Atelier WeekNotes w/c 15 and 22 July
ATELIER MANAGEMENT. Tracking progress on 2024 intentions. INITIATIVES. Event: Exploring What's Next: generating a better future. Meaningful Futures: first pilot. 0/DETECTING.Resilience vs Flourishing.
I am writing newsletter of #weeknotes of starting the Atelier of What’s Next (a studio for initiatives at the frontier of generating a better future). For my rationale for starting the Atelier see here.
This week covers:
ATELIER MANAGEMENT
Tracking progress on 2024 intentions
-Progress on the story I want to be able to tell.
-Tracking the objectives
INITIATIVES
-Event: 'Exploring What's Next: generating a better future'.
-Meaningful Futures: first pilot
0/DETECTING
-Resilience vs Flourishing
I’m typing this in Singapore Airport, part-way to Aotearoa New Zealand for a combination of work and holiday. I expect to file at most one post (w/c 12 August, when I am in Wellington doing two workshops and a talk, see below). Preparing for the trip is why the last two weeks have been compressed into one WeekNote.
How can the Atelier of What's Next be of service to you, and your purposes? We'd love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a challenge or idea to put in the studio. Maybe one of our existing topics appeals to you. What if you love to make new things happen by being part of the studio? Or if you have feedback or comments that would improve this deck. Either click the button below or email davidbent@atelierwhatsnext.org.
Tracking progress on 2024 intentions
In the first WeekNotes of 2024 I set the 2024 intentions for the Atelier of What's Next. I did a first review at the end of Feb WeekNotes here. And...I haven't since. Oops.
Here is my half-year reckoning, organised in two parts:
Progress on the story I want to be able to tell.
Tracking the objectives.
Progress on the story I want to be able to tell.
(I'd love to put this in a table, but SubStack doesn't do tables. So, the desired headline is in bold and the commentary in italics.)
A year of strong progress and the fundamentals in place. STILL POSSIBLE (in Feb was: POSSIBLE). The family crises has continued from Feb (more here) As a widower and solo parent, I have needed to prioritise my children. So, all of the Atelier stuff might be slowed down.
A big highlight was the launch of [a specific project]. POSSIBLE (was: ON TRACK). The State of Sustainable Shipping has pilot funding, announced by Lloyds Registry Foundation here. We (the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, myself and various collaborators) have made some progress, but delays with internal changes at SSI.
An important adjustment here has been to name the method within SoSS as Influential Trajectories, which now has its own page here. This 'decoupling' has allowed me to start marketing the method in other contexts. There is a second pilot already underway. So the big launch in the year could be SoSS, or Influential Trajectories.
A second big highlight is now possible as well, with my involvement at Hard Investigations (more here).
The huge theme of the year has been learning-by-doing. POSSIBLE (was: NEEDS ATTENTION). Have been doing WeekNotes nearly every week (22 so far in the year, we are in week 30 of the year). These have provided chances to reflect and adjust.
As result of our fast learning cycles, we have re-shaped our offer. ON-TRACK (was: ON-TRACK). Still getting approaches by people intrigued by the Atelier. In August I will be doing a talk at the University of Wellington (see below).
All this is only possible because the Atelier now has [at least 2 part-time] co-founders. UNLIKELY (was: POSSIBLE). In the first 2 months I've had one conversation where it was sub-text. But no progress since then. Unlikely to be able to meet an end of year deadline.
The Atelier is now a legal entity with a specific operating model. UNLIKELY (was: POSSIBLE). Same as co-founder.
David has decided on doing a doctorate. POSSIBLE (was NEEDS ATTENTION). Have had three conversations which have sketched out the terrain. Need to turn those into a 2-pager for engaging more people, if this is going to happen. To be able to start in Sep 2025, I need to have the application in by Feb 2025, which means having a topic, a method, a supervisor, and an institution by the end of the year. Basically no progress so far this year.
Tracking the objectives
As well as the desired story, I have some specific objectives. These are mostly about regular routines and activities which I believe will lead to the desired outcomes.
One read of the chart is that I am behind because of the family crisis. Another is that I haven't embedded in the sort of routines and habits which get the right things done, even when time is limited.
Or as a table compiled by Datawrapper.
WHAT NEXT.
Reflect on whether these are still good intentions to have (even if a bit delayed). Would delivering on these deliver on the Atelier? I’ll use my time away for a bit of deeper reflection. Not just ‘am I doing things right?’ but also ‘am I doing the right things?’
INITIATIVES
Event: 'Exploring What's Next: generating a better future'
I've been preparing for the seminar on 'Exploring What's Next', hosted by Wellington School of Business and Government, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington and the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ).
More on the event is here. We have moved to a larger room, so there now might be space for new in-person attendees (there will be an online version too).
If you are an Edmund Hillary Fellow and want to come, please email Courtney Wylie <courtney@ipanz.org.nz> directly, mentioning that you are from EHF.
WHAT NEXT. Write the talk (with an eye to landing learning, inspiring the audience on the night, and also to future uses of the material).
Meaningful Futures: first pilot
At the start of the year, I was approached by Celine McKeown. She had an idea and needed just a little bit of help with an idea of a new sort of work experience. A few light-touch, coaching-style sessions later, and she was off.
The idea became: Meaningful Futures: ‘Equipping today's young people to craft a meaningful future, by leading self, leading others and leading change.’
The description:
A social innovation project giving young people the skills, understanding and confidence to craft a meaningful life and make a positive difference in the world. Combining personal development training, sustainability education, and encounters with local leaders who are reshaping the world of work, business and society for a better future.
I learnt last week that Meaningful Futures had its first pilot, explained here. A snippet:
“As part of skills week, we hosted 30 post 16 students for four days of personal development, sustainability learning and encounters with local organisations leading social and environmental reform in the fashion, food, real estate, coffee, transport, design, energy and community sectors. Plus X Innovation Hub generously hosted us for the week.”
WHAT NEXT
Follow up with Celine about how it went, and see if I can’t get a bit of a case study / testimonial.
0/DETECTING
Resilience vs Flourishing
Family challenges meant I couldn't go to the Human Values in Healthcare Forum's annual conference. The organisation's purpose is "working to foster healthcare that puts ethical and humane practice at its centre".
This has overlaps with my attempts to continue my late wife's work on the use of time in child & adolescent psychotherapy. I am trying to explore 'How can we ensure the experience of clinicians on 'using time well' is used to help the whole discipline to improve -- and so improve the outcomes for children and adolescents?' You can find out more (and donate, if moved) here.
Although I didn't go to the event, I did receive the slides from a presentation by Flourishing Spaces, mission: "to understand and articulate spaces and environments that enable flourishing and to explore how to make flourishing spaces accessible to all in Higher Education and beyond".
I was very struck by this contrast between Resilience and Flourishing (also explained here):
This contrasting puts Resilience in the box of constant excellence, and Flourishing as more Ancient Stoic. I'm sure Resilience scholars would disagree, and say that the Flourishing is also describing a form of resilience.
Still, it captures for me some of how people do talk about the two. Resilience-as-used carries a sense of keeping on going despite what happens.
Resilience has a place in the technocratic world of policy makers, wondering how we can make our societies resilient to changes. Could we imagine them shifting over to focus on flourishing?
WHAT NEXT. Watching brief.