CLINT'S ORIGIN STORY:
CHANGEMAKING INSIGHTS
CHANGEMAKING INSIGHTS
My Origin Stories As a young school principal I learned that when I was able to solve one problem I would invariably create a slew of new ones. I just didn’t know when or where or how they would surface. That was my initiation into the worlds of systems thinking and unintended consequences.
It was not until late in my career that I began to see how energy trapped within systems could be harnessed for good. That's what professional changemakers do -- whether they're reducing poverty, educating our children or conquering disease.
The very energy that maintains an unproductive system can be re-channeled to drive positive change. All you need to do is locate it, provide a little energy of your own -- just a nudge really -- to redirect it. That's often all it takes to release the most stubborn potential that gets trapped. And that's what our "make the map, mind the gaps and build the app" method is all about.
Years later I met an extraordinary group of individuals called "social entrepreneurs" at The Skoll World Forum at Oxford University. That set me on a journey of discovery of learning to unlock all kinds of potential that's trapped in unproductive and unjust systems. .
I started out by chronicling their stories -- which over time led me to "a new way of seeing" -- that there's a physics to changemaking -- the skill of leveraging the energy within underperforming systems to release dynamic change.
Over time I was able to organize their methods into clusters of threes:
Now it's time to put what I've learned from social entrepreneurs into practice!
It was not until late in my career that I began to see how energy trapped within systems could be harnessed for good. That's what professional changemakers do -- whether they're reducing poverty, educating our children or conquering disease.
The very energy that maintains an unproductive system can be re-channeled to drive positive change. All you need to do is locate it, provide a little energy of your own -- just a nudge really -- to redirect it. That's often all it takes to release the most stubborn potential that gets trapped. And that's what our "make the map, mind the gaps and build the app" method is all about.
Years later I met an extraordinary group of individuals called "social entrepreneurs" at The Skoll World Forum at Oxford University. That set me on a journey of discovery of learning to unlock all kinds of potential that's trapped in unproductive and unjust systems. .
I started out by chronicling their stories -- which over time led me to "a new way of seeing" -- that there's a physics to changemaking -- the skill of leveraging the energy within underperforming systems to release dynamic change.
Over time I was able to organize their methods into clusters of threes:
- There are three approaches to change -- direct, indirect, and through groups.
- There is a three-part planning process -- making maps, minding gaps and building their own app.
- And there are three systemic variables -- energy, channels and leverage.
Now it's time to put what I've learned from social entrepreneurs into practice!