JustOrg Design

Efficiency at its core is about the conservation of energy. It exists all across the natural world. In an ideal world, we streamline our activities to meet our human needs so we can free up more physical and mental resources to pursue the things we love. However, over time, the connotation has shifted to represent a process that bolsters unlimited growth. We speak of efficient production and extraction not in service of humanity, but to support a hierarchical system in which only a handful of people truly benefit. Efficiency in this case has mostly a single direction, flowing our societal resources upward to the hands of the few to determine allocation. In this current state, efficiency and inclusion are antithetical, and in constant conflict. You cannot ignore the needs of a diverse population and still remain efficient to capitalist hyper-production, which requires a certain level of groupthink (and is enforced by either propaganda or physical coercion). True inclusion will always remain in conflict with capitalist efficiency unless we design a new system where they are in balance. Balance is key here because on the opposite end, inclusion without efficiency is unsustainable. It will exhaust our resources and burn us all out.

Time of year for Top 10 lists, so I compiled my favorite articles of 2024. Any I missed? 💫 Slow Change Can Be Radical Change, by Rebecca Solnit - http://bit.ly/3VYY4e4 “Describing the slowness of change is often confused with acceptance of the status quo. It’s really the opposite.” 💫 Healing Systems by Laura Calderon de la Barca, Katherine Milligan & John Kania - https://bit.ly/4iUuLDg "Systems carry trauma because they are relational." 💫 Calling People Forward Instead of Out: Ten Essential Steps by Justin Michael Williams & Shelly Tygielski - https://bit.ly/49Wmfzk "You can call anyone forward, but it doesn’t mean they’re going to immediately walk toward you. Remember, they may not have the tools yet to do so." 💫 Communication is Sacred: Why change happens in the spaces between us by Nora Bateson & Alexander Beiner - https://lnkd.in/eTYQqUGn "All living and social systems are vitalized through their relational ecologies. When the relationships shift, the whole structure of the surrounding relationships also shifts." 💫 Building a Reparative Organization and Nation by Aria Florant - https://lnkd.in/eWbm3eEG "When we expect perfection in leadership, we give up our individual and collective power, and the entire enterprise suffers. This is true in our organizations as well as our nation." 💫 Don't believe what they're telling you about misinformation by Manvir Singh - https://bit.ly/3BOImLA "[Scholars] encourage us to see misinformation more as a symptom than as a disease. Unless we address issues of polarization and institutional trust...we’ll make little headway against an endless supply of alluring fabrications." 💫 On Relational Infrastructure by Sam Rye - https://bit.ly/4gDfJQS "To take on challenges which rely on collective and collaborative efforts, we need to better understand how to cultivate connection, trust and shared identity." 💫 We Have Decades Of Research Telling Us How Change Works. We Need To Start Following The Evidence by Greg Satell "...if we know that shifts in knowledge and attitudes don’t necessarily result in changes in practice and that ideas about change are transmitted socially, we should focus our efforts on empowering enthusiasts rather than wordsmithing and broadcasting slogans." 💫 Convenings, Cohorts + Communities: Notes on so-called "impact" gatherings by Renee Lertzman, PhD - https://lnkd.in/eUcJ3uJR "We are in a collective global moment of figuring out, testing and experimenting with ways of bringing people together for impact." 💫 Beyond the Broadcasting Model by Sean Gibbons & Tristan Mohabir -  https://lnkd.in/ecZ3pgGG "Today’s communications landscape demands that social sector organizations move away from a 20th-century broadcasting approach and toward dialogue, relationship-building, and fostering community."

