Community and decision-making BUISNESS
I have considered the ideologies present in New Zealand and offer a way forward to think in a
systematic, relational and holistic way to make better decisions for better outcomes.
I summarise the ideologies below:
· Classical liberalism 1789-The West: A capitalism centered on free markets and the pursuit of individual self-interest; individual flourishing; minimal state interference; peace. Parliamentary democracy with minimal state action.
· Conservatism 1789-The West. Strengthened communal life – nation, communities, families; continuity of traditions; building civic virtues; strengthen sources of meaning and belonging. Parliamentary democracy with potentially greater state action and authority.
· Social democracy 1848-The West. A social capitalism, marked by greater harmony of interests, mixed economy, equality, and security. Parliamentary democracy (with greater scope for state action in the interests of society/nation.
· Socialism 1848-The West, spreads to the non-European world in the 20th century. End of class and state; direct democracy; from each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs. In theory, a new form of direct democracy. In practice authoritarian state control.
· Social liberalism 1890 The West. A social capitalism; reducing inequalities; eradicating poverty, crisis, unemployment; growth, social peace, national progress. Parliamentary democracy (but with greater role for state intervention)
· Far-Right-1920 Europe, but global diffusion. A reborn, harmonious, and purified national community; national sovereignty; entrenchment of national values; duty to nation. Authoritarian state.
· Environmentalism-1960’s The West, increasingly globalized. Sustainable development; stewardship/partnership in the natural world; reduction of scale. Parliamentary democracy (but important role for state and regulation in the interests of future generations and the natural world)
· Communitarianism. 1980-The West, especially USA. Strong, vibrant communities; strong feelings of belonging; shared meanings and purposes. Parliamentary democracy (but potentially more devolvement of power to locality and federation)
· Cultural progressivism 1990-The West. A dynamic capitalism that embraces both individual freedom and equality of opportunity; social peace; recognition of difference; cosmopolitanism. Parliamentary democracy, with better representation of minorities; affirmative action to create true meritocracy.
The major political parties combine ideological elements from several different broad ideologies. Across these party divides and across several different ideologies, though, we find some important commonalities - appeals to the common good and the improvement of life together through participation in decision making. (Source Victoria University of Wellington)
For my part I provide my “Better Decision better Outcomes” (BDBO) approach, a systematic, relational and holistic way of thinking to make better decisions for better outcomes. I
· have applied BDBO with the local leaders of Newlands to improve suburb resilience (here)
· offer my BDBO training through the Victoria University of Wellington here.
· offer coaching to apply BDBO in organisations, district and regions (here). If you’re interested to chat, please book a free appointment here
WE need a public value decision system that enables government to participate with resilient communities to achieve vision by thinking together using their different strengths, resulting in measurable benefits and eliminate systemic poverty. Government needs to consider its role in building resilient communities so those communities can in turn speak with their voices into the decision-making process, providing valuable local intelligence. That approach needs to be a holistic, systematic, and relational. WE need to courageously and transparently navigate the ambiguity of difficult conversations by intentionally leaning in to listen and learn from each other, to build trust and confidence, to set a vision and identify the best public value, affordable and achievable way to achieve that vision. Over the past 8 years I have developed my “Better Decision Better Outcomes” (BDBO) approach to develop placed based portfolio business cases in New Zealand and overseas.
Seeking investment interest in Newlands, Wellington PROBONO
My 3 favourite quotes and how I am trying to be a part of the solution.
My favourite quotes are…
“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard solid thinking. There is almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” Martin Luther King, Jnr.
“We think we're much more rational than we are and that we make our decisions because we have good reasons to make them. Even when it's the other way around. We believe in the reasons, because we've already made the decision”. Daniel Kahneman.
Whatever decisions are made by Government and Industry it is communities that need to live with them. So, we need more resilient, suburbs, districts and regions. The more resilient they are the more they can speak with their local voices providing local intelligence to inform Government and Industry decisions. “Confidential Source”
My BDBO approach is a systematic, rationale, relational and holistic way of thinking to make better decisions for better outcomes.
We are seeking initial investment before we actively engage with residents over a six-month period.
I have applied (parts of ) BDBO with the local leaders of Newlands, here. We are seeking minor initial investment before we actively engage with residents over a six-month period and then a more significant investment to implement the preferred solution. If you know of anyone who would be interested in investing, please email me at rodney@acorn-resilience.org. I can provide our place-based business case.
On behalf of the Aotearoa Community Resilience Network, a registered charitable trust.
Community and Decision Making
My 3 favourite quotes and how I am trying to be a part of the solution.
My favourite quotes are…
“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard solid thinking. There is almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” Martin Luther King, Jnr.
“We think we're much more rational than we are and that we make our decisions because we have good reasons to make them. Even when it's the other way around. We believe in the reasons, because we've already made the decision”. Daniel Kahneman.
Whatever decisions are made by Government and Industry it is communities that need to live with them. So, we need more resilient, suburbs, districts and regions. The more resilient they are the more they can speak with their local voices providing local intelligence to inform Government and Industry decisions. “Confidential Source”
For my part I provide:
· My BDBO approach is a systematic, rationale, relational and holistic way of thinking to make better decisions for better outcomes.
· my BDBO training through the Victoria University of Wellington here.
