SECTION 1: ENERGY
introduction
Purpose: Gather with others to discuss what has changed and what needs to happen next.
How to use this section: Read this before you evaluate your campaign.
Whether you have reached a big milestone or faced a setback, reflection and re-evaluation are essential in any systems-based strategic communications journey. A milestone can be an ending, a new beginning, a change in direction, or just a pause.
For thousands of years humans have gathered around the fire to celebrate milestones, share stories and connect. Fire transforms the energy that we put into life and work, into stories and change.
But like all other natural resources, this energy is not infinite. How we spend that energy is critical to understanding what is working and what we should do next.
In this Section we use a fire chart as a tool to guide us in how we use our energy, through evaluation, reflection, death and renewal. Please read through this section and the tools provided chronologically, so that you consider in the correct order the big questions about your next steps. These include:
The “What?” of reflection
Like tending a fire, we need to watch over our efforts from all angles, not just focus on one part. This means building regular and honest reflection into our work. Reflection is an action and is as important as any decision we make.
The “So what?” of reflection
When a group watches a fire together, it is easier to know where and when to add wood and what kind of wood to add. Every opinion is important because everyone sees and believes different truths. This collective undertaking of risk and understanding helps us see what is working.
The “What now?” of reflection
We also need to think ahead and decide how long we want the fire to burn, which tells us how much and what kind of wood to add and when to add it. What do we need to do today to benefit future generations?
Burning wood releases stored energy, just as our efforts release energy into the world. Endings are as natural as beginnings. We should embrace them as part of the cycle of life. It is important to ask if we are still the right ones to continue the work. We must be ready to face hard truths. This is the "What, me?" of reflection.***
Footnote
Sources: *Pedagogy of the Oppressed
***Adapted from Four Quadrant Partners work on Emergent Learning Tables, http://www.pointk.org/resources/files/Introduction_to_Emergent_Learning_Tables.pdf
section summary
Key Takeaway
Make reflection a regular practice, plant seeds for the future and be prepared to let others take up your mission.
Key Questions
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How do you, your opponents and neutrals believe the system has changed?
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What can you do today for those alive in seven generations’ time?
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How will you know when you are no longer the best placed to do what you do?
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Do you need to go back to the start of the S.E.N.S.E. process to review the System or Equilibrium of your own organization, or of the problem you are trying to address?
Key Tool(s)
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Fire chart
