008.

Our definition of Strengths Based Approaches: Strengths based approaches focus on the identification and development of the strengths of an individual, organization, community, and system. Strengths based approaches start with what is working, where you are strong, successful, and passionate. They are based on and align with the research on resiliency, positive psychology, asset based thinking, and whole system methods.

Our definition of Whole System Methods: Whole system methods such as Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space Technology engage people from all parts of a system in creating change. They help you initiate high leverage, sustainable, and transformational positive change in organizations, partnerships, communities, and systems by tapping into the collective intelligence.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Resources
• Power of Appreciative Inquiry by Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom
• Appreciative Coaching by Sara Orem, Jacqueline Binkert, Ann Clancy
• The Appreciative Inquiry Summit A Practitioner’s Guide for Leading Large-Group Change by James D. Ludema, Diana Whitney, Bernard J. Mohr, and Thomas J. Griffin

AI books with good appreciative questions
• Appreciative Teambuilding by Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom, Jay Cherney and Ron Fry
• The Encyclopedia of Positive Questions Diana Whitney, David Cooperrider, Amanda Trosten-Bloom, and Brian Kaplin

Evaluation
• Reframing Evaluation through Appreciative Inquiry by Hallie Preskill and Tessie Tzavaras Catsambas
• Information Gold Mine: Innovative Uses of Evaluation by Paul Mattessich


Other Resources on Strength Based Approaches
• Change the Way You See Everything Through Asset-Based Thinking by Kathryn D. Cramer Ph.D and Hank Wasiak
• Change the Way You See Yourself Through Asset-Based Thinking by Kathryn D. Cramer Ph.D and Hank Wasiak
• Open Space Technology A Users Manual by Harrison Owen
• The Soul of Money by Lynn Twist *
• Strengthsfinders 2.0 by Tom Rath
• The Power of Asset Mapping: How Your Congregation Can Act on Its Gifts by Luther K. Snow
• The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter by Juanita Brown, David Isaacs and the World Cafe Community,
• Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness by Martin E. P. Seligman PhD
• Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits by Leslie R. Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant
• Transitions and Transition Management by William Bridges
• The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt
• How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
• Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in theWorld Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming by Paul Hawken
• The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and rod A. Beckstrom
• Health in a New Key and Weave the People – available at www.slhi.org

Resources on the New Sciences
• The Biology of Belief by Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D.
• The Philosopher’s Stone by F. David Peat
• Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World by Margaret J. Wheatley
• Linked: How Everything is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi.
• The Neuroscience of Leadership by David Rock (article)
• Strategic Thinking and the New Science by T. Irene Sanders

Tools to Help Identify Strengths of Individuals
• Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 – one on-line assessment comes with the price of a copy of the book Strenghtsfinder 2.0.
• StrengthsExplorer for ages 10-14 – www.strengthsexplorer.com

Available at www.authentichappiness.com:
• VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire Measures 24 Character Strengths
• VIA Strength Survey for Children Measures 24 Character Strengths for Children

Websites
Appreciative Inquiry Commons - http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/
Asset Based Community Development http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/abcd/
Asset-Based Thinking http://www.assetbasedthinking.com/
Open Space Technology - www.openspaceworld.org
Positive Deviancy Initiative - http://www.positivedeviance.org/
World Café - www.theworldcafe.com

http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com

Reinventing Holiday Giving

An excerpt From Mrs. Green Goes Mainstream Newsletter of Friday November 14, 2008 about re-inventing holiday gift giving.

"Let's re-write the script and focus on embracing this holiday season with joy and a return to evaluating what really matters. Let's turn the recession into a revival! This is not about doing less but it is about doing things and giving things that have meaning, that matter most, that create lasting memories.

I have so many ideas as to what we can all do to bring true meaning back to our holiday season and truly manifest a debt free, waste free, stress free holiday experience that my mind is exploding - kind of! I will share some with you and extend an invitation to you to share your ideas with me. I would like the next two newsletters to be all about YOU! I want to hear your ideas, your childrens' ideas, your grandchildrens' ideas - get on the holiday imagination train and see where it takes you. When you catch your breath, write me an email! Forward this newsletter to family and friends and ask them to join the movement for a meaningful holiday and share their ideas with the rest of us.

