Tamarack CCI 2010 SUMMARY OF KEY NOTE

SPEAKERS

Thomas Homer-Dixon

John Ott Brenda Zimmerman

Anne KubischMark Chamberlain

Assembled by Barbara Dart & Mark Holmgren

http://tamarackcommunity.ca/

Introduction• Conference Dates: September 27 through October 1,

2010• More than 135 in attendance, with Canadian and

International representation.• This slide show is a consolidation of the presentations of

the five key note speakers. All copyrights are retained by them.

• Barbara Dart (United Way) prepared a first draft of this presentation for a meeting of the Edmonton attendees of the CCI Conference.

• Mark Holmgren (NPVS Table) continued the development and expansion of the presentation.

Stuck In Perpetual Crisis? Collaborate!

from Mark Cabaj, Tamarack Institute

We need leadership that acknowledges the complexity and chaos of the world in which we live.

We need leadership that is rooted in the sometimes grim reality of our day to day world, yet concurrently is able to fuel our highest aspirations and embolden us to great change.

From the opening Plenary

Stuck In Perpetual Crisis? Collaborate!

from Mark Cabaj, Tamarack Institute

We need leadership that is authentically inclusive; recognizes multiple truths in the world; and taps into our shared wisdom.

We need leadership that is adaptive and flexible and embraces risk-taking, change and failure as opportunities for learning.

From the opening Plenary

Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon

Day One Key Note:Chaos, Uncertainty and the Possibility of Collaboration, Framing the issues facing our communities – our worldThomas Homer-Dixon holds the Centre for International Governance Innovation Chair of Global Systems at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Canada, and is a Professor in the Centre for Environment and Business in the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo. He is author of The Ingenuity Gap and Environment, Scarcity, and Violence. Learn more about Thomas on his website here. Access Thomas' keynote presentation here.

Thomas Homer DixonREASONS FOR RESISTENCE TO CHANGE

Cognitive: Cognitive inertia due to availability bias (assessing change and challenges based on recent or current experiences)

Emotional: Motivated bias to defend one's identity. It is hard to change when what you are facing is a redefinition of yourself and/or your role.

Economic: Misleading price signals. Example if the price of oil included what it will cost to find alternatives to dwindling reserves, we might think differently.

Social: Vested interests pose barriers to making change that will alter what social position or benefits we experience.

Political: Short time horizons tend to define problems in small and often unrealistic chunks. Governments work in annual cycles and within the context of elections. Change that falls beyond the short term may not be sell-able to the public.

Thomas Homer Dixon

“We need to shift from seeing the world as composed mainly of MACHINES to seeing it as composed mainly of ……

COMPLEX SYSTEMS”

“Whereas MACHINES• can be taken apart, analyzed, and fully

understood (they are no more than the sum of their parts)

• exhibit “normal normal” or equilibrium patterns of behavior

• show proportionality of cause and effect, and

• can be managed because their behavior predictable . . .”

Thomas Homer Dixon

Thomas Homer Dixon

COMPLEX SYSTEMS

“Are more than the sum of their parts(they have emergent properties);

Can flip from one pattern of behavior to another (they have multiple equilibriums);

Show disproportionality of cause and effect (their behavior is often nonlinear, because of feedbacks and synergies), and

Cannot be easily managed because their behavior is often unpredictable.”

Thomas Homer Dixon

There are no simple fixes to complex problems.

“Complex problems require

complex solutions.”

Is rising social, economic and technological complexity a good thing or a bad thing?

Thomas Homer Dixon

Thomas Homer Dixon

“A GOOD THING!

Complexity often helps us solve our problems

Complexity is often a source of:

Innovation (through novel combinations)

Adaptability (through diversity and distributed capability)”

Thomas Homer Dixon

“A BAD THING?Complexity can cause

Opacity and extreme uncertaintyThreshold BehaviourManagerial OverloadCascading FailuresBrittleness.”

“How do we innovate ina world of rising complexity andincreasingly likely breakdown?”

