Indeed, - such challenges are being encountered with rising poverty amongs remnant European communites in South Africa where an estimated 850 000 whites are now without jobs. One third of whites in South Africa now live well below the bread line, or in squatter camps scattered about the country. Although there are many attempts since 1994 to stem or warn about this socio economic decline, and its long term impact, it currently continues to worsen while a national management strategy for poverty and rehabilitation of the new poor ethic, largely lacks.
I agree with Prof. Seelos’ distinction between Technical and Relational problems as well as the common mistake of trying to treat a Relational problem like a Technical one. But I’m also struck by some similarities between this model and the one presented ten years ago in SSIR (Winter 2004 issue) in an article entitled Leading Boldly by Ron Heifetz, John Kania and Mark Kramer. That piece differentiated between Technical Problems and Adaptive Challenges, where the latter are characterized as follows:
• Challenge is complex
• Answers are not known
• Implementation requires learning
• No single entity has authority to impose solution on the other stakeholders
‘Relational’ is not the same as ‘Adaptive’, but they share some common characteristics.
Innovating for the poor is a tragedy that promotes economic status design discrimination. innovation should embrace community’s desires and constraints simultaneously. There does not exist a homogenous group made of the poor. The poor never go to market for the poor goods. The poor cannot afford cheap products.
What we aspire for is optimized value goods that are mutually inclusive like Coke. There is no cheaper formulation Coke for the poor. The poor aspire for goods designed for every one, that dignify everyone.
Most designs for the poor produce products that nobody wants. Even for free.
The best interventions are empowering innovation and concepts from the bottom of the pyramid. They meet their aspirations.
COMMENTS
BY Abraham J. Meintjes
ON December 22, 2014 09:35 PM
Indeed, - such challenges are being encountered with rising poverty amongs remnant European communites in South Africa where an estimated 850 000 whites are now without jobs. One third of whites in South Africa now live well below the bread line, or in squatter camps scattered about the country. Although there are many attempts since 1994 to stem or warn about this socio economic decline, and its long term impact, it currently continues to worsen while a national management strategy for poverty and rehabilitation of the new poor ethic, largely lacks.
BY Louis Boorstin
ON December 23, 2014 09:16 PM
I agree with Prof. Seelos’ distinction between Technical and Relational problems as well as the common mistake of trying to treat a Relational problem like a Technical one. But I’m also struck by some similarities between this model and the one presented ten years ago in SSIR (Winter 2004 issue) in an article entitled Leading Boldly by Ron Heifetz, John Kania and Mark Kramer. That piece differentiated between Technical Problems and Adaptive Challenges, where the latter are characterized as follows:
• Challenge is complex
• Answers are not known
• Implementation requires learning
• No single entity has authority to impose solution on the other stakeholders
‘Relational’ is not the same as ‘Adaptive’, but they share some common characteristics.
BY James Kariuki
ON April 10, 2015 10:42 AM
Innovating for the poor is a tragedy that promotes economic status design discrimination. innovation should embrace community’s desires and constraints simultaneously. There does not exist a homogenous group made of the poor. The poor never go to market for the poor goods. The poor cannot afford cheap products.
What we aspire for is optimized value goods that are mutually inclusive like Coke. There is no cheaper formulation Coke for the poor. The poor aspire for goods designed for every one, that dignify everyone.
Most designs for the poor produce products that nobody wants. Even for free.
The best interventions are empowering innovation and concepts from the bottom of the pyramid. They meet their aspirations.