Tag Archive for: al etmanski

Al Etmanski’s speaking notes from the FCSSBC Social Policy Forum

/in /by

The political announcement in Tuesday’s budget to increase spending for children in care occurred in large part because FOR THE LAST 15 – 20 YEARS:

  • You spoke up IN DEFENSE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA’S children and families
  • You worked with public service and political allies to prevent further cuts
  • You developed new resources with your ingenuity and enterprise
  • You worked inside systems w/o acknowledgement

It happened BECAUSE You didn’t turn your back when Children, Youth, Women, Families WERE NOT SEEN AS a political or economic priority even though your professionalism was often under attack.

Thank you for standing firm against what Pope France calls the “globalization of indifference”. Thank you for your leadership. And for taking on what must often feel like a thankless task.

You must feel this is the way it will always be. But it’s not. THE CULTURAL AND POLITICAL WINDS ARE CHANGING.

BOB DYLAN once sang – You  DON’T HAVE TO BE A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW WHICH WAY WINDS ARE BLOWING. The winds are blowing in favour of Justice AND equality again.

One of the first signs was the election of the current Mayor of New york Bill de Blasio on a campaign to address homelessness, poverty and racial injustice. Bill de Blasio was an underdog unlike any New York mayor in recent memory – a staunch progressive, a crusader against income inequality and for affordable housing – very different from former Mayor Bloomberg.

The next wind to blow was the appearance of Pope Frances on the world stage. Here are a few of things he has said: “Men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the ‘culture of waste.’ If a computer breaks it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs and dramas of so many people end up being considered normal.” “We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.”

And speaking to youth recently, he asked them to become revolutionaries, “I ask you to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes you are incapable of responsibility, that believes you are incapable of true love.” 

Within the last year the Ford Foundation redesigned their whole grantmaking to focus on the 5 key drivers of inequity. I think you would find them very familiar. Here in Canada the Maytree Foundation is leading a campaign to enshrine economic and social rights for our most vulnerable in our Charter. 

Here is another strong wind that ‘s blowing around the world – a guaranteed annual income. Finland is implementing it. I Canada the idea is picking up credibility after a 40-year hiatus from the remarkable Dauphin Manitoba demonstration. The Globe and Mail wrote a favourable editorial last weekend. I also detect justice and equity as the ‘juice’ behind our newly elected government and the surprising strength of Bernie Saunders’ campaign.

If you factor out the political and religion elements of these winds of change they all have in common a challenge to the “iron rule of economy,” i.e. that we must first take care of the economy before we take care of each other.

What they mean to you and me is that the time is right in British Columbia for a transformative Vision. YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO TREAD WATER. You can regain your historical role AS ADVOCATES FOR THE BOLDEST RENDITION OF THE  WORLD WE WANT  FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. INSTEAD OF being under a cloud you can show us what is beyond the horizon. INSTEAD OF Playing defense YOU CAN regain the offence. INSTEAD OF Playing catch up you can take the lead.

We are at a Crossroads in BC. Your SACRED TASK is changing. You can now be bolder than you’ve ever been. Here’s the thing: YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE. Furthermore, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. You SIMPLY NEED TO THINK AND ACT LIKE A MOVEMENT. 

Movements do 3 things much better than other organizational forms such as committees, task forces, partnerships, non-profits, sectors, government, coalitions and FEDERATIONS. THEY change culture – THOSE DEEPLY ROOTED HABITS attitudes and beliefs THAT KEEP THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE. They do it in three ways:

ONE – Movements provide a vehicle for collaborating and co-operating across sectors, organizational boundaries, social and economic strata, origins, backgrounds and jurisdictions. They are the ultimate inclusive container, encompassing the full assortment of actors AND ACTIONS required for transformative change.

TWO – Movements shift the boundaries of what is socially acceptable and expected. They provide a climate for new ideas. Movements create the favourable political conditions for the combination of legislative change, resource allocation, policy shifts, new stories and new behaviours you are looking for. THEY Embolden Politicians.  The recent Paris Climate Agreement would not have happened without a global, grassroots climate movement. This movement of movements was DELIBERATELY CULTIVATED FOR THE Failed COPENHAGEN climate TALKS but proved its effectiveness in Paris. INCIDENTALLY one of the chief organizers was JASON MOGUS who lives on SALTSPRING.

