Solutions for Wicked Problems in Flint
Yesterday our colleagues gave us an update on our Strategic Doing Flint Model. For seven years, a team has been transforming their neighborhoods with practical collaborations formed by following simple rules.
Think for a moment about complex challenges — the wicked problems you face. They can paralyze us. We don’t know where to start.
Now consider the wicked problems faced by the residents on Flint’s north side.
- The water crisis is on-going; families live in the shadow of lead poisoning, and they’ve lost trust in their water.
- Teenage homicides leave deep scars in the neighborhood with families torn apart.
- Going to a grocery store is far more difficult. The chains long ago pulled out, and residents live in a food desert.
- Deliberate policy decisions made in the past create today’s obstacles to better education, better housing, and a better job.
Yet, amidst this despair, our core team brings hope to their neighborhoods.
Why Strategic Doing?
Because these simple, but not easy skills give people a path forward in confronting wicked problems. They build trust, and in networks trust powers innovation.
Here are Bob Brown’s slides from his presenttion
It’s amazing what a small team can do.
Strategic Doing and the 2d Curve: the Story of Flint from Ed Morrison
The Director of the Lab at UNA and co-author of Strategic Doing: 10 Skills for Agile Leadership, Ed’s work has focused on developing new models of strategy specifically designed to accelerate complex collaboration in networks and open innovation. He is the original developer of Strategic Doing.