Rebalancing society with collaborative common[s]sense — an unstitutional dance of emergence & strategy
Many, if not most, of our institutions are failing society. They are no longer fit-for-meaningful-purpose.
Is it possible to reform, birth and nurture healthy life-affirming institutions that effectively serve society?
Maybe we can unstitutionalize what no longer serves — perhaps never best served — humanity and a living planet? Sounds like a tall order. Who is included in the we?
The unstitutionalizing we envisage is a dance of emergence and strategy. It calls for real work and roles:
🔻 Not not being done well, or at all by conventionally designed and configured organizations
🔻 For which loose networks, alliances and communities of practice (CoPs) are not designed
We’ve playfully and provisionally named some of these roles as: unstitutionists, coalitionists and activationists.
OMG. More funny terms! What’s that all about!?!
Hang on…will explain…but first, a little bit about Unstitution.
The name Unstitution is simple and yet brimming with meaning. Most of our established institutions and conventional organizations are not working well for a variety of layered and overlapping reasons.
Already old news?
Democracy, what it means as an ideological goal and how it actually manifests or operates in real world examples today and throughout the history of civilization — is widely interpreted and debated. While we cannot realistically expect a perfect one-size-fits-all version of democracy — we see room for huge improvement. Humanity has yet to establish a truly robust democracy that lives up to its aspirations. When government, business and civil society are out of balance and operate dysfunctionally, it’s pretty near impossible to achieve and sustain democratic principles.
(For additional perspectives you can also dive in deeper here: Musing on Mariana Mazzucato’s Challenge to Consultants, Governments and Business.)
Some organizations and institutions need major overhaul. Some have outlived their useful function. Some need a fresh rethink. Almost all need to reframe how to work and play well together in ways that serve society, meet real needs, are functionally-fit-for-meaningful purpose and are futures literate.
Many of us have spent decades working within and/or for business, government and civil society institutions of all kinds, including major corporations, academia and NGOs around the world. We have great respect for the many people who are working in earnest to do good things.
We’ve learned that many of the the biggest fail points lie in the gaps between society’s institutions — the interconnections that are dysfunctional or altogether missing. These gaps have widened into huge chasms which make it increasingly difficult, if not impossible to effect deep-rooted change and realignment from within any one organization or sector.
To help effect systemic shifts, we’ve stepped outside conventional institution boundaries and borders — working together from the space between and across sectors, disciplines, cultures, and generations — all the typical and increasingly polarized divides.
We can unlearn, get unstuck and co-create alternative pathways. Wherever possible, we might reform institutions toward meaningful purpose in society. We can apply and adapt new learnings back inside the entities we serve. We can help to shape new forms of organizations.
Being unstitutional can hopefully and mindfully — over time — help us collectively restore and support reasonable balance in society.
With relative neutrality — perhaps better defined as omni-partial — we have no vested interest in any one established sector, organization or domain of society. We’re also relatively subject and methodology agnostic — guided by contexts, needs and a moral compass.
To be clear, we are not against institutions nor are we taking a blanketed anti-establishment stance. Society needs healthy functioning institutions. Unstitution is patterned as an adaptive living collaborative commons.
It exists to reboot society’s operating systems — co-creating conditions that are conducive for human and planetary flourishing. A big hairy bold undertaking! Highly unlikely that we’ll see this order of SHfT anytime soon or in our own lifetimes. This is way bigger than any band or troubadour of change makers — no matter how capable and determined.
Unstitutions, Unstitutionalize and Unstitutionalism…
To suggest that our institutions are not working (well) is a keen grasp of the obvious, right?
So many people feel trapped, doing work they no longer value, employed or serving organizations with driving missions and engrained practices that do not align. Tragic…in terms of waste, disengagement, escalating erosion of wellbeing and lost potential to meaningfully channel capabilities and energy.
To break free of broken maladaptive patterns and experiment with new ones, perhaps we need some new forms — unstitutions — designed and aligned with adaptive living systems principles.
We are not alone with these concerns. Thankfully, many have been searching, researching and shaping alternatives that might help to achieve breakthroughs.
