Did you ever have the opportunity where you worked to become part of a “continuous improvement team”? I did, and I found it to be one of the most powerful problem-solving tools you could ever use.
What if … this same concept could be used to create new, effective solutions to heal, strengthen and prosper our communities?
For those of you who are unfamiliar, here’s the basic idea:
- Bring together people who understand community-based challenges – mainly because they have lived or worked within them.
- Help them identify what their passionate about – oftentimes related to the challenges they have been through.
- Help the individuals connect with others in the group who have a similar passion.
- Utilize brainstorming and multi-voting techniques to identify a problem they wish to work on.
- Utilize the same techniques to work on building a solution. (Hint: the best solutions often come about from each person contributing something from their own experience and knowledge base)
- Create the solution – together!
I recently learned a new term for describing these “bottom-up solutions” – it’s called sociocracy! Here’s the Wikipedia definition: Sociocracy, also known as dynamic governance, is a system of governance which seeks to achieve solutions that create harmonious social environments as well as productive organizations and businesses.
In the corporate world, I’ve seen these self-directed teams save a company thousands, or even millions of dollars. By engaging the knowledge-base of the people who understand the root-cause of a problem, cost-effective solutions can be created, oftentimes with a significant cost saving to the company.
Is it really possible to take it to the streets? While I won’t go as far as calling it “easy”, I have seen a room full of people come together with a common cause and start enthusiastically creating solutions! The energy in the room goes sky-high as people get excited about the possibility of making a real difference!
Will efforts like this likely get funded through traditional government grants? In my experience, not likely. But, I believe this type of effort has incredible potential for a serious crowd-funding campaign. Collaboration among individuals and non-profits is quickly becoming a mandatory requirement for creating new solutions. Bring together a group like this under a crowd-funding umbrella and watch magic happen!
In the COVID-19 era, Connect, Collaborate, and Create should be an online or virtual solution to network when social gatherings isn’t an option. Be safe and happy connecting!
