AZ Sociocracy in Quotes #011
Many Voices One Song - shared power with sociocracy (a sociocracy manual):
1.2.3 Change anything you want – by consent
Quote:
We have devoted this time in our lives to spreading sociocracy because we are convinced that it is an excellent set of principles and tools, and we have picked the tools that we are describing in this book based on years of experience, observing different tools and techniques and their impact. Governance is a highly complex construct. If one makes a change in one spot, one might shift the balance in a different place. For that reason, we recommend to stay as close as possible to the basic tools and to use as many of them as possible. The tools one uses can easily be adapted – as long as one measures the success of your adaptation. As practitioners gain experience, they can be more flexible with the tools.
Summary:
- we have devoted this time in our lives to spreading sociocracy
- sociocracy it is an excellent set of principles and tools
- governance is a highly complex construct
- we recommend to stay as close as possible to the basic tools and to use as many of them as possible
- the tools one uses can easily be adapted – as long as one measures the success of your adaptation
- as practitioners gain experience, they can be more flexible with the tools
Quote:
Consent is the default decision-making method in sociocracy. Consent means that if I make a proposal to the group, my proposal will be approved if no one in the group has an objection to it. Consent will be addressed deeply in this manual but this description might suffice for now. By consent, a group can decide to do anything. We often jokingly say, you want a dictator for your organization? We can decide that by consent. (We recommend that the dictator role have a term end, however!) Groups can decide by consent to vote. Groups decide what their governance system looks like at all times. The only thing one cannot do is ignore reasoned objections.
Summary:
- consent is the default decision-making method in sociocracy
- consent means that if I make a proposal to the group, my proposal will be approved if no one in the group has an objection to it
- by consent, a group can decide to do anything
- groups decide what their governance system looks like at all times
- the only thing one cannot do is ignore reasoned objections
- joke: if we want a dictator for our organization we could decide that by consent
- seriously speaking: [no need for a dictator; it’s enough to have “irreplaceable people”]
Quote:
So let’s say a group decides to use only the organizational structure from sociocracy and to combine it with majority rule as your decision-method. That is allowed – because it is your decision. Here is the catch: We have talked to countless organizations. When they struggle around governance, it is always for either or both of these reasons: (1) They have gaps in their implementation, or (2) They have not invested enough resources in education.
Summary:
- a group decides what to use
- struggle around governance
- implementation gaps
- not enough resources invested in education
1.2 The paradox of teaching self-governance
Quote:
So we hereby say it: we want groups to take full ownership of your own governance system. And we want to give them the most exhaustive and accurate and experience-based information we can possibly give because we think this is an excellent set of principles and most tweaks we have seen were detrimental.
Summary:
- we want groups to take full ownership of your their governance system
- we want to give them the most exhaustive and accurate and experience-based information we can possibly give
- sociocracy is an excellent set of principles
The principles of sociocracy are wonderful. I guess that if we implement them properly, we could progress together, without anyone being left behind.
Your friend,
because I care