An Out-of-Office Poem We cannot come to the world right now.  We are currently out of these offices, out of zoom rooms, out of meetings, off teams, away from our desks.    Currently we are out of our work selves entirely.   Out of our composed selves.   Out of our time-constrained selves.   Almost some mornings it seems out   of our human presenting form selves.    We are briefly out of frustration for what we cannot change.   Out of anger at our own useless limits to create   something better for others quickly.  Out of hopelessness that what the world   deeply needs   is taking far too long to arrive.    We each are going to stand on the brink. One foot in the past, one in the future.  Reflecting on what was and imagining what might be.    We will see you on the other side.  The side where we shift from resting deeply to waiting restlessly.    Awaiting the moment we wake before the alarm   To get back to the place where we get to try at least to make things change.    Lacing up boots and scrambling toward the path rising up  From the past, well-worn from ancestors’ travels    Where the clouds streak purple at dawn and dusk  Reminding us that there is a rhythm to this universe  And our job is simply to find the current beat.    When we meet not to meet but to readily meet the moment.    So while we are out of office…  Don’t mistake the quiet for quitting.   Don’t confuse the rest with relinquishing.  When we return to our minds, to ourselves, to our mission, to our meaning, to our evolution of the revolution—the rest will be history and trust and believe….  It will also be history in the making. (Thank you for reading the annual poem I write to my staff at The Skillman Foundation. Here's to all we will do together in 2025.)

🌟 5 Organization Design Questions to Prep for 2025 🌟 De-cember—is more than just the last chapter of the year. It’s a chance to de-clutter, de-tach, de-lete, and even de-compose the habits, processes, or ideas that no longer serve us. It’s about making room for what truly matters in your organization. For leaders, this reflective process is not just about tidying up; it’s about creating space to innovate, realign, and prepare for the road ahead. With 2025 on the horizon, it’s time to ask some bold questions about our organizations—questions that challenge the status quo and unlock pathways for success. 🌟 Below are 5 Organization Design Questions to guide thinking and action as the new year approaches: 1️⃣ What to Let Go? Which processes, mindsets, or skills no longer serve our goals and should be left behind? Holding onto outdated approaches only weighs organizations down. Letting go creates the space needed to innovate and move forward with purpose. 2️⃣ How to Regain Focus? What single aspect is essential for achieving ambitious goals? How can you design your organization to strengthen and amplify that focus? Reclaiming focus is about cutting through the noise and building systems that channel energy into what truly matters. 3️⃣ How to Simplify? What can be simplified to improve efficiency, optimize results, and evoke well-being? Complexity often stalls progress. Streamlining processes drives results and unlocks organizational potential. 4️⃣ How to Engage? What actions will inspire meaningful connections and drive commitment toward shared goals? True engagement goes beyond surface-level initiatives—it’s about creating a shared sense of purpose that energizes teams and aligns them with strategic objectives. 5️⃣ How to Stay Relevant? What changes must you embrace to align with evolving trends and anticipate future demands? Staying relevant requires more than just keeping up; it’s about actively shaping the future and positioning your organization to lead in an ever-changing landscape. Each of these questions highlights essential pillars of organizational success. Reflecting on them now, as the year winds down, can set the stage for a stronger, more focused year ahead. How will your organization evolve in 2025? What will you let go of? Where will your focus sharpen? What changes will strengthen your impact and success in the new year? #OrganizationDesign #2025 #Focus #OrgDesign

Principle 7: Build a united Left Our consistent task, which hasn’t changed, is to build and unify the Left. Build the Left: by being open and radically welcoming to new and newly politicized folks;  by creating and designing groups that make it easy for people to get involved;  by building our organizable base through focusing on small, local organizing and mutual aid. Unify the left:  by building coalitions;  by working across difference;  by embracing a diversity of tactics and tendencies;  by eschewing virtue signaling, elitism, and political purity;  and by aiming—as Margaret Killjoy writes in her article “The sky is falling; We’ve got this” (in the comments)—to “deescalate all conflict that isn’t with the enemy”. ********************* As we adjust to our new and changing political reality post-election, there are principles that can guide our strategy and next moves. Each day over the next couple weeks, Roan is sharing one guiding principle (along with a resource or two) here on our page that can help ground our work on the Left, no matter what the future brings.