Talking our way to a better place

We are used to a media that encourages verbal combat between two or more opposing positions despite other discussion formats being potentially more engaging. Whilst I do see the value of debate,  it is rather academic and does little to encourage a culture of constructive and practical dialogue. This in turn does no  favours to a society lamenting the dominance of spin and calling for authenticity in public life.

Imagine a Radio 4 programme with two guests of differing views. There is none of the usual ping-pong exchange as the presenter tries to draw out the details and extremes of each view. Here instead, the guests question each other in order to understand how they each got to their position. How unconventional it would feel as they begin a to discuss different scenarios in which the learning from both experiences can be incorporated.

I would personally find such a programme more exciting and interesting to listen to (or watch on TV), as inevitably, either side (pride permitting) would become more flexible in their position as they learnt from the experience of the other. As we perfected this format, it could be used for small scale decision-making with callers phoning in to add any viewpoints that hadn’t been picked up by the guests or presenters. The best decisions are, after all, made when all angles have been considered.

When we complain about how ‘phoney’ public consultations are, it is in part due to the public not having the opportunity to practise these kind of collaborative conversations, thus the outcomes are often superficial  and reactive. If we could change the culture of conversation in public life it would send ripples of positive effect into society as people began to practice the same skills on a day to day basis.

Of course I’m not suggesting we obliterate the debate format – I just think it’s a little boring (to put it mildly) in comparison to a conversation where ‘aha’ moments occur and the old-style macho stance of refusing to move an inch from one’s viewpoint is no longer blocking progress.

This is what is needed to go alongside reality TV shows which focus on personality and performance. Collaborative conversation programmes would be real-time discussions with the audience participating where relevant and there would still be plenty of conflict and drama. It does demand that the presenter has an enhanced skill-set and that the rules of engagement are clear, but it is in no way impossible.

Autumn ‘09 Update

I’m working on several new intiatives and am happy to say, my goal of getting more involved in my local community is definately on target.

1) The Hub Stourbridge is being set up by six of us, with support from Jonathan Robinson, founder of the Hub network which has 18 established Hubs around the world.

The Stourbridge version will be a slightly different venture in that it is the first market town Hub and so will also be tied tightly to supporting regeneration in the local community and on the High Street.

Key themes for The Hub Stourbridge are:

- Sustainability (Environmental, Social, Economic)

-Forging connections between urban and rural businesses (Stourbridge is ideally located for this)

-Supporting organisations and activities that help regenerate the area (business start-ups, engaging with issues of unemployment and redundancy)

- Promoting cross-over between business, the creative and educational sectors and the community.

- Facilitating growth in corporate social responsibility and serving as an incubator for creative project ideas.

2) Transition Stourbridge is part of a global network of community based initiatives creating practical solutions to the challenge of climate change and needs for social cohesion.

Projects running include a Low Carbon Community project in partnership with Marches Energy Agency and a second series of films hosted at the Glasshouse Arts Centre.

3) The Business Benefit is a newly launched social enterprise connecting businesses and charities through offering a series of events in and around Stourbridge. I am lucky enough to have been invited to assist when I can, with the development of this exciting example of corporate responsibility in action. Gary Lennon is the founder of Business Benefit and the project is also supported by a management team and the Stourbridge branch of the HSBC bank.

The Ocean could soon be breathtaking

Just as with the global concern for our dying rainforests, we must now work to rescue the organism which supplies every second breath of oxygen we take:  the world’s ocean.

Why? Well, it’s simple: if the ocean dies (as it did centuries ago), 90% of all life dies, and parts of the ocean are already dead. The ‘deadness’ is spreading.

Having begun the work to rescue the earth’s ‘lungs’ (forests) we now need to focus on preventing our earths ‘blood circulation’ from becoming so poisoned that the whole body collapses.

This is the message passed on by Alanna Mitchell whose study of the seas and the science involved has lead her to publish “Seasick” a very readable and compelling call to action.

Focusing on Social Sustainability

A few years ago, after a day facilitating workshops , I was in the taxi with the sustainability champion for the organisation. I asked him: ‘Your company is doing such a good job on environmental sustainability, how are things between staff in terms of social sustainability?’.

My question was met with a dry laugh and the explanation that politics and internal conflicts meant that this part of the triple bottom line was unfortunately not given value.

I came away feeling sad, but also partly a bit foolish: ‘Was I supposed to ask that kind of question?’ it had almost felt a bit impolite.

A few years on and with enough experiences of teams working or failing, I am certain that this is the question we should be asking more and more often.

The theme of social sustainability on an internal group/company level has come back to me all through this week in stories I’ve heard and events I’ve been through.

