In a New York Times opinion piece written in June of 2018, Thomas Friedman coined the term, complex adaptive coalitions. These coalitions, and their relevancy for working at the municipal level of political activity, seem to have merit in relation to overcoming differences and working collaboratively on seemingly intractable local issues. Friedman describes this phenomenon as,
"...business, labor, educators, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and mayors are all working together to build more adaptive local citizens and companies, and setting aside traditional party affiliations to do so.
"They are not waiting for Washington or their state governments, but are acting in their own local collective self-interest, nurturing adaptation from the bottom up."
The meme from this article inspired bloggers and an opinion piece from the Cape Cod Times to consider this model of local organizing meritorious. Perhaps Harvard might consider innovative ways to coalesce to tackle certain issues that the community needs to address.
Weavers
In an opinion piece published in February, New York Times columnist David Brooks describes how our social fabric has been torn and unraveled, contributing to our cultural disconnects and the difficulty of finding common ground, speaking the same public language, solving problems, and coming together for any substantive purpose. Brooks began a project at the Aspen Institute called Weave: The Social Fabric Project. Brooks sought out people and organizations at the local level who were building community and solving local problems. He wanted to find common denominators, aspects of this "weaving" that could be transferable and adaptable. His "The Big Story..." piece in today's Times continues shining the light on this "movement" and its practitioners who are, at the most basic, what Brooks calls, "relationship geniouses" and are skilled at bringing people together, emotional sensitivity, and co-regulating situations with others. Brooks' series on Weavers is worth the read.
Weavers
In an opinion piece published in February, New York Times columnist David Brooks describes how our social fabric has been torn and unraveled, contributing to our cultural disconnects and the difficulty of finding common ground, speaking the same public language, solving problems, and coming together for any substantive purpose. Brooks began a project at the Aspen Institute called Weave: The Social Fabric Project. Brooks sought out people and organizations at the local level who were building community and solving local problems. He wanted to find common denominators, aspects of this "weaving" that could be transferable and adaptable. His "The Big Story..." piece in today's Times continues shining the light on this "movement" and its practitioners who are, at the most basic, what Brooks calls, "relationship geniouses" and are skilled at bringing people together, emotional sensitivity, and co-regulating situations with others. Brooks' series on Weavers is worth the read.
Leadership
In the Atlanta metropolitan area, leadership programs are sponsored by local chambers of commerce and the regional planning agency sponsors regional leadership training on regional issues. Harvard might consider such a leadership training program to bring together leaders from disparate and disconnected domains such as education, religion, environmental advocacy, business, government, agriculture, and leisure. I encourage those interested in beginning a discussion on the merits of local leadership training to leave a comment here.
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