Here's my start:

Give the gift of time - to your family, to your community, to yourself.

Start the tradition of family game or movie night (turn the phone ringer off) and make real popcorn in a popcorn popper - the healthy way!

Gift something special you own to someone who has admired it (recycle). I have already put my friend's diamond earrings on my wish list.

Start a family or neighborhood tradition like making Gingerbread Houses or Holiday cookies (one of my favorites to receive). The only request one of my daughter's had for her college winter break? Make Gingerbread Houses with the Murphys!

Give hand-made/home-made gift certificates offering to baby sit, clean house (okay - that might be a stretch), yard work, rearrange a pantry.

Give gift certificates that are practical like "This Certificate Good for One Home Cooked Meal on the Night of Your Choosing - Some Advance Notice Needed."

Reach out to your neighbors and friends and organize something like preparing a meal for the Ronald McDonald House.

Be joyous and excited about giving used gifts like books or jewelry.

Make a CD of someone's favorite music.

Buy a picture frame and put that special photograph of a happy memory in it that will bring a smile to someone's face.

Get creative about wrapping! My niece shared with me that she is going to cut up old bridesmaids' gowns with her children and use fun ribbon to wrap their presents this year. (Fun family time, great message to kids!)

Plan a road trip. It doesn't have to be around the holidays but part of the gift is planning and creating the trip as a family.

Offer to pay off something on another person's charge card (bold but beautiful!)

Donate an old sewing machine or computer or Ipod to someone who needs it and wants it.

Buy a Christmas tree that can be planted. If you are a desert dweller, find out which trees can survive.

And did I say give the gift of time and love and laughter?

Be a stand for something different and share it with the world. Help start a movement - turning back the hands of time to when people got together to sing, and laugh and share homemade goodies - things which come from the heart. Brace or embrace? You decide!"

Thanks Gina


http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com

A Model of Shared Leadership

This is a great article from Jeff Thoren's newsletter from Gifted Leaders. Thanks Jeff. I had heard about this and didn't know where to get more information on it and there it was in your last newsletter.

Today's leaders are seeking to adopt new ways of thinking and to apply new models of organization in the workplace. Sometimes new insights are found in unexpected places. One symphony orchestra -- New York City-based Orpheus Chamber Orchestra -- has become a model for a new kind of loose and flexible organization.

By removing the position of conductor from the organization, Orpheus has unleashed an incredible amount of leadership from its members. The highly acclaimed orchestra has achieved a level of excellence and success by explicitly honoring the ideals of democracy, personal involvement, and mutual respect.

"In a conducted orchestra, you play a more passive role. Not only is less expected of you, but less is expected from you. I don’t see that people in regular orchestras are emotionally involved in the same way. Everybody plays well, but the level of emotional involvement isn’t there."
- Orpheus cellist Eric Bartlett

Here's this month's feature ...

The Conductor-less Orchestra

By Harvey Seifter

Leader to Leader, No. 21, Summer 2001


Highlights from the article:

In most orchestras, the conductor not only decides what music will be played but how it will be played as well. There is little room for the opinions or suggestions of the musicians themselves. As a result, orchestral musicians are a notoriously unhappy class of employees.

By contrast, Orpheus has developed a unique system of collaborative leadership that invites every member of the orchestra to participate in a variety of formal and informal leadership positions. The system is extremely flexible -- musicians freely move in an out of positions of leadership -- allowing the orchestra to quickly adapt to changing conditions.

With no conductor to act as a filter to the what and the why behind the group's decisions, the members of Orpheus are uncommonly energized and responsive to the needs of the organization and to the desires of its leaders. Turnover is extremely low and employee loyalty is extremely high. The result is a better product, increased customer satisfaction, and a healthier bottom line.

While the Orpheus approach to collaborative leadership is not without its difficulties -- getting 27 talented and strong-willed people to agree to anything can often be a very real challenge -- it has served the group well over more than three decades. Here are eight guiding principles:

Put power in the hands of the people doing the work. Orpheus musicians actively participate in deciding who will lead, how a piece of music will be played, who will be invited to join their ranks, and who will represent them within management.

