What Kind of Innovation?

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Permalink Reply by Bruce LaDuke on November 22, 2009 at 10:18am

A 'State of the Future Index' or SOFI, is typically used as a reporting tool on the state of some state, region, nation, or the world. It can also be used as a living document to manage the community's desired state and progress toward that. 'Innovation' in this age, in my opinion, is going to evolve to be seen as 'progress toward an integral desired state.'

Here is an example SOFI. It is designed to just show the basics for how this works.

The SOFI spreadsheet or database can track the influence of trends (at all levels) and is the home for analysis and future state determination. After the desired state is understood, this can expand into tracking progress toward that desired state or goal. The intent here is to look at the entire problem space, which is integral, and not to have a myopic view of one aspect of society, or one community interest, or one geographic location without respect to regional, national, global influences.

These days, it is very, very easy to fix one problem and simultaneously create one or more other problems. An integral approach to change helps prevent this from happening.

If anyone would like to explore this further, just let me know. I'd like to help Indiana move forward in this space in any way I can and am open to help any individuals or groups that need a 'futurist' perspective.

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Permalink Reply by Pat Coyle on November 23, 2009 at 4:28pm

Bruce,
Great to see you posting! I missed your voice. Hope we can keep your engage in 2010 as we seek to actually DO something about the topics we're discussing

:-)
P

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Permalink Reply by Bruce LaDuke on November 23, 2009 at 7:05pm

Thanks Pat...I check in from time to time and the Meridian Institute partnership caught my eye.

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Permalink Reply by Marita Topmiller on November 22, 2009 at 11:39pm

I hear: reuse what we can; take advantage of those things our community can produce locally; integrate our
plans for the future of our community in all industries, in all respects with our desires and the needs/desires
of the world wide community.

I like the sound of it. And an SOFI spread sheet would be helpful, even necessary.

I'm kind of a nuts and bolts type with emphasis on those conditions I can see around me, and with regard
to how these things have been approached in the past, along with what resources are now available for our use, cost comparisons considered, including cost to ship.

I am suddenly reminded that Leonardo DaVinci invented a machine that would weave cloth, I believe, and
he buried the design because many workers would become unnecessary - thereby losing the jobs that fed
them and their families.

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Permalink Reply by Bruce LaDuke on November 23, 2009 at 9:10am

Your Leonardo comment reminds me of one of my favorite books. It is an old book called Adam Smith's Mistake. Smith was looking around at all of the child labor and workers who suffering with long hours and poor working conditions in his day. He classified himself as a 'moral philosopher' because he wanted to solve what he saw as moral issues. In this quest, he advocated self-interest based economic exchange and originated the concept of the division of labor. These concepts changed the way we live, work, and what we value across the entire human race. But that said, in trying to solve moral dilemmas, Smith both created a set of solutions and a whole new set of moral problems.

This isn't exactly how the book concludes, but I see 'Adam Smith's Mistake' as one of thinking that his solutions he arrived at didn't have inherent problems within themselves. What he was essentially missing was balance. Every paradigm has positive and negative impacts. The key is to integrate these in a balanced way and to meet as many interests as possible.

The U.S. constitution was framed as an ingenious way to create this balance through the will of the people. The original concept of a 'republic' evolved into a democracy and combined with capitalism that had grown out of Adam Smith's concept of the division of labor.

Today, the self-interest driver of capitalism is choking balance out of society. It isn't capitalism in and of itself that is the problem, because we see the same kinds of issues in communist countries like China where people are essentially destroying their environment at the expense of economic growth.

In a Mid-town Brews open dialogue there was as discussion on how to meet the energy needs of the region. On the one side was the utility company saying that coal-fired plants were less expensive to build and that alternative energy hadn't arrived at a place that was economically feasible. On the other side of the dialogue were the communities of people downstream from the coal plants that were dying of cancer at inordinate rates. The dialogue was emotional and both sides were trying to do the right thing in this 'moral dilemma.' People in the region needed energy to survive, and people in the region were dying of cancer. This is the same affect played out on a regional scale. Once again, the goal is the balance of interests...in this case achieved through open dialogue.

The modified SOFI is just a way to visualize a community in an integral and balanced way. It can be data-driven and can have databases feeding it, but needs to always maintain a snapshot view that shows balance and integration across the landscape. It exists to inform the decision-making process so that decisions can be made in a balanced and integral way. It can be a tool for government and leadership at all levels of society. It can also be used as a platform for open dialogue. Once the items that are not integrated or not balanced become apparent, the decision can be made understanding the situation and impact of actions.

Today, the situation is so tenuous, that if we try to build our own community at the expense of other communties, or if we try to 'innovate' without understanding the implications, or if we have a myopic focus on one 'solution,' we can create all kinds of problems for society.

My personal goal is to expand the use of integral planning (e.g., the modified SOFI) to various regions, nations, and the world. It is only going to work if everyone is planning together. It is quite possible to do this across different types of government, ideologies and belief systems. All that is needed is a mind to cooperate instead of 'getting yours.' Its becoming more and more evident that if we don't learn to cooperate, the entire system is going to implode. If I can find some traction here in Indiana, I then want to expand this to the midwest region and create an example of how this could work in real-time.

The words 'balanced' and 'integral' almost sound ethereal or 'hippie,' but they aren't. The world is now highly integrated and knowledge and communication are quickly becoming ubiquitous. Everything everyone and every group does affects everyone else. As such, integral planning is quickly becoming a social imperative.

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Permalink Reply by Marita Topmiller on November 23, 2009 at 5:18pm

My number one rule in conducting my real estate business is First Do No Harm. It looks funny as I write it,
but integration and balance affect us from bottom to top/top to bottom. Wholistic - now that sounds hippie.

I like your integrated approach, Bruce, and I look forward to being part of the dialogue.

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