Read Alan’s first two blog on this topic Do you proactively de-escalate ‘diverse’ personalities in your life? and Dealing with diverse personalities: Risk vs Protective Factors – Part II Remember the climax of the “Wizard of Oz” when Dorothy gets herself back to Kansas? Good Witch of the North Glinda lets Dorothy in on the... Read More

Read Alan’s first blog on this topic Do you proactively de-escalate ‘diverse’ personalities in your life? I’m facilitating a retreat later this fall about dealing with diverse personalities in Arcosanti, AZ. I’ve been asked by a few people about what the “strength-based” approach I’ll be using is about. Risk and protective factors are a little... Read More

In the last week, a colleague sent me the link for a TEDx talk entitled: Conflict: Use it, Don’t Defuse It. The two presenters, CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke, are professional facilitators and they do a good job of laying out their main premise: that conflict is inherently neither good nor bad, yet most people... Read More

When lying awake last night reflecting on various decisions made in cohousing and in my neighborhood community, I explored some questions about what is open and transparent in a world where everyone belongs to several organizations and tries to involve and represent a larger community. What is required to truly inform and solicit information about... Read More

A woman in the sociocracy discussion group at the cohousing conference asked about people who join being able to change policies. The group has a pet policy but the new person wants it changed. My response was that policies are always open for reconsideration. The answer was too short and I’m hoping she or someone...

Personally I object to the use of the word “block” as synonymous with “objection” and this entry explains some of the reasons why. What is a block? This is not a facetious question. If this is the word people want to use, what does it mean? From the accounts on the Cohousing-L email discussion list... Read More

One of the ways the principles and methods used by sociocracy speed up decision-making is going directly to objections instead of discussing the proposal. The proposal should state the perceived advantages or reasons why a decision is needed. The presenters will also have presented the issues and options they considered. After clarifying questions, there is... Read More

“It is a strategy I think a community could use to jump start their program, and then talk about how to reduce the centralization after a year or more of successful meals. