THERE IS
NO SUCH
THING AS THE
VOICELESS 
TURN JUDGEMENT
IN TO INQUIRY
We all have our judgements. Not having them is simply not an option. The only choice we have to make is what to do with them. Turning judgement into inquiry is not about agreement, it’s combining the art of listening with the ability to ask questions. To be in true inquiry requires a daily practice of asking questions that expand possibilities but not limit options. Done well, it creates that small window of opportunity to understand another person’s perspective and create something that was previously unimaginable. In complexity, answers have a short shelf-life. Inquiry IS the answer. Our invitation: question everything. Always.
MEASURING
IMPACT
To measure our impact, we created OASIS. It’s our answer to doing impact measuring in a complex system. OASIS is a multi-functional tool that helps us monitor, evaluate, and learn from what we are doing. Collecting large volumes of stories about people’s real-life experiences gives us an opportunity to see patterns that might otherwise remain unnoticed. Unlike most monitoring and evaluation tools, OASIS doesn’t provide us with answers. Instead, it allows us to ask better questions and design our next wise actions to shift patterns.
We all have our judgements. Not having them is simply not an option. The only choice we have to make is what to do with them. Turning judgement into inquiry is not about agreement, it’s combining the art of listening with the ability to ask questions. To be in true inquiry requires a daily practice of asking questions that expand possibilities but not limit options. Done well, it creates that small window of opportunity to understand another person’s perspective and create something that was previously unimaginable. In complexity, answers have a short shelf-life. Inquiry IS the answer.
Our invitation: question everything. Always.
Our invitation: question everything. Always.
If you want to change things, you have no choice but to start with courageous conversations. Unfortunately, when people hear the word ‘dialogue’, they often think of people ‘just talking’. We can guarantee you, there is nothing ‘just talking’ about what WE does. In our work courageous conversations are inevitable. Supporting courageous conversation is a practice that aims to create spaces where people can be safe, yet brave enough to express themselves. Not just in the moment, but beyond.
At the heart of WE are stories and storytellers. Stories are how we make sense of the world, how we can relate to each other. Stories are the connective tissue between all of us and have the power, for however briefly, to let us step into each other’s position.
Making everyone’s story matter is an active approach that takes storytelling seriously and respects its power to transcend time and space and connect people. We keep a close watch at the stories that are brought forward and the ones that are completely ignored, silenced, marginalized or dismissed. It is a practice that holds humanity at its centre.
It is often said stories have the power to change. But only when we first hold space to listen, to understand, and to acknowledge the effort and courage it takes to change them. In the end, the stories we tell become the house we live in.
Making everyone’s story matter is an active approach that takes storytelling seriously and respects its power to transcend time and space and connect people. We keep a close watch at the stories that are brought forward and the ones that are completely ignored, silenced, marginalized or dismissed. It is a practice that holds humanity at its centre.
It is often said stories have the power to change. But only when we first hold space to listen, to understand, and to acknowledge the effort and courage it takes to change them. In the end, the stories we tell become the house we live in.
We welcome big ambitions, but not big plans. The ‘big plan, big action’ thing simply doesn’t work in complexity. WE is continuously experimenting one a small scale; probing and evolving its way forward. We call that adaptive action.
To adapt creatively constantly means to accept and understand the nature of change. To know when to solve a problem and when to shift a pattern. To have purpose, not plan as your guide and to accept the infinite amount of obstacles you will encounter. And for sure, this requires a whole lot of creativity.
The simple, yet incredibly powerful questions for working in complexity?
What? So what? Now what?!
To adapt creatively constantly means to accept and understand the nature of change. To know when to solve a problem and when to shift a pattern. To have purpose, not plan as your guide and to accept the infinite amount of obstacles you will encounter. And for sure, this requires a whole lot of creativity.
The simple, yet incredibly powerful questions for working in complexity?
What? So what? Now what?!
Co-creation: a word that is often used and abused, but rarely understood. Forget about working together in harmony. To co-create is often quite the opposite. It is about also including people you may not like or even trust. It is about the ability to find the difference that makes a difference. To work with conflict and harness the energy, creativity and information needed to move mountains. To truly co-create is to be actively part of the process from beginning to end. From defining the problem all the way to deciding on the solution. Simply gathering input from those involved is not enough.
When a group understands the full range of perspectives, the decisions they take support the whole, more than the parts. And in case you are wondering, no it isn’t ours to decide which change is meaningful.
When a group understands the full range of perspectives, the decisions they take support the whole, more than the parts. And in case you are wondering, no it isn’t ours to decide which change is meaningful.