Encourage individual responsibility for product and quality. Each member of the orchestra feels a very real and personal responsibility for the group's outcomes.

Create clarity of roles. The organization's members have clear roles and all roles are communicated widely throughout the organization.

Foster horizontal teamwork. Orpheus operates with Peter Drucker’s words in mind, "No knowledge ranks higher than another; each is judged by its contribution to the common task rather than by any inherent superiority or inferiority. Therefore, the modern organization cannot be an organization of boss and subordinate. It must be organized as a team."

Share and rotate leadership. Fixing leadership in positions rather than people wastes the leadership potential within employees whose positions are not part of the organization's formal leadership hierarchy. Orpheus brings out the strengths and talents of each individual member of the group.

Learn to listen, learn to talk. The members of Orpheus know the power of communication, and it is the lifeblood of the organization. Two-way communication is expected, fostered, and reinforced almost constantly.

Seek consensus (and build creative systems that favor consensus). This requires a high level of participation and trust among the members of an organization. Everyone must be willing to listen to the views of others and to be flexible and willing to compromise on their own positions. In Orpheus, the more important the decision to the organization, the more people are involved in it.

Dedicate passionately to your mission. Passion is the spark that can make an ordinary organization great -- and a great organization truly exceptional. In Orpheus, all the members of the orchestra are focused on one thing: producing the very best product possible.

For the full text article, go to ...

http://www.leadertoleader.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=110


www.wholonomyconsulting.com

The Lifecycle of Emergence

Using Emergence to Take Social Innovations to Scale

Margaret Wheatley & Deborah Frieze, 2006

Despite current ads and slogans, the world doesn’t change one person at a time. It changes as networks of relationships form among people who discover they share a common cause and vision of what’s possible. This is good news for those of us intent on changing the world and creating a positive future. Rather than worry about critical mass, our work is to foster critical connections. We don’t need to convince large numbers of people to change; instead, we need to connect with kindred spirits. Through these relationships, we will develop the new knowledge, practices, courage, and commitment that lead to broad-based change.

But networks aren’t the whole story. As networks grow and transform into active, working communities of practice, we discover how Life truly changes, which is through emergence. When separate, local efforts connect with each other as networks, then strengthen as communities of practice, suddenly and surprisingly a new system emerges at a greater level of scale. This system of influence possesses qualities and capacities that were unknown in the individuals. It isn’t that they were hidden; they simply don’t exist until the system emerges. They are properties of the system, not the individual, but once there, individuals possess them. And the system that emerges always possesses greater power and influence than is possible through planned, incremental change. Emergence is how Life creates radical change and takes things to scale.

Since its inception in 1992, The Berkana Institute has been experimenting with the lifecycle of emergence: how living systems begin as networks, shift to intentional communities of practice, and evolve into powerful systems capable of global influence. Through our work with communities in many different nations, we are learning what’s possible when we connect people across difference and distance. By applying the lessons of living systems and working intentionally with emergence and its lifecycle, we are demonstrating how local social innovation can be taken to scale and provide solutions to many of the world’s most intractable issues—such as community health, ecological sustainability and economic self-reliance.

Why we need to understand networks

Researchers and social activists are beginning to discover the power of networks and networking. And there is a growing recognition that networks are the new form of organizing. Evidence of self-organized networks is everywhere: social activists, terrorist groups, drug cartels, street gangs, web-based interest groups. While we now see these everywhere, it is not because they’re a new form of organizing. It’s because we’ve removed our old paradigm blinders that look for hierarchy and control mechanisms in the belief that organization only happens through human will and intervention.

Networks are the only form of organization used by living systems on this planet. These networks result from self-organization, where individuals or species recognize their interdependence and organize in ways that support the diversity and viability of all. Networks create the conditions for emergence, which is how Life changes. Because networks are the first stage in emergence, it is essential that we understand their dynamics and how they develop into communities and then systems.

Yet much of the current work on networks displays old paradigm bias. In social network analysis, physical representations of the network are created by mapping relationships. This is useful for convincing people that networks exist, and people are often fascinated to see the network made visible. Other network analysts name roles played by members of the network or make distinctions between different parts of the network, such as core and periphery. It may not be the intent of these researchers, but their work is often used by leaders to find ways to manipulate the network, to use it in a traditional and controlling way.

