Wednesday 12 November 2008

Trust you! (or do we??)

We trust people, not institutions and we prefer gangs to bankers.

In November’s Thinking Tank we tackled the topical issue of trust – how it gets built and what breaks it.  Compared to other debates there was more disagreement – but that tended to be with statements recommending a deeply sceptical approach to life.

Personal vs institutional
Most of the change has been in the way we relate to institutions with unanimous support for the comment:
· I think before it was blind trust - now our eyes are open we realise it is foolhardy to trust most institutions.
 In the poll questions, we saw that about 70% of us are less trusting of institutions than we were ten years ago - compared to only 30% who trust individual people less than before. And out of the institutions we considered (banks, corporates, politicians, gangs) the banks were seen as the least trustworthy:
· They can change strategy without reference to anyone and are not democratic

A positive choice
To force the issue, we considered which we choose if we had to: trust everyone or trust no-one. By far the majority view is that it is better to operate from a trust default than a mistrust one.
· Everyone: we need to take some personal risks if we are to grow, it might be cosy in the comfort zone but its pretty pointless
· Everyone otherwise life would be unbearable
· Everyone: I find when you give trust, you very often get it back

Breaking promises…
Trust is surprisingly easy to break – 80% of us only allow need to be let down once or twice to lose faith, though it depends a bit on the context
· if someone is holding the rope when you're rock climbing, once is enough. But generally I think people make mistakes and some tolerance is ok too
And dishonesty seems to be the main cause:
· Double speak - I'd rather hear the tough stuff straight than be belittled with some cover story
· not being open
Though the media also get some blame for spreading fear:
· People who read the Daily Mail (or similar fear filled newspaper in another country) are constantly reminded of how dangerous everybody is OUT THERE

… and building bridges
The issue of how to know when to trust someone had the highest level of consensus in the debate, part of the human condition, and very similar to the ways we would have trusted people in the past.
· That they do what they say - or explain honestly why they didn't (not stupid excuses)
· that they can look me in the eye when they explain what is going to happen - even if it's bad news
And there were some ideas about building trust
· I wish we had a system on everybody's forehead that gave us that same feedback info like e-bay!
· [tomorrow I will] notice when I'm being less than completely honest / open and consider the impact on the other person

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Young people - trick or treat?

A fascinating debate that was surprisingly positive about young people. Comments were made around their different world and different outlook—but in terms of what older generations could learn and the need for support and understanding as they grow up in a complex 21st century world.
· there will always be change and youth will always destroy the sacred cows of earlier generations - as they always have
· They are probably more creative than ever, and their creativity takes a lot of new and unexpected forms. This can cause problems for older generations and be perceived as negative - so what we need to do is to enable this energy to be channelled in positive ways
· Stop talking about young people as "problems" and talk instead about the opportunities
· I think we need to be more proud of young people and challenge the imbalance of negative media about them

Education provides some of the answers
· advice: make schools more fun to go to
· advice: support and develop teachers

Introduce more active positive communication to keep the connection and increase mutual understanding

And fix some things
· Create much more opportunity to explore different kinds of creativity—based on their interests
· Have plenty of outdoor activities and open social spaces for young people aged 11-15. Better habits at this age will lead to better habits at 16+
· Develop wide social skills (communication, tolerance, friendship, caring, listening...) that is the glue for tomorrow
· Treat youth crime as just that—rather than let it leak into youth lifestyle—deal with the issues of crime and violence
· Show that lots of our young people are still lucky compared to many others. Let them feel responsible for their luck to have the opportunity and then support them in taking it

Role models and inter-generational relationships seen as crucial
· Offer positive role models
· Teach by example that people matter
· More contact and respectful relationship with adults outside the family
· More opportunities for young people to get away from their normal environment and mix with people from different cultures
· strong role modelling eg one excellent teacher/relation will influence them enormously
· So we need to have the courage to step up and BE that role model from time to time
· Advise, support and develop parents

Sunday 7 September 2008

Greed is Good (Sep 08)

We had a lively and stimulating debate which seemed to be at its best when we were on more philosophical ground. From an initial position where we were sitting on the fence over the assertion “Greed is Good” we came to a conclusion that there is “good greed” (drive for change) and “bad greed” (self serving to the detriment of others). On the whole, there was more support for the positive aspects of greed (60%) than the negative (40%). However extremely pro-greed statements such as “Greed is nearly always good… It's only the losers who don't like it.” were opposed by the group.
Many in the group thought there was scope for more self-awareness “I want to make more good greed decisions” and the two most supported statements throughout the discussion were about intentions to broaden the debate:
Tomorrow I’m going to talk to my children about this
Tomorrow I’m going to reflect where can make a real positive difference outside of normal environment

Below are listed all those statements that the majority of the group agreed on.


The paradox of greed
· So hey we define greed negatively but reckon it has some positive force… funny
· Good for one can be bad for another
· Maybe we need to separate harmless greed from mindless greed
· Maybe we feel guilty about our own greed
· Very convenient to make greed a sin. It was a form of social control - the people with power and influence didn't want the rest trying to get it.
Good greed
The main themes were greed as a desire for more – driving progress
· I think greed, and ambition which is a form of greed, are fundamental human drivers
Greed can be good when it’s…
· a force for advancement
· acts an impetus for change. "I want more out of life". It got us out of the cave
· respects the limits of the other
·  a desire to create positive change
· energy for change, but needs to be balanced with caring about the rest of society
· generates optimism
Bad greed
Many comments focused on unfair distribution being a consequence of “bad” greed.
· I feel greed can also be used as a bad thing and drive people to do things that they would never normally do.
Greed can be bad when it makes people…
· sacrifice interpersonal relationships to get what you want
· leads to jealousy, has to do with the scarcity
· overcapacity: getting more than you need;
· wanting things just for the sake of it
So what can we do?
· look at where my own "greed" might be good greed or bad greed
· talk to my children about this
· be very aware of what I’m buying and what things I crave because someone else has them, make more influenced choices on my everyday life and ask my self is this good greed or bad. Try to ensure I make more good greed choices
· differentiate between greed and need

Tuesday 5 August 2008

The Wisdom of the Crowd (Aug 08)

What is wisdom for you?
· Wisdom is a combination of insight, experience, underpinned by transparent values
· Intuitively doing the right thing without considering personal interest
· Sometimes it means being brave about the truth
· There are some wise people but not always in positions of power so wisdom gets wasted
Examples of a gap between the wise solutions and the ones that get implemented
· The widespread belief that we are victims of our communities instead of potential leaders / initiators / bridge builders
· The USA legal system with success fees for lawyers
Techniques that harness the wisdom of the crowd
· Listening and trying to understand where they come from by asking questions and encouraging others to speak up
· Participating in local associations - as long as the association is designed to have open access, and not to create barriers of inclusions/exclusion
What are the personal benefits we get from a good debate?
· Helps clarify my own ideas by explaining them and considering new input
· Gives me a better perspective - sometimes you can get in a rut with your thinking
· Makes me think (again)
What works in debating?
· A wide mix of experience and viewpoints, but where individuals aren't just on their own soapbox
· Show respect
· Open minds, willingness to change
· A diverse audience
… and what goes wrong?
· A lot of the failure stems from uneven power structures. Paying lip service to public consultation (or employees views) but having no intention of acting on it
· Rhetoric and defensiveness
· Hidden agendas
· When you know it's just a talking shop to pretend to ask for input
· Boring, lots of words without meaning
· Too much talking and not enough listening
What will we do differently tomorrow? (impact of the debate)
· Tell a couple of friends about this regular event - the more of us who are involved, the wiser we can be
· Remember to listen with an open mind, you never know when someone is going to make a useful contribution
· I’ll ask some people the same question tomorrow