THREE –  Movements don’t just open our minds, they touch our hearts. University of Victoria’s BUDD HALL suggests that movements are evolving from simply describing the world we want, to giving us the experience of what this new world would resemble using the power of dance, drama, ritual, ceremony, poetry and humour. Movements, he says, are increasingly “about flow, networking, connectivity, immediacy, creativity and an immediate sensual intimacy.”

The arts and social movements make a good marriage because they’re both iconoclastic, set up by their very nature to challenge sacred cows. They lend movements compelling symbols and images that are more meaningful and hopeful than slogans and clichés.

You don’t need to start a new movement. Simply support the one(s) you are already part of. For example, the poverty reduction/anti-poverty movements comprise welfare reform, minimum wage, fair wage and guaranteed annual income advocates. Chances are high they could find a common agenda with folks addressing underemployment, unemployment, homelessness, food sovereignty, agri-business, urban gardening, social isolation, addiction, AND TREATMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH, to name a few.

NOTE: The FCSSBC isn’t a movement, it’s a federation. If you are a member you have your organizational objectives and Federation objectives. You also have movement objectives. Your movement objectives will support your organizational and federation objectives. Here are 8 questions to help you think and act like a movement.

  1.  Which movements are you already part of?
  2. Who are the key players and actors in these movements?
  3. How can these movements help you achieve your organizational mission?
  4. How would you describe your movement objectives?
  5.  What actions can you take to support the movements you are already part of?
  6.  Which movement players could you align with?
  7. Are you welcoming and supporting disruptive, frontline, grassroots individuals and groups?
  8. What about artists, painters, dancers, poets, sculptors, singers, storytellers…?

By setting aside time and resources for movement thinking and acting, we give greater lift to our collective aspirations. There are no shortcuts. Only when people come together in large numbers do we get the world we want. There is one important qualification to movement thinking and acting. MOVEMENTS IN CANADA MAY BE DIFFERENT from THOSE IN THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE THEY MAKE ROOM FOR GOVERNMENT. 

YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD THE EXPRESSION THAT GOVERNMENT SEEMS PARALYSED? THERE IS A CERTAIN SENSE IN WHICH THAT IS TRUE. Off the top of my head, I CAN THINK OF AT LEAST FOUR SPINAL CORD INJURIES of Government.

  1. SHORT ATTENTION SPAN – FOCUS ON IMMEDIATE
  2. RISK ADVERSE
  3. EXCESSIVE FOCUS on ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY and PRIVACY CONSIDERATIONS
  4. LIMITED POLICY and RESEARCH CAPACITY.  MOST GOVERNMENT POLICY SHOPS HAVE CLOSED DOWN OR ARE SUBSTANTIALLY UNDERSTAFFED. THEY NO LONGER  are as up to date on emerging problems and TRENDS as we think they are.

ALL these ‘spinal cord’ injuries TAKE THEIR TOLL. IF A FRIEND WAS PARALYSED – YOU WOULD MAKE ACCOMMODATION TO ENSURE THEY PERFORMED AT THEIR PEAK. THAT’S WHY A NEW BREED OF ADVOCATES HAVE EMERGED – Solution-based Advocates.

Solution-based advocates want to do more than oppose government or focus unduly on what’s not working. They’re tired of reacting, and they work hard to cultivate a proactive mindset. Their focus is on workable solutions. These folks haven’t gone soft, parking their issues until government gets its act together. Neither are they naive. They are prudent however. They want results, just like everyone else, but they take government’s limitations into consideration. They have two objectives:

  1. To propose solutions and
  2. To enhance government’s capacity to make better decisions.

While pursuing their issue proponents of solution-based advocacy seek to improve relationships among all the players, to attract new allies and to build a base for addressing the next set of challenges.

Former prime minister Joe Clark calls the symbiotic relationship between civil society and government a marriage between imagination and mandate. What non-governmental organizations don’t have, he says, is “the authority to change the rules . . . Non-state organizations often have the imagination which the world needs, but only states and governments have the mandate and power to change laws and regulations and obligations.”

You know the expression necessity is the mother of invention. I’d like to propose a friendly amendment – If necessity is the mother of invention then love is the other parent. Passionate amateurs are inspired by love and motivated by necessity. Someone or something they care about is vulnerable, under siege or in trouble, and they have no choice but to respond.