What’s missing in these analyses is an exploration of the dynamics of networks:

Why do networks form? What are the conditions that support their creation? What keeps a network alive and growing? What keeps members connected? What type of leadership is required? Why do people become leaders? What type of leadership interferes with or destroys the network? What happens after a healthy network forms? What’s next? If we understand these dynamics and the lifecycle of emergence, what can we do as leaders, activists and social entrepreneurs to intentionally foster emergence?

What is Emergence?

Emergence violates so many of our Western assumptions of how change happens that it often takes quite a while to understand it. In nature, change never happens as a result of top-down, pre-conceived strategic plans, or from the mandate of any single individual or boss. Change begins as local actions spring up simultaneously in many different areas. If these changes remain disconnected, nothing happens beyond each locale. However, when they become connected, local actions can emerge as a powerful system with influence at a more global or comprehensive level. (Global here means a larger scale, not necessarily the entire planet.)

These powerful emergent phenomena appear suddenly and surprisingly. Think about how the Berlin Wall suddenly came down, how the Soviet Union ended, how corporate power quickly came to dominate globally. In each case, there were many local actions and decisions, most of which were invisible and unknown to each other, and none of which was powerful enough by itself to create change. But when these local changes coalesced, new power emerged. What could not be accomplished by diplomacy, politics, protests, or strategy suddenly happened. And when each materialized, most were surprised. Emergent phenomena always have these characteristics: They exert much more power than the sum of their parts; they always possess new capacities different from the local actions that engendered them; they always surprise us by their appearance.

It is important to note that emergence always results in a powerful system that has many more capacities than could ever be predicted by analyzing the individual parts. We see this in the behavior of hive insects such as bees and termites. Individual ants possess none of the intelligence or skills that are in the hive. No matter how intently scientists study the behavior of individual ants, they can never see the behavior of the hive. Yet once the hive forms, each ant acts with the intelligence and skillfulness of the whole.

This aspect of emergence has profound implications for social entrepreneurs. Instead of developing them individually as leaders and skillful practitioners, we would do better to connect them to like-minded others and create the conditions for emergence. The skills and capacities needed by them will be found in the system that emerges, not in better training programs.

Because emergence only happens through connections, Berkana has developed a four stage model that catalyzes connections as the means to achieve global level change: Name, Connect, Nourish, Illuminate (see Appendix). We focus on discovering pioneering efforts and naming them as such. We then connect these efforts to other similar work globally. We nourish this network in many ways, but most essentially through creating opportunities for learning and sharing experiences and shifting into communities of practice. We also illuminate these pioneering efforts so that many more people will learn from them. We are attempting to work intentionally with emergence so that small, local efforts can become a global force for change.

The Lifecycle of Emergence

Stage One: Networks. We live in a time when coalitions, alliances and networks are forming as the means to create societal change. There are ever more networks and now, networks of networks. These networks are essential for people finding likeminded others, the first stage in the lifecycle of emergence. It’s important to note that networks are only the beginning. They are based on self-interest--people usually network together for their own benefit and to develop their own work. Networks tend to have fluid membership; people move in and out of them based on how much they personally benefit from participating.

Stage Two: Communities of Practice. Networks make it possible for people to find others engaged in similar work. The second stage of emergence is the development of communities of practice (CoPs). Many such smaller, individuated communities can spring from a robust network. CoPs are also self-organized. People share a common work and realize there is great benefit to being in relationship. They use this community to share what they know, to support one another, and to intentionally create new knowledge for their field of practice. These CoPs differ from networks in significant ways. They are communities, which means that people make a commitment to be there for each other; they participate not only for their own needs, but to serve the needs of others.

In a community of practice, the focus extends beyond the needs of the group. There is an intentional commitment to advance the field of practice, and to share those discoveries with a wider audience. They make their resources and knowledge available to anyone, especially those doing related work.

The speed with which people learn and grow in a community of practice is noteworthy. Good ideas move rapidly amongst members. New knowledge and practices are implemented quickly. The speed at which knowledge development and exchange happens is crucial, because local regions and the world need this knowledge and wisdom now.

