If only we could start 2011 and the new decade by putting up a “closed for renovation” sign clearing the way to transform our education, health care, energy, and economic systems. We don’t have the luxury. Tweaks won’t work and nothing short of systems transformation is needed. Our collective challenge in 2011 is to catalyze transformational change while continuing to pedal the bicycle of today’s systems. We need real-world platforms, connected to existing systems, with the autonomy and resources to design, prototype, and experiment with transformational solutions. Going to war with current systems won’t work. If we’re going to transform the next decade we should start by putting up an “open for renovation” sign.
Have you ever done a major renovation of your home while you were still living in it? We did. I don’t know what we were thinking. I’m not talking about a tweak. It’s the familiar story about a project that started off as a manageable kitchen remodeling. Then the “while we’re at it we might as well do this too” started. Before the dust finally settled, 75% of the living space in our home was transformed, all while we continued to live in the house. Talk about disruption! Like all transformations it took twice as long and cost twice as much as predicted. If you ask our three children, who had to live through it, I’m sure each would say they were scarred for life by the trauma. For two years we were nomads in our own home with sleeping arrangements changing constantly. It was an adventure to find the temporary kitchen location on any given day. Tweaking is easy. Transformation isn’t. No wonder our social systems are so resistant to transformational change.
To read the full, original article click on this link: 2011: Open For Renovation « It’s Saul Connected
