In 2018, Creating the Future began working on a program that has been in our minds for several years – documenting and sharing stories of what works to create systems change.
What do we mean by systems change?
We all encounter systems every day – the habits, rituals, customs and rules that make up “just the way we do things.” The experiment at the heart of Creating the Future’s work is to see how much more humane the world could be if the questions at the heart of those systems were aimed at bringing out the best in people.
And how does sharing stories fit in with that?
To accomplish our mission, our work is a combination of
a) Experimenting with organizational systems change ourselves, to learn and demonstrate what is possible. This includes demonstration projects with others as well as experimenting with our own organizational systems.
b) Sharing the stories of what we learn, creating conditions for others to learn and experiment in their own lives.
Over the course of this year, we have had several strategy meetings to begin designing what will be more than a program – it will be our way of being. If our mission is to share what we are learning, what are effective ways to do so? What will people want to know? What will they need to see and hear about? And what will we need internally, to create those conditions?
We will soon be posting summaries of our conversations to date. For now, if you are interested in this topic, the following are the recordings of those conversations.
Meeting #1: What will sharing stories make possible? For whom? Watch here
Meeting #2: More focus on what sharing stories will make possible Watch here
Meeting #3: Internal Conditions for Success – in preparation for Hildy being on tour (and hearing lots of stories!) Watch here
Meeting #4: Internal Conditions for Success – creating templates for capturing / documenting the stories Watch here
If this subject intrigues you, we hope you will join us. This effort is the heart of our mission in action, documenting and sharing what we learn, so that the whole social change arena can learn alongside us. We look forward to your being part of it!
Photo credit: Talento Tec – Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City, CC BY-SA 3.0