Building bridges to span the void
Remember the song “Bridge over troubled Water?”
Being unstitutional is all about building bridges to across the sectors, disciplines, cultures, generations, genders — all the divides. We co-discover ways to work together to address and understand root problems. We explore pathways to reasonably hold and balance difficult dilemmas and tensions and make meaningful progress toward workable systemic alternatives and solutions.
🔶 Across business, government and civil society
🔶 Between the conceptual, intellectual and academic thinkers and the practical, boots-on -the-ground implementers
🔶 Across disciplines, methodologies
🔶 Across cultures, regions, generations, genders
🔶 Between key stakeholders (careholders,) special interest groups and polarized factions
🔶 Between the usual suspects who are typically involved and those who are often left out and marginalized.
Maybe that is at the heart of it? Bridge building is an essential starting place….forming connective tissue…social glue that builds relational bonds and binds toward mission critical common(s) purpose.
We are working from the commons space between, functioning like the connective tissue that all living systems require. By bridging divides, we cultivate the social glue that brings diverse parties together to discover common[s] ground.
A key part of our Living Operating System is our Bridges function. That is often the access point where we co-discover each other, our respective capabilities and the specific potential to work collaboratively on initiatives, coalitions and/or as part of our evolving operating engine.
As bridge builders, we’ve stepped through a doorway…and there is no going back…
We are seeking and supporting deeply collaborative pathways…from the commons space between…which can sometimes feel like ‘nowhere.’
Bridges can open portals to the hard work required.
They are not acquiescence to lukewarm mediocrity or ineffectual compromise. Collaboration to gain competitive advantage is not the driver. We aren’t cashing in on climate or the various meta-poly-perma crises…with speaker engagements, book launches, or lucrative consulting contracts…
We understand too well that the flawed neoclassical monocapital driving economic model is pathologically rooted in colonizing patterns that we seek to shift.
Networking and cross pollination are emergent and strategic
Borrowed from nature’s synergistic design principles, cross pollination and cross fertilization occur naturally.
This is where lots of organic magic happens and we celebrate the serendipitous connections, synergies and synapses that are the result.
We couldn’t begin to map out all the interesting, budding relationships — and yet we know it all begins with conversations.
We know that this is going on in lots of places all over the world…
We can evolve more mindfully and make more meaningful progress when our networking and bridge building is purpose driven…
As we connect and build those relationships, we discover what ignites people’s passion and sense of meaning. We get to know one another. We peel back more layers. We find out what really matters. We figure out how our gifts differing might coalesce, how to navigate forward and what we can actually be and do together, to potentially amplify our collective impact.
Strategically, we look for points of leverage — needs and opportunities that can blossom from our respective capabilities and synergies.
Our ever-expanding WorkNet becomes an amazing reservoir of potential.
The initiatives and coalitions that we co-catalyze become the living labs, where we work together on-the-ground towards mission critical progress and outcomes. Emergent learning leads to (trans)contextual insights and additional opportunities to adapt and scale out or spawn in a good way, suited to similar needs anywhere in the world.
Incremental evolutionary change is fine. But it’s just not enough, is it?
Transformative shifts cannot be guaranteed or mapped along a linear pathway. However, surely we can do more to move things along — to activate, support and mobilize, living into regenerative life-affirming patterns for people and planet.
Increasingly, tired of incrementally dabbling around at the edges, people are converging and (more) ready to shake things up more proactively and collaboratively — going farther and deeper.
The world is (more) ready for us! The needs observed in every direction and across all domains of society are escalating and exponential. The (re)evolution is underway…
Building bridges is a key building block that can help us collectively cultivate a deep reframed sense of belonging.
Let’s build bridges together. When we set sail, something truly beautiful and joyful can emerge from those troubled waters.
*This article was updated December 2023, reflecting additional perspectives and ongoing action research, as we continue to observe, listen and adapt — a humbling learning journey for us all.
Unstitution was birthed as a collective creative commons and nested ecosystem. We (co-)catalyze and support collaborative communities, initiatives and coalitions where people from across sectors, disciplines, cultures, generations and walks-of-life work together on mission critical issues. From readiness through to regenerative progress — moving beyond polarization — is how we roll. The links embedded throughout this article are a warm invitation to go a bit deeper, at any time. For more insights reflecting our ongoing journey, our suite of Unstitution articles are published on Medium. They portray a small sample of the ways we are adapting and contributing among ever-expanding commons-based communities and initiatives inspired and fuelled by citizens — perhaps better described as denizens — anywhere in the world — living into the principles and spirit that govern our collaborative work.
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