than their neighbors. For example, by replicating successful hand-washing behaviors with their children before eating and feeding them greens and small shellfish gleaned from the rice paddies, they could achieve similar successes in reducing child mortality. This approach is now used by business and social change organizations, ranging from pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck to Save the Children. The three important guideposts for PD are: design, don’t engineer; discover, don’t dictate; decipher, don’t presuppose. PD principles that apply to this case series include: n Invest in a commitment to authentic learning and discovery. n Seek wisdom to solve wicked problems that exist and discover wisdom within the community. n Recognize that individual communities are more likely to implement their own solutions. n Understand that the attitude of discovery requires humility and a quest for learning. n Be aware that interventions unleash unforeseen secondary and tertiary consequences and that they must be detected, deciphered, and manipulated before they have undesirable consequences. n Stay alert to the unforeseen. Candor To effectively address complex challenges requires organizations to be honest about what is and isn’t working. Such challenges are high risk and have a high potential for failure. A culture that does not support candor will not recognize a potential crisis or adapt quickly to navigate obstacles. Often recognizing and reflecting about success or failure happens narrowly within the confines of a certain strategy or program. The larger cultural context that approved or urged use of a strategy may not be part of the reflection. Deliberate Leadership considers such reflections necessary.
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Ten Years in the Making
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