Passionate amateurs don’t quit. They can’t quit. They are prepared to pour their life’s energy into resolving a challenge. Their commitment is freely given, beyond the boundaries of job descriptions, office hours, strategic plans, funding, fashion and political priorities. They are on the front lines, spotting and dealing with injustice years and sometimes decades before the issue seeps into the consciousness of our institutions.

You are all passionate amateurs – wherever you work in the ecosystem surrounding our children youth and families. Your actions are expressions of the heart.

Whatever role we play, our effectiveness improves when we fall in love with the issue – its mystery, its brokenness and its contradictions. Without that love, we are more likely to walk away from a challenge; to blame others, or to get distracted by a search for more technology and techniques.

The necessity to do something is usually clear. We have more than enough studies, reports, projections and statistics about what is wrong, horrible and not working. We now need to envelop our challenges with love. To tap into what people care deeply about. To rally the lovesick. Why? Because it’s 2016.

Thank you.

2020 Resources – Al Etmanski’s speaking notes from the FCSSBC Social Policy Forum

/in /by

The political announcement in Tuesday’s budget to increase spending for children in care occurred in large part because FOR THE LAST 15 – 20 YEARS:

  • You spoke up IN DEFENSE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA’S children and families
  • You worked with public service and political allies to prevent further cuts
  • You developed new resources with your ingenuity and enterprise
  • You worked inside systems w/o acknowledgement

It happened BECAUSE You didn’t turn your back when Children, Youth, Women, Families WERE NOT SEEN AS a political or economic priority even though your professionalism was often under attack.

Thank you for standing firm against what Pope France calls the “globalization of indifference”. Thank you for your leadership. And for taking on what must often feel like a thankless task.

You must feel this is the way it will always be. But it’s not. THE CULTURAL AND POLITICAL WINDS ARE CHANGING.

BOB DYLAN once sang – You  DON’T HAVE TO BE A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW WHICH WAY WINDS ARE BLOWING. The winds are blowing in favour of Justice AND equality again.

One of the first signs was the election of the current Mayor of New york Bill de Blasio on a campaign to address homelessness, poverty and racial injustice. Bill de Blasio was an underdog unlike any New York mayor in recent memory – a staunch progressive, a crusader against income inequality and for affordable housing – very different from former Mayor Bloomberg.

The next wind to blow was the appearance of Pope Frances on the world stage. Here are a few of things he has said: “Men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the ‘culture of waste.’ If a computer breaks it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs and dramas of so many people end up being considered normal.” “We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.”

And speaking to youth recently, he asked them to become revolutionaries, “I ask you to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes you are incapable of responsibility, that believes you are incapable of true love.” 

Within the last year the Ford Foundation redesigned their whole grantmaking to focus on the 5 key drivers of inequity. I think you would find them very familiar. Here in Canada the Maytree Foundation is leading a campaign to enshrine economic and social rights for our most vulnerable in our Charter. 

Here is another strong wind that ‘s blowing around the world – a guaranteed annual income. Finland is implementing it. I Canada the idea is picking up credibility after a 40-year hiatus from the remarkable Dauphin Manitoba demonstration. The Globe and Mail wrote a favourable editorial last weekend. I also detect justice and equity as the ‘juice’ behind our newly elected government and the surprising strength of Bernie Saunders’ campaign.

If you factor out the political and religion elements of these winds of change they all have in common a challenge to the “iron rule of economy,” i.e. that we must first take care of the economy before we take care of each other.

What they mean to you and me is that the time is right in British Columbia for a transformative Vision. YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO TREAD WATER. You can regain your historical role AS ADVOCATES FOR THE BOLDEST RENDITION OF THE  WORLD WE WANT  FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. INSTEAD OF being under a cloud you can show us what is beyond the horizon. INSTEAD OF Playing defense YOU CAN regain the offence. INSTEAD OF Playing catch up you can take the lead.

We are at a Crossroads in BC. Your SACRED TASK is changing. You can now be bolder than you’ve ever been. Here’s the thing: YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE. Furthermore, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. You SIMPLY NEED TO THINK AND ACT LIKE A MOVEMENT. 

