Working systems are comprised of many interlocking parts. Think of them as little toy building blocks that snap together. Each one is an individual part that connects with its neighbors, eventually creating an organization.
In a socially sustainable system, each element has been designed using a small team of four to seven people—Values-Based Design Teams—and each part has been designed with the Seven Core Values at its heart.
The first step is to determine an intention for the system we want to design, or the problem we want to address, or the current situation we wish to evaluate. Nothing happens without intention, yet we rarely stop to clearly define one in our hurry to find a fix.
Then we must identify the beliefs about the problem. Many of these are erroneous assumptions. Transparency here is critical, as assumptions are the underlying strengths and underlying weaknesses of every society. Social sustainability means that everyone arrives in the future together, everyone is supported, and everyone has an equal opportunity to grow and to develop a life of quality living. Therefore, it is essential that these assumptions be exposed and either validated or invalidated, creating a record for others to observe and to use to avoid the pitfalls of hidden assumptions. This produces a finite record of beliefs and assumptions, which can be used to shortcut the long-term tedious process of exposing them (reinventing the wheel) for future teams.
The next step is to determine three core values that serve that intention. What are the core values that run our country? What are the core values that propel our education system? What are the core values that are put into play in our energy policies? How about our military strategies? Or our health care system? If we bring core values into our systems, we will begin to serve a sustainable world.
We have defined seven core values that we believe are intrinsic to human beings and essential to a healthy society. They are: Life, Equality, Quality of Life, Personal Growth, Empathy, Compassion, and Love for Humanity.
The core values we intend to promote with Socially Sustainable Design Teams are Life, Equality and Growth. Life, because it is the most precious value we’re given. Equality is second, because that is not only a value written into our Constitution, but it is written onto every heart. Growth is third because that is the natural order of life. The oak tree never becomes an acorn.
For every value that serves the intention, we determine three expectations, or outcomes.
How do we know when we’ve achieved these things? The fourth aspect is measurable criteria. These are the concrete, measurable results of the system. They are the proof. Each expectation has three measurable criteria by which we know the system is working.
This system begins with clear and transparent communication. It is flexible enough to be tweaked as need be as society changes, and as new needs arise. If our health care system were built on the solid rock of values, there would never be a discussion of throwing the whole thing out and starting over. We would tweak the expectations or the measurable criteria. Nobody would be afraid—and isn’t that part of the problem now? Everyone is in fear.
As our larger systems fail, these smaller, well-conceived, interlocking systems will take their place, and begin to rebuild our society with common sense procedures, based on core values, for social sustainability, and the betterment of all mankind.
In a socially sustainable system, each element has been designed using a small team of four to seven people—Values-Based Design Teams—and each part has been designed with the Seven Core Values at its heart.
The first step is to determine an intention for the system we want to design, or the problem we want to address, or the current situation we wish to evaluate. Nothing happens without intention, yet we rarely stop to clearly define one in our hurry to find a fix.
Then we must identify the beliefs about the problem. Many of these are erroneous assumptions. Transparency here is critical, as assumptions are the underlying strengths and underlying weaknesses of every society. Social sustainability means that everyone arrives in the future together, everyone is supported, and everyone has an equal opportunity to grow and to develop a life of quality living. Therefore, it is essential that these assumptions be exposed and either validated or invalidated, creating a record for others to observe and to use to avoid the pitfalls of hidden assumptions. This produces a finite record of beliefs and assumptions, which can be used to shortcut the long-term tedious process of exposing them (reinventing the wheel) for future teams.
The next step is to determine three core values that serve that intention. What are the core values that run our country? What are the core values that propel our education system? What are the core values that are put into play in our energy policies? How about our military strategies? Or our health care system? If we bring core values into our systems, we will begin to serve a sustainable world.
We have defined seven core values that we believe are intrinsic to human beings and essential to a healthy society. They are: Life, Equality, Quality of Life, Personal Growth, Empathy, Compassion, and Love for Humanity.
The core values we intend to promote with Socially Sustainable Design Teams are Life, Equality and Growth. Life, because it is the most precious value we’re given. Equality is second, because that is not only a value written into our Constitution, but it is written onto every heart. Growth is third because that is the natural order of life. The oak tree never becomes an acorn.
For every value that serves the intention, we determine three expectations, or outcomes.
How do we know when we’ve achieved these things? The fourth aspect is measurable criteria. These are the concrete, measurable results of the system. They are the proof. Each expectation has three measurable criteria by which we know the system is working.
This system begins with clear and transparent communication. It is flexible enough to be tweaked as need be as society changes, and as new needs arise. If our health care system were built on the solid rock of values, there would never be a discussion of throwing the whole thing out and starting over. We would tweak the expectations or the measurable criteria. Nobody would be afraid—and isn’t that part of the problem now? Everyone is in fear.
As our larger systems fail, these smaller, well-conceived, interlocking systems will take their place, and begin to rebuild our society with common sense procedures, based on core values, for social sustainability, and the betterment of all mankind.
The Values-Based Design Team
1. Organizer
2. Facilitator
3. Consultant
4. Recorder
5. Inquiring Minds
Download a Values-Based Design Team Schematic here, to help your team reach its goals.
1. Organizer
- Picks a question to answer, a law to be analyzed, a subsystem to be verified, or an unsustainable situation to be re-designed to be socially sustainable
- Recruits the other members of the team from as many different disciplines as possible who share the same interests in the topic.
2. Facilitator
- Initiates and manages team dialogue
- Provides non-toxic, non-judgmental guidance
- Monitors evolution and development of team process
3. Consultant
- Assists the Facilitator in maintaining group focus
- Provides a “centering” function to the team by maintaining long term perspective
4. Recorder
- Keeps notes and minutes of team meetings and summarizes the views and opinions of the members.
- Keeps the model filled out when final decisions are reached.
- Summarizes the findings of the team for publication and review.
5. Inquiring Minds
- Asks probing questions “Asking meaningful questions is the most effective method of exposing assumptions and fallacies while offering the possibilities of acquiring knowledge and wisdom for taking actions that change the outcomes for those that are useful” --Peter Senge, Synchronicity, the Inner Path of Leadership
Download a Values-Based Design Team Schematic here, to help your team reach its goals.
“How could you not be shocked and alarmed by our jarring, accelerating influence on this planet?
We rightfully feel some deep regret, and some shame, at how we have (not) managed ourselves.
However, our obligation now is to move beyond just lamenting the job we’ve done as reluctant, incompetent planet-shapers. We have to face the fact that we’ve become a planetary force,
and figure out how to be a better one.” ― David Grinspoon, Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet's Future
We rightfully feel some deep regret, and some shame, at how we have (not) managed ourselves.
However, our obligation now is to move beyond just lamenting the job we’ve done as reluctant, incompetent planet-shapers. We have to face the fact that we’ve become a planetary force,
and figure out how to be a better one.” ― David Grinspoon, Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet's Future