PREPARING FOR A WORLD THAT DOESN’T EXIST AN INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION

“I believe these revolutionary times call for revolutionary thinking. And yet it often seems that we are entering this revolutionary age with ideas, leaders and institutions that are better suited for a world that no longer exists.” ….. Joshua Cooper Ramo Age of the Unthinkable

A SHIFTING CONTEXT n HIERARCHIES TO NETWORKS n FIXED TO DYNAMIC n PREDICTIBLE TO EMERGING n FROM REFORMING TO TRANSFORMING n LINEAR TO SYSTEMIC & HOLISTIC

FOUR STAGES OF TRANSFORMATION n Resistance n Hmmmm? n Aha! n Of Course

THE DNA OF COMMUNIITES OF THE FUTURE n OPENNESS TO NEW IDEAS n INTERDEPENDENCE n CONNECTED INDIVIDUALITY n WEBS & NETWORKS n CULTURE THAT SUPPORTS INNOVATION

COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION n MASTER CAPACITY BUILDER n TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING n CREATIVE MOLECULAR ECONOMY n MOBILE COLLABORATVE GOVERNANCE

LEADERSHIP IN TRANSFORMATION n FROM REFORM TO TRANSFORM n CAPACITIES FOR TRANSFORMATION n USE OF INDIRECT METHODS n EITHER/OR TO AND/BOTH

MOVING BEYOND “EITHER/OR” n “AND/BOTH” n PARALLEL PROCESSES n CONNECTIVE LISTENING n WHERE DOES IT FIT?

THINKING BEYOND BOUNDARIES n A FUTURES CONTEXT n CONNECTING DISPARATE IDEAS n DIRECT, INDIRECT & OBLIQUE n MATRIX THINKING

CONCEPTS OF PLANNING n STRATEGIC n STRUCTURED n CONCRETE OUTCOMES n CONTROL OF PROCESS n ACCOUNTABILITY n ADAPTIVE n COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS n LOOKING FOR ACCESS POINTS n SEEDING IDEAS WITH MULTIPLE PROGRAMS n CREATING NETWORKS AND CONNECTIONS

“Trying to predict the future is like driving down the country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window” Peter Drucker

THE FUTURE AS COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS n EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED n CHAOS THEORY AT WORK n EXAMPLES OF COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS n IMPORTANCE OF ECOLOGY

“We can’t solve problems by using the same level of thinking that created them.” “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” ….quotes by Albert Einstein