Movements do 3 things much better than other organizational forms such as committees, task forces, partnerships, non-profits, sectors, government, coalitions and FEDERATIONS. THEY change culture – THOSE DEEPLY ROOTED HABITS attitudes and beliefs THAT KEEP THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE. They do it in three ways:

ONE – Movements provide a vehicle for collaborating and co-operating across sectors, organizational boundaries, social and economic strata, origins, backgrounds and jurisdictions. They are the ultimate inclusive container, encompassing the full assortment of actors AND ACTIONS required for transformative change.

TWO – Movements shift the boundaries of what is socially acceptable and expected. They provide a climate for new ideas. Movements create the favourable political conditions for the combination of legislative change, resource allocation, policy shifts, new stories and new behaviours you are looking for. THEY Embolden Politicians.  The recent Paris Climate Agreement would not have happened without a global, grassroots climate movement. This movement of movements was DELIBERATELY CULTIVATED FOR THE Failed COPENHAGEN climate TALKS but proved its effectiveness in Paris. INCIDENTALLY one of the chief organizers was JASON MOGUS who lives on SALTSPRING.

THREE –  Movements don’t just open our minds, they touch our hearts. University of Victoria’s BUDD HALL suggests that movements are evolving from simply describing the world we want, to giving us the experience of what this new world would resemble using the power of dance, drama, ritual, ceremony, poetry and humour. Movements, he says, are increasingly “about flow, networking, connectivity, immediacy, creativity and an immediate sensual intimacy.”

The arts and social movements make a good marriage because they’re both iconoclastic, set up by their very nature to challenge sacred cows. They lend movements compelling symbols and images that are more meaningful and hopeful than slogans and clichés.

You don’t need to start a new movement. Simply support the one(s) you are already part of. For example, the poverty reduction/anti-poverty movements comprise welfare reform, minimum wage, fair wage and guaranteed annual income advocates. Chances are high they could find a common agenda with folks addressing underemployment, unemployment, homelessness, food sovereignty, agri-business, urban gardening, social isolation, addiction, AND TREATMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH, to name a few.

NOTE: The FCSSBC isn’t a movement, it’s a federation. If you are a member you have your organizational objectives and Federation objectives. You also have movement objectives. Your movement objectives will support your organizational and federation objectives. Here are 8 questions to help you think and act like a movement.

  1.  Which movements are you already part of?
  2. Who are the key players and actors in these movements?
  3. How can these movements help you achieve your organizational mission?
  4. How would you describe your movement objectives?
  5.  What actions can you take to support the movements you are already part of?
  6.  Which movement players could you align with?
  7. Are you welcoming and supporting disruptive, frontline, grassroots individuals and groups?
  8. What about artists, painters, dancers, poets, sculptors, singers, storytellers…?

By setting aside time and resources for movement thinking and acting, we give greater lift to our collective aspirations. There are no shortcuts. Only when people come together in large numbers do we get the world we want. There is one important qualification to movement thinking and acting. MOVEMENTS IN CANADA MAY BE DIFFERENT from THOSE IN THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE THEY MAKE ROOM FOR GOVERNMENT. 

YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD THE EXPRESSION THAT GOVERNMENT SEEMS PARALYSED? THERE IS A CERTAIN SENSE IN WHICH THAT IS TRUE. Off the top of my head, I CAN THINK OF AT LEAST FOUR SPINAL CORD INJURIES of Government.

  1. SHORT ATTENTION SPAN – FOCUS ON IMMEDIATE
  2. RISK ADVERSE
  3. EXCESSIVE FOCUS on ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY and PRIVACY CONSIDERATIONS
  4. LIMITED POLICY and RESEARCH CAPACITY.  MOST GOVERNMENT POLICY SHOPS HAVE CLOSED DOWN OR ARE SUBSTANTIALLY UNDERSTAFFED. THEY NO LONGER  are as up to date on emerging problems and TRENDS as we think they are.

ALL these ‘spinal cord’ injuries TAKE THEIR TOLL. IF A FRIEND WAS PARALYSED – YOU WOULD MAKE ACCOMMODATION TO ENSURE THEY PERFORMED AT THEIR PEAK. THAT’S WHY A NEW BREED OF ADVOCATES HAVE EMERGED – Solution-based Advocates.

