The power of networks

Busy day today. On the train home from London now.  It started with us not knowing if our house sale was going ahead as planned.   We also didn't know if we had somewhere to live next week.  It ended with an exchange of contracts on our house and our offer accepted on a house.  We've also had a few offers of places to live for the 8 weeks we'll be between houses.

I chatted with a friend about it all this morning.  It's been really stressful - many of you will have been through similar house-moving difficulties.  But we talked about the faith we both have in our own ability to work things out, and that with help of our friends, family and contacts, we trust things will be OK.  That, amidst all the stress, kept me going.

What I don't have such faith in is the world I inhabit.  What do I mean by that sweeping statement?  It's not that I'm a post-Thatcherite individualist.  It's more that I don't have confidence that the State will always see me right.  Or that the businesses that I buy from have really got my interests at heart.  Or that the people who manage the economy will manage it in a way that will ensure future prosperity. Or that our politicians will make the right long-term choices to tackle global poverty.  Or that my fellow UK citizens will see beyond the short-term and begin to live more sustainable lives.   I understand these are big generalisations, but that's how it feels.

I suppose the point that I'm making is that it is through networks that we will create change.  Whether that's small things in our own lives (finding somewhere to live) or big things as a society (stopping runaway climate change), we will make progress with other people.  It's obvious really, but sometimes forgotten.

I was at the second Social Impact Camp this evening.  That's another network where I thing good things can happen.  We are a group of people who want to get better at planning for, achieving, measuring and proving the social good that comes from the work that we do.  Each of us on our own could try to work this out, but would probably struggle, because it can be hard work.  But as a group I think we'll make good progress.

Comments

[Nicola Jones]

Hi Rob,

It's so true what you say about the power of having people around you. It used to be more neighbourhood related - ie. neighbours were a key source of support (not that they aren't to some people now) but I think now as social media has infiltrated many peoples' lives, the strength and support that can also be drawn from those networks is impressive.

Nick Temple wrote a piece not long ago about the importance of different networks to social entrepreneurs, (http://bit.ly/c4cmB0) and it's definitely something we advocate at UnLtdWorld, tapping into the knowledge and support around you and at times also being will to lend that support to others - this is the essence of community in my mind. Those who simply take from and don't give to (or visa versa) their networks never truly realise their full potential.

I have to say what I got out of Social Impact Camp last night was that talking about impact, and how we might measure it is starting to become more fun and less stressful and worrying. It's more enjoyable as we share our worries and doubts amongst the group - and I think you are right, the more we talk about it in a casual way, the more it will help social impact reporting to mean something real to those around us and the more natural it will become.

I guess to sum up, the quote on the Leap Anywhere office wall "If you aren't having fun you aren't doing it right" is something we could all take forward when thinking about social impact measurement.

Nic

[Rob Greenland]

Thanks for your comments Nic. I agree - I can't imagine life now without the networks of people I now know through the blog and Twitter. What I like about it is that there is a common acceptance that whilst the online stuff is good, you still can't beat face-to-face - which is why it's great to meet fellow tweeters and bloggers and UnltdWorld types in the Voice twitter garden and elsewhere!

Even if I say so myself, I think the point I made last night, which you've picked up on here, is an important one. Talking about the change we make in our business needs to become more natural. I need to be down the pub with you and ask you a question about it without you thinking I'm some kind of weirdo or you feeling that you've got to get all technical about it all. If we can come up with some good, appropriate-to-each-of-us ways of doing that through Social Impact Camp, I think that'd be great.