Henry Mintzberg on Rebalancing Society — a timeless and timely book and website with additional links, reflections and his proposed Declaration of Interdependence— articulates the case well:
“Enough! Enough of the imbalance that is destroying our democracies, our planet, and ourselves. We require a form of radical renewal unprecedented in the human experience.
Enough of the pendulum politics of left and right as well as paralysis in the political center. Enough of the visible claw of lobbying in place of the invisible hand of competing. Enough of the economic globalization that undermines our sovereign states and local communities. Have we not had enough exploiting of the world’s resources, including ourselves as “human resources?
Many people are concerned about these problems, far more than have taken to the streets. The will is there; an appreciation of what is happening, and how to deal with it, is not. We are inundated with conflicting explanations and contradictory solutions.”
In delightful meetings with Henry, he cheered us on, encouraging us to forge ahead. In fact, he loved our spirited Unstitution moniker, exclaiming that society needs many unstitutions in a variety of forms to essentially strengthen civil society — the plural sector as he defines it — if we hope to meaningfully influence the needed shifts toward healthy balance and interdependence.
Another ‘aha’ moment revealed, affirming the multi-pronged track forward that we are working to shape and support, in a wide variety of ways, with many collaborators.
Another quote from Henry Mintzberg on rebalancing society, that speaks to the work we are working hard to bring into the world:
“Regaining Balance. How do we regain balance in our societies? Some people believe that the answer will have to lie in the private sector, namely with corporate social responsibility. This is certainly to be welcomed, but anyone who believes that it will compensate for the corporate social irresponsibility we see around us is living in a win-win wonderland. Other people expect democratic governments to act vigorously. That they must do, but will not so long as they continue to be overwhelmed by private sector entitlements, global as well as domestic.
This leaves but one sector, the plural, which is not some ‘them’, but you, and me, and we, acting together. We need to engage in social movements and social initiatives that challenge destructive practices and replace them with constructive ones. We need not be passive human resources, in the service of imbalance, but can be resourceful human beings, in the service of our progeny and our planet.”
Leaving mechanized, reductionist, linear, packaged, boxed in Industrial Age dysfunctional ways of thinking and functioning…behind…isn’t easy. Living into life-affirming ways of functioning might playfully and seriously be described as an ongoing unstitutional learning journey.
So…we’re on a path to mindfully unstitutionalize what no longer serves…to rethink, reframe, experiment, redesign, reconfigure — to break with dysfunctional patterns and reconstitute healthy commonsing into the living fabric of society.
And we aren’t alone.
We can bridge divides by working together co-catalyzing many mission critical collaborative communities, initiatives and coalitions:
🔻 Break out of insular silos.
🔻 Challenge mechanistic mindsets.
🔻 Discover deeper more sustainable ways to collaboratively co-create.
🔻 Dance with human system messy humanness and dysfunctional monsters.
🔻 Address wicked overlapping meta-poly-perma crises.
Being game be — truly not a game at all — we can live into a new paradigm with:
🔻 Healthy ebb and flow
🔻 Just enough — minimum critical — connective tissue or social glue and structure to bind
🔻 Collective cross-sector, transdisciplinary and (trans)contextual capability
🔻 Working governance, operating models and practices that don’t ossify into rigid entities that outlive their functionality
Another ‘aha!’ Maybe unstitutionalism can become a way for any and all of us to gift society with a healthy ism that is a force-for-good.
We explain a bit more about how our collective unstitutional journey is patterned and unfolding in these two articles: Our way of being. Starting with Unstitution governance patterns, and Dance to a different tune on a new dancefloor.
They elaborate on the FairShares Commons…how we can help collaborative coalitions, initiatives, ventures, entities etc. adopt a mutually interdependent commons ecosystem approach — with potential to incorporate — based on a FSC patterned governance framework and adaptive practices.
As we navigate through widespread turbulence and instability, the FSC provides some minimum critical contextual governing and work structure to build systemic trust and gain resilience — to gain traction and flourish beyond the inevitable bumps.
All a work-in-progress — the various ways that people can collaborate, participate and co-navigate are also explored a bit further in these articles which include links to several others:
🔻A Living Operating System that’s bursting with Life
🔻A deep [reframed] sense of belonging
The descriptors* below, provide some handles that help us provisionally and in some contexts, define potential relationships:
🔻 Ways of collaborating as an evolving commons constellation and…
🔻 Roles that might help us advance grounded commons-based work.