Solution-based advocates want to do more than oppose government or focus unduly on what’s not working. They’re tired of reacting, and they work hard to cultivate a proactive mindset. Their focus is on workable solutions. These folks haven’t gone soft, parking their issues until government gets its act together. Neither are they naive. They are prudent however. They want results, just like everyone else, but they take government’s limitations into consideration. They have two objectives:

  1. To propose solutions and
  2. To enhance government’s capacity to make better decisions.

While pursuing their issue proponents of solution-based advocacy seek to improve relationships among all the players, to attract new allies and to build a base for addressing the next set of challenges.

Former prime minister Joe Clark calls the symbiotic relationship between civil society and government a marriage between imagination and mandate. What non-governmental organizations don’t have, he says, is “the authority to change the rules . . . Non-state organizations often have the imagination which the world needs, but only states and governments have the mandate and power to change laws and regulations and obligations.”

You know the expression necessity is the mother of invention. I’d like to propose a friendly amendment – If necessity is the mother of invention then love is the other parent. Passionate amateurs are inspired by love and motivated by necessity. Someone or something they care about is vulnerable, under siege or in trouble, and they have no choice but to respond.

Passionate amateurs don’t quit. They can’t quit. They are prepared to pour their life’s energy into resolving a challenge. Their commitment is freely given, beyond the boundaries of job descriptions, office hours, strategic plans, funding, fashion and political priorities. They are on the front lines, spotting and dealing with injustice years and sometimes decades before the issue seeps into the consciousness of our institutions.

You are all passionate amateurs – wherever you work in the ecosystem surrounding our children youth and families. Your actions are expressions of the heart.

Whatever role we play, our effectiveness improves when we fall in love with the issue – its mystery, its brokenness and its contradictions. Without that love, we are more likely to walk away from a challenge; to blame others, or to get distracted by a search for more technology and techniques.

The necessity to do something is usually clear. We have more than enough studies, reports, projections and statistics about what is wrong, horrible and not working. We now need to envelop our challenges with love. To tap into what people care deeply about. To rally the lovesick. Why? Because it’s 2016.

Thank you.

2020 Reflections – October Alumni Gathering

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The Alumni gathering and social impact summit was designed by a small group of graduates and participants and we are grateful to them for their thoughtful ideas and contributions that made the event a success: Rebecca Ataya, Sheila Best, Maria Cargnelli, Connie Epp, Dayna Long, Lynne Mansell, Maureen Mackell, Wedlidi Speck and Annemarie Travers. The event brought together 80 people, drawn from every one of the eight cohorts we have hosted. We also welcomed three guests who served as ‘witnesses’ to the process and learning. Thanks to Stacie Prescott from Options Community Services (and one of the original 2020 advisors), Trilby Smith from Vancouver Foundation’s Fostering Change initiative and Al Etmanski, social innovator.

Unfortunately our live stream coverage to 25 additional registrants did not work due to problems with the company we retained to provide this service. We are so sorry that this did not work and are now trying to salvage recordings from Al Etmanski’ s presentation to at least share this teaching. Apologies to those who tried to make sense of the live stream!

We had three intentions for the gathering: connection, learning and action:

  • Connect people across cohorts into a broader 2020 community.
  • Provide people with some tangible learnings, skills, practices that will enhance or affirm their leadership toolkit, and with a vision/inspiration and strategies for broader systems change.
  • Engage people in collective work for social impact and build the movement.

To support this, we convened an array of world café discussions, knowledge ‘camps’ and action tables. Over the next week we will complete the proceedings and share this broadly with the broader 2020 community. A number of people wanted to continue connecting to explore ways to work together and differently to bring about positive social impacts in areas that are important to them. The intention here is to work within our spheres of influence and try out small probes that will help us identify ways to – for example – embed trauma informed practice in our work, re-imagine foster care, extend 2020 opportunities to youth leaders, etc. We hope to support the leadership movement by living into the 6 patterns that Al Etmanski referenced in his talk at the gathering and that are detailed in his book Impact (see communiqué 7 for a summary). More next week!