The message I am getting is that social development and sustainability require at least the following:

1) A willingess to engage with the ‘personality clashes’ and conflicts we have with each other, and to have the conviction that starting the dialogue and working it through will bring us forward.

2) A sense of the ‘ladder of priority’ which is something I have always found helpful when working on a project with others:

step 1 -to start by reflecting on our own individual purpose for being involved

step 2-  to address our purpose as a group and how we wish to work together especially when it gets tough

step 3 – only now, finally, to address the need for, and design of, the project.

My mother was the last person who echoed this to me on Friday.

She reflected back a comment from a film called The Power of Community which was that:  in our efforts to improve the world, we can do all the practical projects we want, yet none of it will bring us forward unless we simultaneously work on what happens between us as humans.

Wouldn’t it be great if the business world took this on in a bigger way?

Isn’t this what we needed when bankers were making unethical decisions?

Perhaps things would have been different if their colleagues had had more  ‘ space to disagree’ or permission to ’speak truth to power’ in order to open a real dialogue about personal values and motivations.

West Midlands sustainable business – online network

I recently set up an online group for sharing information and resources on sustainable business in the West Midlands (UK).

Sustainable business is defined here in its widest sense:

Activites, products and services that addresses environmental, social and economic factors from an ethical standpoint for the benefit of future generations.

The group is open to individuals, community groups, NGOs, companies and government sector organisations.

Postings within the group include:

- An introduction to a local sustainable project or organisation
- Job vacancies related to sustainability
- Events postings
- Course or training information
- Queries and questions

The group can be found at: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sustainablebusiness-wm/ and anyone  with an interest in this area is welcome to join.

You can also join by clicking on the Yahoo groups button at the top right-hand corner of the homepage of this  blogsite (www.seachangecafe.wordpress.com).

If you’re not already registered with Yahoo, you will need to signup there first.

Winter update

My work through Sea Change Consultancy has continued to focus on running and improving the Applied Mediation Skills course, as part of the package offered by WMMTS. You can find an article here about the launch of one of the teams we’ve trained up : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7893192.stm .

We have run the 6 day accredited course as well as the 2-day Introduction to Mediation Skills many times since the last update and are due to run another between February 17th and 26th this year – anyone interested please contact me via http://seachangeconsultancy.com/?go=Contact

I’ve also continued with my involvement in consultations on health care, and recently had the opportunity to do so closer to home which was a welcome change.

One of my aims over the past year has been to engage more with my local community and for the last half of 2008 two projects in particular have been my focus:

1) A local Transition Town initiative, which started in spring of 2009 and has now partnered with the Glasshouse Arts Centre to run a film series linking local and global issues of environment and community. The group have also organised ‘Love What’s Local’ litter picks and there are plans in the pipeline for a skillsharing scheme and possible urban garden/landshare activities.

2)A small group of us are also working on setting up a community hub to link local sustainable/social entrepreneurs, artists and members of the community. It’s early days yet, but we are already blown away by the speed at which things are moving forward.

My aim remains to forge stronger professional links with the area in which I live, the West Midlands, but I will also keep a firm hold on those ties and connections that are further afield.

I wish you all a productive and inspiring 2009 wherever you are!

New Year’s Resolution

I’m forever being told to sit still, lie down or at least put the brakes on my train-of-thought.

I am starting to realise that a state of calmness is more than just ‘blocking out the chatter’.

My new year’s resolution is to find and try out different ways of becoming a calmer person, a slower/clearer conversationalist and a pursuer of the thoughtful pause.

Playing for Change

Here’s to more of us taking time to share the music, wherever we are.

If life is a series of interrelated projects let’s embed in it the principles of play, enjoyment and creativity!

For more information on the organisation in the clip see:  http://www.playingforchange.com

Crafting the Future – Biomimicry

Biomimicry takes what life does in nature and applies the same principles to processes such as design and manufacturing. It is a concept which is so logical that it seems magical, perhaps also because it is so different from how we usually do things.

Janine M. Benyus, speaking in the film ‘11th Hour’ explains how a leaf cleans itself without use of detergents and how nature does much of its chemistry with basic resources such as water, whilst we use all kinds of harmful mixes in order to get to a similar end result (e.g. clean surfaces).

One of the key points for me, is that nature does this in a non-agressive way, often in partnership with other organisms. In contrast, we have somehow ended up using a lot of brute force in production processes.

Biomimicry in business puts ‘life’ back into production and, linked with sustainable technology, it becomes an inspiring means toward crafting the future we so desperately need.

Ray Anderson on the need for Sustainability in Business