Thomas Homer Dixon

Thomas Homer Dixon

Increase system resilience

Learn to identify problem types(simple, complicated, or complex)

Decentralize and diversify problem solvingto rapidly explore solution landscape

(with safe-fail experimentation)

Aim for “mid-range” coupling

Generate scenarios for breakdown( to enable robust decision making)

“The PROSPECTIVEMIND is a RESILIENT mind”

Thomas Homer Dixon

Thomas Homer Dixon

From Dr. Homer-Dixon's CCI Presentation

Thomas Homer Dixon

Too much connectivity can harm resilience.

From Dr. Homer-Dixon's CCI Presentation

Thomas Homer Dixon

“How do we lead in a world of rising complexity?

Leaders should constantly probe to determinepatterns in changing solution landscape

Small experiments are probes.

Leaders should be “gardeners” who create conditions for experimentation – and for creative failure”

John Ott

Day Two Keynote: John OttConnect: The Collaborative LeaderUnderstanding Collective wisdom and change

John Ott is co-author of the brilliant new book The Power of Collective Wisdom. John, a graduate of Stanford Law School, lives in California. He began group work as a community organizer, helping residents discern their collective voice and claim their power. For the last 15 years he has designed and led large-scale community and organizational change efforts and is a founding member of the Fetzer Institute’s Collective Wisdom Initiative. Learn more about the John Ott and the Collective Wisdom Initiative here. Access John's full keynote presentation here and summary here.

John Ott

“A key distinction to remember:

Facts: verified or verifiable

Stories: the meaning we make of facts”

“When human beings gather in groups, a depth of awareness and insight, a transcendent knowing, becomes available to us that, if accessed, can lead to profound action. We call this transcendent knowing collective wisdom.”

John Ott

“This knowing is not of the mind alone, nor is it of any individual alone. When this knowing and sense of right action emerges, it does so from deep within the individual participants, from within the collective awareness of the group, and from within the larger field that holds the group.”

John Ott

John Ott

Image from John Ott's CCI Presentation

John Ott

Image from John Ott's CCI Presentation

Stances that support the arising of collective wisdom

• Suspend certainty• See the whole• Seek diverse perspectives• Welcome all that is arising• Trust in the transcendent

John Ott

THE SCALLOP PRINCIPLE

Each one ofus is an eye (I); the whole discernsthrough us.

The corollary: when we don’t hearfrom any eye (I), the whole is atgreater risk.

John Ott

Image from John Ott's CCI Presentation

:

John Ott

Image from John Ott's CCI Presentation

“Often when human beings gather in groups, we become conduits for wisdom’s opposite—folly.

We use the term folly to reflect a continuum of behaviors, from mere foolishness to acts of depravity. Put bluntly, if human beings have the capacity to access collective wisdom, why don’t we?”

John Ott

John Ott BE WARY OF...

Image from John Ott's CCI Presentation

John Ott

Image from John Ott's CCI Presentation

Brenda Zimmerman

DAY THREE KEY NOTE: Brenda ZimmermanEngage: Systems ChangeHealthy communities, complexity and collaborative leadership

Brenda Zimmerman is co-author of the best-selling book Getting to Maybe: How the World is Changed, which explores real-life examples of social change through a systems and relationship lens and applies the insights of complexity theory to lay out a brand new way of thinking about making change in communities, in business, and in the world. Dr Brenda Zimmerman is the Associate Professor of Policy and Director, of the Health Industry Management Program at the Schulich School of Business, York University. Learn more about Brenda Zimmerman and complexity here. Access Brenda's keynote presentation here.

Brenda Zimmerman

Time is too short and things are too bad for pessimism.

Dee Hock

Image from Brenda Zimmerman's CCI Presentation

Despair to Intention

How can I make a difference in this complex system?

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”

Valclav Havel

Brenda Zimmerman

Brenda Zimmerman

Image from Brenda Zimmerman's CCI Presentation

We need to differentiate betweenthe simple, the complicated andthe complex

Brenda Zimmerman

Image from Brenda Zimmerman's CCI Presentation

Brenda Zimmerman

Image from Brenda Zimmerman's CCI Presentation

Brenda Zimmerman

Image from Brenda Zimmerman's CCI Presentation

Brenda Zimmerman

“When In The Zone Of...