We are not particularly attached to these role descriptors. They are a suggested way to explore adaptable commons-based mission critical work roles from the space between, that are differentiated from:
🔻 Work carried out within the boundaries of conventionally configured organizations and sectors
🔻 Loose mycelium networked relationships — alliances, communities of practice (CoPs), and networks of networks
Honestly, we formulated them as a way to engage — give some shape to important role relationships as we navigate.
More important are the underlying meaning and spirit guiding unstitutional work. Reach out anytime you want to take a deeper dive, exploring a wide variety of ways we might co-navigate along this collaborative co-creative journey.
In the meantime you might well discover that you are already on a resonant path or seeking ways to galvanize your efforts:
🔻 Being unstitutional…is not limited to any role. It broadly references anyone on a ‘game be’ path — being the systemic social change they hold in their hearts, minds and hands — generally aligned with Unstitution’s mission and spirit. Many are discovering that they’re already naturally being unstitutional. Who knew?
🔻 An Unstitutionist…references stewards with designated enabling and protecting roles within our commons Unstitutionist ring or constellation — aligned with our FSC governance patterned framework. Unstitutionists are those who take on stewardship work, with defined rights and obligations, as jointly crafted and delineated within the Articles of Association, under construction.
🔻 A Coalitionist refers to anyone who helps to co-activate and support collaborative coalition or living lab work with the spirit and inclusiveness of true coalitions as reflected in the Latin root — coalitiō — to grow together. Those working within our Coalitionist ring — as part of our FSC governance patterned framework, can potentially fulfil Coalitionist functions, with delineated rights and obligations as crafted within the Articles of Association.
🔻 An Activationist, builds on the broadly defined activist term. In the best sense, anyone can be an activist exercising one’s personal agency, actively involved in a social purpose organization or group — local, global or (g)local grassroots — aiming to make a positive difference. Activists are sometimes characterized or maligned for zealously doing whatever it takes to defend their cause. We make no judgments. We coined the term activationist, retaining the essential spirit and building block of agency applied to the active engagement of collaborative coalition work and initiatives. Those within our Activationist ring — as part of our FSC governance patterned framework, can potentially fulfil activationist functions, with delineated rights and obligations, as crafted within the Articles of Association.
🔻 A Co-catalyst references any individual and/or organization working in collaboration to co-catalyze and convene one or more coalitions or living labs, aligned with our mission and principles. Those already engaged within Unstitution’s rings or WorkNet constellation can potentially fulfill co-catalyst functions. We mutually benefit from the synergies and potential amplification of our efforts.
Aligned with decades of academic and field action research on The Commons — sometimes described as the fourth sector — our work from the space between, aims to practically and tangibly bring new forms of commonsing and work systems into society.
Michel Bauwens, with the contributions of many, has crafted and maintained an extensive P2P Foundation wiki, exploring a wide range of commons concepts, possibilities and examples. An alternative to institutions — extitutions — is suggested here:
That also makes lots of sense and aligns beautifully with all that we are working to birth. Perhaps, as we work to unstitutionalize insular boxed-in Industrial Age institutional patterns that don’t serve…we can help to shape new extitutions — as interconnected, interdependent entities that equip society with healthy essential scaffolding and infrastructure.
Collectively, we can reconstitute commonsing that (over time) helps to rebalance and support well-functioning societies, create the necessary (though not sufficient) conditions for true democracy to flourish, whereby real freedom and equity are widely experienced.
We can make meaningful tangible progress with many living labs, pilots and prototypes — helping to shape and adapt nested interconnected ecosystems — as adaptive living systems.
We are often queried about Unstitution — who and what we are, what we are really doing, and how we are working. We’ve been described as a think tank, a link tank, a do tank and a be tank. Referencing back to our conversation with Henry Mintzberg, when we shared this — he paused for a beat and then said:
“Just be Unstitution.”
Hmm. Probably sage advice given that the true essence of Unstitution kinda defies any neat and tidy explanation that can satisfy all the questions that invariably (will continue to) arise.
