Many thanks for this excellent post and more importantly for your brave and groundbreaking work with RE-AMP. I am excited to see we are developing examples of collaboration where the collective goal defines everyone’s success. I am very appreciative of this:
“When you engage in alignment exercises such as system mapping, you put everyone’s assumptions up on the wall for discussion. Understanding how your partners see that same system inspires insights on gaps and opportunities, helps people spot new connections, and generates social capital—something you’ll need later when one partner lets another partner take the lead, because they know they’re better suited to carry out that piece of the plan.”
After four years of working in Microfinance, it became very clear alignment in that industry is maybe the most critical aspect of collective success and a lack of alignment - usually profit as a proxy for success - is the greatest barrier.
Have you had an opportunity to meet Thrive Networks here in Oakland CA or Tamarack in CA. Thrive is in early days but a promising model and Tamarack has been working on collective impact for vibrant communities for many years.
Thanks the wonderful article and your work on collaboration. I helped to start a national service partnership in my home community and it was truly beneficial to all who joined. We found that investing one hour per month for a partnership meeting amplified the work each program was able to acheive. We were able to hold events, write grants, offer training, and more through a collaborative effort. This is essential for small-shop non-profit organizations who often have few staff and limited budgets.
COMMENTS
BY steve wright
ON November 7, 2014 09:31 AM
Many thanks for this excellent post and more importantly for your brave and groundbreaking work with RE-AMP. I am excited to see we are developing examples of collaboration where the collective goal defines everyone’s success. I am very appreciative of this:
“When you engage in alignment exercises such as system mapping, you put everyone’s assumptions up on the wall for discussion. Understanding how your partners see that same system inspires insights on gaps and opportunities, helps people spot new connections, and generates social capital—something you’ll need later when one partner lets another partner take the lead, because they know they’re better suited to carry out that piece of the plan.”
After four years of working in Microfinance, it became very clear alignment in that industry is maybe the most critical aspect of collective success and a lack of alignment - usually profit as a proxy for success - is the greatest barrier.
Have you had an opportunity to meet Thrive Networks here in Oakland CA or Tamarack in CA. Thrive is in early days but a promising model and Tamarack has been working on collective impact for vibrant communities for many years.
Thanks again for your work and this post!
BY Kate Wing
ON November 7, 2014 12:15 PM
Thanks for the comment, Steve. Great serendipity to have your piece and ours in the same week. Let’s get together and talk networks sometime.
BY We Are Innovation
ON November 16, 2014 09:54 AM
It makes good sense to start managing external partners as internal engines for growth. Opening conversations and engaging aligned strategies is a key requirements for common success. Companies and organisations need to learn from each other instead of competing against each other, and I’m happy to read more and more views sharing the same insight. One of them is in French: http://blog.educpros.fr/jean-charles-cailliez/2014/11/10/de-la-competition-a-la-collaboration-radicale-vive-la-co-revolution/ and this other one in English: http://weareinnovation.org/2014/10/21/interoperability-creates-boundless-creativity/
BY Amy Schauer
ON December 2, 2014 05:51 AM
Thanks the wonderful article and your work on collaboration. I helped to start a national service partnership in my home community and it was truly beneficial to all who joined. We found that investing one hour per month for a partnership meeting amplified the work each program was able to acheive. We were able to hold events, write grants, offer training, and more through a collaborative effort. This is essential for small-shop non-profit organizations who often have few staff and limited budgets.