2020 Reflections – Finding Fellow Travellers

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This week I spent three hours with my friend and mentor, Al Etmanski. Al is a social activist and innovator extraordinaire, author of the recently published book Impact (see the weekly read below), world leader and connector in social innovation – and he will be with us for the 2020 Social Impact gathering on October.  I have known Al since 1986 when I was a naïve but earnest public servant working as the Provincial Coordinator for Deinstitutionalization. Al was a larger than life and passionate leader in the disability movement that had, with others, raised awareness about the state of institutional care, painted a picture of positive options, and successfully poked, prodded and inspired the government to close the three institutions of the day and develop a community-based care system.  Our working relationship was difficult at times – me being in the middle of a government bureaucracy with limited resources and high expectations, and he being a progressive leader in the community and a passionate parent. I often didn’t know what to do or how to do it, but Al was a good teacher and there were lots of amazing people involved.  We figured some stuff out along the way. However, as is often the case, I didn’t really grasp the depth of the learning until much later. 
 
Fast forward a few decades and I am the ED of the Federation. Al calls to invite me onto the Premier’s Advisory Council on Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I am sceptical of government’s intentions – is this about offloading responsibility or unrealistic expectations for the community sector? We talk and he understands my fears, and I trust him and his intentions.  What happened on the Advisory Council is an interesting and positive story for another time, but what has been most important to me is re-kindling a relationship with Al, and in the process learning to give voice to ideas, fears and questions.
 
What Al does brilliantly is listen, question, connect and reflect. He readily admits that he wasn’t always this way, and that in the past he fractured some working relationships, but he intentionally cultivates these practices now. He has learned that it is critical to creating positive social impact. He has an immense depth of knowledge and experience, but he never makes you feel anything but interesting. He asks wonderful questions and seeks to understand, and in so doing, has helped me give shape and form to some of the ideas and questions that I carry. He is also humble – willing to share stories of his own crises of faith and in so doing has given me permission to share my own doubts and frustrations.  This is not done just to feel better about ourselves, but rather to think bigger about ourselves. To his core, he, and his wise partner Vicki Cammack, believe that the tough, complex, and intractable social, economic and environmental issues that we face can be addressed. And they don’t just talk about it – they are out in the world wrestling with the work, generating and testing action, failing, floundering and trying again.
 
In 2020 we talk about great leadership being participatory, and I gained a more nuanced understanding of this after my conversation with Al. As leaders and change-makers, we need to be skillful engagers and collaborators as we cannot do this work alone. However we also need to create bonds with people who are, as Al says, ‘wise travellers’. These are the people who: can challenge and disrupt our thinking and practice; who can accept us in the times when we are excited and flushed with the delight of seeing an idea come to life or some good happening in the world – and make it even better; who accept us when we have fears, anger and doubts, and can craft a safe container for exploration of it all; who connect us to our ideas and to others and their ideas.  He notes that innovation often arises from and at the margins – with people who hold different views and have had different life experiences and are not often welcomed into the centre. This is one of the key teachings in the final residency of 2020 – as leaders in this field we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to set the table for diverse views and perspectives in order to co-create social impact. It has been interesting to consider who the wise travellers are in my life, and who I need to ‘set the table for’ to challenge my thinking in these times. What about you?  

Impact: Six Patterns to Spread Your Social Impact

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Al Etmanski’s new book is Impact: Six Patterns to Spread Your Social Impact bring social innovation to life through stories and makes it accessible. He invites us in: social innovation “always begins with what you care deeply about” (p. 36). It “is the latest descriptor of the ageless human pursuit to make the world a better place. It is a bundle of new learning, technologies and methods blended with the best traditional approaches to social change” (p. 24). In this, I am reminded of Wedlidi’s wise teachings about bi-cultural practice and ways of being – bringing traditional and contemporary knowledge and practice together to meet the challenges of our time.
 
This reimagining and connecting is needed because, as Al goes on to say, “what is new is the recognition that many of our toughest social and environmental challenges have had time to develop deep roots that are resistant to just about anything we throw at them…If we are to be innovative about anything in the future, it must be about how we work together…as wise travellers. Social innovation spreads through sharing, not selfishness. The heroic, “great man” model of social change makes for a great story, but it isn’t true in practice. It is only through generous, respectful interactions across sectors, expertise and roles that social innovation achieves lasting impact” (pp.24-25, bold type mine). He goes on to quote my favourite definition of social innovation from Tim Broadhead, “social innovation is both a destination – the resolution of complex social and environmental challenges – and a journey – devising new approaches that engage all stakeholders, leveraging their competencies and creativity to design novel solutions” (p. 25).
 