We’re determined to live the questions as our guiding modus operandi, letting go of that pervasive need for all-encompassing shiny-silver-bullet-answers that invariably fall short.
Living into a life-affirming regenerative paradigm is taking us all out of the usual boxed-in performative comfort zones. It means less explaining and talking about, and more being-the-change, humbly living into the kind of future we envision — always learning.
Important to note and understand…collaborative commons Unstitution work doesn’t restrict or hamper people from fulfilling or activating other roles as part of existing or emerging organizations, groups, initiatives and missions.
In a world of 8 billion people there is enough work for us all, and a huge need for alternative creative value flows and pathways in order to make real meaningful progress.
And-and.
Above all else — our work is about serious radical collaboration of all kinds — building upon, (co-)catalyzing, curating and amplifying our best mutual efforts. We are done with dysfunctionally competitive ways, playing conventional games to succeed— no matter how worthy the cause. We fully recognize that this can be a challenging balancing act, living between worlds and paradigms. Hence a humbling learning journey for us all as we work hard, being transparent, staying true to our overarching guiding principles and leveraging opportunities to support real SHfT — being both strategic AND emergent.
Just as we observe in nature, healthy competition that contributes to flourishing ecosystems equipped to regenerate — is fine. However, we reject the dysfunctional competition that is (still) running amok — like a malignant cancer — creating and exacerbating degenerative imbalance, destabilization and unhealthy consumerism.
Sometimes inadvertently and even with the best of intentions — including the drive to survive within a dysfunctional driving economic model — many organizations and groups continue to feed domination-power-over (zero sum game) patterns.
We continue to observe people sliding back down the same old slippery slopes that keep the systems stuck — as if the only or best ways to win, to get ahead, and make progress, necessitate more competitive branding (even among those on aligned paths) and beating the (big) bad guys at their own game. We’re also observing collaboration washing — virtue signalling and superficially advocating collaborative ways to outcompete the competition.
Understandable. Making SHfT happen isn’t easy. Working with and within the real world as it is today and forging alternative pathways and patterns is supremely challenging…and supremely necessary!
Many of us reference and build upon The Three Horizons Framework, developed by Bill Sharpe (International Futures Forum) as described by Daniel Christian Wahl in this excerpt from his book Regenerative Cultures. It provides a very practical strategic and operational lens that can shed light on underlying drivers and points of leverage for navigating between three differing horizons or future paradigmatic trajectories. There are no easy work-around shortcuts. However there are ways to work through challenges and support better choices that align with life-affirming goals. We are co-discovering some lower-hanging fruit opportunities that work with growing awareness of systemic failures and readiness to pilot and adopt alternative pathways and solutions.
Unstitution coalition and living lab work, by nature, is partnership-based and synergistic. By wearing various hats at various times, we can all become more fluid and fluent, collaborating and shuttling across healthier semi-permeable boundaries.
Nonproductive silos and competition can dissolve as we work together…as real mutual benefits are recognized and experienced first hand.
As we open up and traverse alternative pathways, abundance can become life-affirming enoughness.
Does any of this resonate with you? If so, our commons framework allows for plenty of adaptability and fluidity with the requisite checks and balances that help us work diligently to stay congruent. Within flexible parameters and some guardrails, those engaged can potentially activate multiple roles and switch around as needs and circumstances change.
If this kind of common[s] sense makes sense to you, we welcome opportunities to explore synergies and ways we might work together. We are encouraged by the convergence and progress we’re seeing, as more people are taking on important commonsing work and initiatives that can help us all gain more traction.
🔻 Fed up with dysfunctional competition and collaboration washing?
🔻 Ready to explore possibilities from the space between, co-creatively widening pathways toward the unimpossible?
🔻 Open to alternative working systems that can amplify mutual initiatives??? 🔻 Already being unstitutional and keen to help step up wider and deeper collaboration toward eco-systemic common[s] good?
We can all be unstitutional!
This article was updated again May 2024, reflecting our emergent pathways 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.
You can follow Unstitution and engage with us on LinkedIn. Many of our posts and perspectives also pop up under hashtags #messyhumanness and #wisdomwithteeth
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