· coaching to apply BDBO in organisations, district and regions through Barber Associates (here). If you’re interested to chat, please book a free appointment here.
Seeking investment interest in Newlands, Wellington PROBONO
I have ready many recent publications about improving community and decision making and am confident we, in my suburb, are doing what these publications are saying. We are seeking initial investment before we actively engage with residents over a six-month period.
The publications [1] say:
We need to help communities identify and tackle the challenges they wish to solve collectively; create friendly neighborhoods so people know their neighbors and feel a sense of belonging and connection; be more responsive to people and place through a shared purpose backed by long-term investment, have trust and transparency, have coordinated and cooperative approaches, be flexible and adaptive and learn and share knowledge; develop collective, intergenerational responses; and have government be conduits for place-based solutions; have humble, reciprocal, trusting relationships with imagination, adaptability, and tolerance for risk; develop solutions drawn from local intelligence; focus on medium-to-long-term including trade-offs; have a joined-up approach across the public sector that supports coordinated decision making that results in measurable increases in benefits for New Zealanders.
We are seeking initial investment before we actively engage with residents over a six-month period.
I have coached (probono) the application of BDBO with local leaders of Newlands, Wellington, here, to have a resilient community by 2030.
In February 2024 we provided our business case to philanthropists, and local and central government but failed to secure investment. We are seeking minor initial investment before we actively engage with residents over a six-month period and then a more significant investment to implement the preferred solution. If you know of anyone who would be interested in investing, please email rodney@acorn-resilience.org me and I can provide our place-based business case.
WE need a public value decision system that enables government to participate with resilient communities to achieve vision by thinking together using their different strengths, resulting in measurable benefits and eliminate systemic poverty. Government needs to consider its role in building resilient communities so those communities can in turn speak with their voices into the decision-making process, providing valuable local intelligence. That approach needs to be a holistic, systematic, and relational. WE need to courageously and transparently navigate the ambiguity of difficult conversations by intentionally leaning in to listen and learn from each other, to build trust and confidence, to set a vision and identify the best public value, affordable and achievable way to achieve that vision. Over the past 8 years I have developed my “Better Decision Better Outcomes” (BDBO) approach to develop placed based portfolio business cases in New Zealand and overseas.
Aotearoa Community Resilience Network, a registered charitable trust
[1] Publications. Alone Together The risks of loneliness in Aotearoa New Zealand following Covid -19 and how public policy can help by Helen Clarke Foundation. Putting People First-Transforming social services in partnership with people and communities by Centre for Policy Development (CPD) an independent, not-for-profit policy institute with staff in Sydney, Melbourne, and Jakarta. Make the move-Shifting how the public sector works with communities. Inspiring Communities June 2023. The Treasury’s 2023 Wellbeing Report. Secretary for the Treasury speech February 2024. Review into Cyclone Gabrielle report 2024. Treasury Quarterly Investment Report March 2024
Better Decisions, Better Outcomes
I have ready many recent publications¹ about improving community and decision making and am trying to be a part of the solution.
The publications say:
We need to help communities identify and tackle the challenges they wish to solve collectively; create friendly neighborhoods so people know their neighbors and feel a sense of belonging and connection; be more responsive to people and place through a shared purpose backed by long-term investment, have trust and transparency, have coordinated and cooperative approaches, be flexible and adaptive and learn and share knowledge; develop collective, intergenerational responses; and have government be conduits for place-based solutions; have humble, reciprocal, trusting relationships with imagination, adaptability, and tolerance for risk; develop solutions drawn from local intelligence; focus on medium-to-long-term including trade-offs; have a joined-up approach across the public sector that supports coordinated decision making that results in measurable increases in benefits for New Zealanders.
For my part I provide:
My BDBO training through the Victoria University of Wellington here. This includes how I applied BDBO in my suburb, the resultant portfolio business case and what it would look like for a district or region.
Coaching to apply BDBO in organisations, district and regions through Barber Associates (here). If you’re interested to chat, please book a free appointment here.
In my view WE need a public value decision system that enables government to participate with resilient communities to achieve vision by thinking together using their different strengths, resulting in measurable benefits and eliminate systemic poverty. Government needs to consider its role in building resilient communities so those communities can in turn speak with their voices into the decision-making process, providing valuable local intelligence. That approach needs to be a holistic, systematic, and relational. WE need to courageously and transparently navigate the ambiguity of difficult conversations by intentionally leaning in to listen and learn from each other, to build trust and confidence, to set a vision and identify the best public value, affordable and achievable way to achieve that vision. Over the past 8 years I have developed my “Better Decision Better Outcomes” (BDBO) approach to develop placed based portfolio business cases in New Zealand and overseas.
¹ Publications. Alone Together The risks of loneliness in Aotearoa New Zealand following Covid -19 and how public policy can help by Helen Clarke Foundation. Putting People First-Transforming social services in partnership with people and communities by Centre for Policy Development (CPD) an independent, not-for-profit policy institute with staff in Sydney, Melbourne, and Jakarta. Make the move-Shifting how the public sector works with communities. Inspiring Communities June 2023. The Treasury’s 2023 Wellbeing Report. Secretary for the Treasury speech February 2024. Review into Cyclone Gabrielle report 2024. Treasury Quarterly Investment Report March 2024