Stage Three: Systems of Influence. The third stage in emergence can never be predicted. It is the sudden appearance of a system that has real power and influence. Pioneering efforts that hovered at the periphery suddenly become the norm. The practices developed by courageous communities become the accepted standard. People no longer hesitate about adopting these approaches and methods and they learn them easily. Policy and funding debates now include the perspectives and experiences of these pioneers. They become leaders in the field and are acknowledged as the wisdom keepers for their particular issue. And critics who said it could never be done suddenly become chief supporters (often saying they knew it all along.)

Emergence is the fundamental scientific explanation for how local changes can materialize as global systems of influence. As a change theory, it offers methods and practices to accomplish the systems-wide changes that are so needed at this time. As leaders and communities of concerned people, we need to intentionally work with emergence so that our efforts will result in a truly hopeful future. No matter what other change strategies we have learned or favored, emergence is the only way change really happens on this planet. And that is very good news.

Appendix

Berkana’s Four Stages for Developing Leadership-in-Community
Berkana works with pioneering leaders and communities using a four-stage approach. This has evolved out of our understanding of how living systems grow and change, and years of practice and experimentation.

I. Name
Pioneering leaders act in isolation, unaware that their work has broader value. They are too busy to think about extending their work, and too humble to think that others would benefit. Berkana’s first act is to recognize them as pioneers with experiences that are of value to others.

II. Connect
Life grows and changes through the strength of its connections and relationships. (In nature, if a system lacks health, the solution is to connect it to more of itself.) Berkana creates connections in many different ways. We design and facilitate
community gatherings. We host networks where people can exchange ideas and resources. Our collaborative technology supports communities of practice through dedicated websites, online conferences, asynchronous conversations and cocreated knowledge products.

III. Nourish
Communities of practice need many different resources: ideas, mentors, processes, technology, equipment, money. Each is important, but foremost among these is learning and knowledge: knowing what techniques and processes work well, and
learning from experience as people do the work.

Berkana provides many of these sources of nourishment but, increasingly, we find that the most significant nourishment comes from the interactions and exchanges among pioneering leaders themselves. They need and want to share their
practices, experiences and dreams. Creating opportunities for people to learn together has become our primary way of nourishing their efforts.

IV. Illuminate
It is difficult for anybody to see work based on a different paradigm. If people do notice such work, it is often characterized as inspiring deviations from the norm. It takes time and attention for people to see different approaches for what they are:
examples of what the new world could be. The Berkana community publishes articles, tells our stories at conferences, and host learning journeys where people visit pioneering efforts, learn from them directly, and develop lasting relationships.

click here for their version on line which has some great graphics

http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com

We are the ones we've been waiting for..

We have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour
And there are things to be considered

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in the right relation?
Where is your water?

Know your garden.

It is time to speak your truth
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold onto the shore.
They will feel they are being torn apart and they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination.

The elders say we must let go of the shore, and push off and into the river, keep our eyes open, and our head above the water.

See who is in there with you and Celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally.
Least of all ourselves.
For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over,
Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.
All that you do now must be done in a sacred manner
And in celebration.

"We are the ones we've been waiting for..."

The Elders, Hopi Nation, Oraibi, Arizona

This was posted on the Open Space Listserv

http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com

Is the Concept of Competitive Advantage Obsolete?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I read this quote the other day.

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." - Buckminster Fuller

I started wondering, what are we doing that has become obsolete?

I started wondering about the concept of competitive advantage. People frequently talk about competitive advantage in both the business and social sectors as if this is the highest goal, motivator, or possible expression of accomplishment. One thing that we know from working with people in the social sector is this -- they are motivated by their passion for making a difference - and not by being "better" or "more competitive" than others.

Is the idea that you should focus on being better than someone else really missing the point? Does this focus cause an organization to miss opportunities to be the best that they can be - given what Angeles Arriens calls your original medicine. What is original medicine? This is the unique strengths, talents, skills, resources, and ideas that you or your organization has to offer to the world. What if the focus on competitive advantage actually distracts from what is possible if you develop the potential of your original medicine?

What do you think?

Cassandra

http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com