Plan B Highlights

I'm sitting in our "What's Plan B" program, which has been designed to help organizations respond to crisis by thinking through scenarios. It's being led by Emil Angelica of the Community Consulting Group of Minneapolis. We've had a huge response to this program. Originally intended for 10 organizational teams of 3, we were oversubscribed for the session within 45 minutes of advertising it. Today, Friday, is the second session we added to accomodate the overflow.

The first part of the program has been largely about effecting change in organizations, & Emil presented an indelible model of group dynamics when attempting change. It's called the "100 Acre Wood" theory, and it basically says that in any group...

10 - 15% are Tiggers
30 -35% are Winnies
30 -35% are Piglets, and
10 -15% are Eeyores.

Tiggers are impulsive and enthusiastic, and are immediately on board with change. Problem is, they will go out ahead of the rest of the group before the group is ready to move. Winnies are receptive to change as long as the honey, which is to say the vision, is clearly in view. They need to see the steps and be assured that there is honey all along the way, and especially at the end. Piglets are anxious, and need to be assured that the cost of doing nothing is greater than the cost of change. They need to be shown all the steps and led slowly. If the tiggers get too far ahead, the piglets get scared. Finally, the Eeyores say no. They always say no. One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is to focus their energies on the Eeyores, to try to convert them-- and then on the Tiggers, to get their energies restored. The people to focus on, however, are the Winnies and the Poohs...

Another of my favorite concepts of the day is that when times get tough, people tend to focus on the organization, when what you need is to be focusing on the mission. You also need to be able to articulate what difference you make to the community. This can be incredibly difficult for arts organizations because they are focused on the quality of their work. They make great art, and of course great art changes the world. But this is hard to prove (worth trying, but hard), and it also doesn't necessarily set you apart.

...much more to say here, but for the moment, my placeholder is "problem of knowledge", but also the conflation of artists and art organization, two of my favorite hobbyhorses.