Simple or Complicated Plan then act Aim for consistency Limit type of action (best practice) “Blueprints” Project Management

Complexity“Act-learn” at the same time (tight feedback loops)Aim for “coherence”Multiple actionsMinimum specs/simple rulesGenerative thinking AND Generative relationshipsInquiry”

Brenda Zimmerman

Image from Brenda Zimmerman's CCI Presentation

Cooperrider and Whitney

Brenda Zimmerman

Image from Brenda Zimmerman's CCI Presentation

“Wicked questions –examples

• How can we dramatically improve quality while drastically reducing costs?

• How do we work together when we all have different agendas?

• How can we commit ourselves to be accountable for achieving measurable results, while at the same time staying open to the possibility that we may be measuring the wrong outcomes? (from Paul Born’s book)”

Brenda Zimmerman

Brenda Zimmerman

Image from Brenda Zimmerman's CCI Presentation

Anne Kubisch

DAY FOUR KEY NOTE: Anne KubischMobilize: Collaborative Action & Community ImpactObserving patterns of successful collaboration

Anne Kubisch is the founder and Director of the Roundtable on Community Change at the world renowned Aspen Institute. She is the author of two books about the work of the community roundtables and is a community policy specialist who has spent many years with the Ford Foundation at their Latin American/Caribbean, Nigerian and New York offices. At Tamarack, Anne is considered the founding thought-leader in Comprehensive Collaborative Community Initiatives. Learn more about Anne Kubisch and the Aspen Institute, Roundtable on Community Change here. Access Anne's keynote presentation here.

Anne Kubisch

“The Bottom Line

The bad news: Community change efforts have not (yet) transformed poor communities

The reality: We can’t reduce poverty and promote equity without community-based efforts

The good news: We have learned so much about how to do this work and already can see the difference when lessons are applied”

Anne Kubisch

“Conclusion: We must move beyond “initiatives”

Community change is really about:

• Democratic institution-building• Developing strong, well-anchored and legitimate

community platforms for technical and financial support”

Anne Kubisch “How to do it? The Three Key Points

Internal Alignment: Allows us to embrace complexity without being overwhelmed

• Be clear about the theory of change• Make sure there’s alignment among mission,

governance, management, programs, • Revisit it regularly”

Anne Kubisch

“External Alignment: Allows us to embrace the “openness” of the process while still managing the moving parts

• Make sure there are brokers and aligners• Develop accountability systems: authority and

responsibility are distributed• Share both credit and blame• Revisit the collective work regularly”

Anne Kubisch

“Continuous learning: Allows to have a clear goal but to adapt our strategies and let the work emerge and develop

• Make sure evaluation and learning mechanisms are built-in, not external

• Develop an evaluation framework up-front based on the theory of change

• Emphasize a culture of learning • Develop mechanisms to review data and evaluative

findings, and revisit them regularly”

DAY FOUR KEY NOTE: Mark Chamberlain

Mark Chamberlain is the CEO of Trivaris, a firm that invests in early stage technology companies. He is an entrepreneur and collaborator who received the Distinguished Citizen of the Year award in 2007 for his work as Chair of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. Mark is currently a member of the Board of the Ontario Centres of Excellence. Learn more about Mark Chamberlain and the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction here.

Mark Chamberlain

Mark Chamberlain

Mark did not use a Powerpoint. The following is based on notes:

Hamilton, Ontario, is a vibrant community

Poverty is Hamilton’s biggest challenge, with 20 per cent of its citizens living at or below the poverty line.

As a community, Hamilton is saying this is unacceptable. In spring 2005, a multi-sector Roundtable for Poverty Reduction was formed and the Tackling Poverty in Hamilton initiative began.

Ending poverty in Hamilton…

• Change is built on what we value• We don’t use our knowledge to the best of our ability• You need the right solution for the problem• You need the right peopleat the table

Mark Chamberlain

We need people with the same aspirations, goals and values.

We need to abandon blame.

There are huge costs to doing nothing.

We need to start acting on what we know!

Mark Chamberlain

If children are hungry they can’t learn

What more knowledge do we need to understand that if a child isn’t fed, they are hungry!

What more do we need to know!

Mark Chamberlain

Discussion