I can’t do justice to Impact in this short post, but I do want to share the six interconnected patterns that Al illuminates in the book and focus on several that resonate for us in 2020:

  1. Think and act like a movement: “A movement is composed of a million small acts. It is impossible to predict which one will ignite a spark or cause the next surge. And it doesn’t really matter” (p. 48).Al notes five characteristics of progressive social movements and illustrates them with examples from diverse sectors. He suggests that they: ignite our imagination; are multi-generational; comprise small acts; are self-organizing; and marry art and justice (pp. 50-53). In this way, they are ‘messy’ and don’t lend themselves to the project plans and predictability that many of our systems love, which creates a tension that we need to manage skillfully. He invites us to discern what movements we are already a part of and “make our contribution, no matter how small or insignificant we think it is”(p. 58).
  2. Create a container for your content:  Make it easier “for people to do the right thing” by attending both to content and framing so that people can grasp what you see and feel. So often we turn people away from the discussion and the work by making our aims unclear or inaccessible. Al illuminates some more patterns of effective content containers. They: are playful and fun; are non-judgmental; ignite the imagination; personalize the abstract; and tell a story. How might we invite and share stories and ideas in a way that mobilizes and inspires people to act?
  3. Set the table for allies, adversaries and strangers: This one resonates most strongly with what we have tried to design into and convey in 2020, “changing the situation requires more than the usual suspects at the table. Dialogue and convening are more than means to an end. They give structure to our need to belong, to be part of something bigger than ourselves. They broaden understanding, puncture assumptions, change authority flows and allow us to cultivate new relationships. Solutions spread when we move beyond blame, competition, misunderstanding and mistrust” (p. 27). Al points out that working together on tough issues is no picnic at times – even when we work with friends. However, some of the qualities of effective convening that he notes do, in our experience, enhance the likelihood of connection. Civility, hospitality, and curiosity are key, as is personal agency: “Convenors strive to bring out the best in everyone. They convene around gifts… If convenors usually enter a room composed of leaders and followers, they hope to leave a room full of leaders, people who are emboldened and willing to take responsibility for what they say and do. Front-of-the-room leadership isn’t enough. Neither is leadership that suggests they will do it all for you” (p. 84). He notes that Paul Born (Tamarack) asks the following question in any gathering, “Why is it important that you are here?” as it invites people to be ‘doers’.
  4. Mobilize your economic power: This one is a harder pattern for me to get my head around and activate as I/we have grown up with a sector-wide scarcity mindset – scrambling for funds and support. There are 2 considerations here. The first is, what is the economic power of our constituencies that we might leverage? Certainly many of the people we serve have limited economic means, but when you consider the broader constituency of people working in the field, family members, social justice advocates, etc. we can have a stronger collective economic impact. The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), which Al was instrumental in establishing in Canada, is a case in point. The second idea is that social innovators are getting better at disrupting typical business models for their agencies or causes and are looking beyond government or grant funding and creating new partnerships with unlikely allies in order to spread innovation ideas.  
  5. Advocate with empathy: I have been strongly criticized in the past for not being harsh enough as an advocate, and this pattern spoke to what I have felt in my heart: Most people are doing the best they can within the system that they are operating within and if I can’t have empathy for their situation they may not be able to have empathy for mine. “Strategic inquiry is the process of discovering the priorities, language and tools of the group you are trying to convince” and being solution-focused as advocates (p. 116). It doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t “raise a little hell” as needed; lines in the sand are important; anger and outrage can fuel us. But if we accept the premise that we need to set the table for diverse perspectives, we can’t expect to be successful if we throw rocks and abdicate responsibility for finding solutions to government or others. 
  6. Who is important as how: One of the great takeaways from this book is the concept that the question ‘How?’ is a “killer question. It can stop you dead in your tracks. One way to undermine a new initiative or stop someone from pursuing a big idea is to ask them how they are going to do it. How dampens the imagination and favours being practical far too early…More cruelly, how can imply that because you don’t have the answer, there must be something wrong with you…” (pp. 135-136). The more generative question is ‘who?’ and invites us to think about who we can learn from and work with and what qualities the issue will benefit from. “Social innovation is enlightened by who we are – by character, not technique. The conviction of today’s social innovators arises from their emotional and spiritual maturity. They pay attention to what nourishes and replenishes their spirits. And they have the humility to admit their limitations and fears” (p. 28).
 
Al will be joining us for the 2020 social impact gathering and copies of his book will be provided to all participants.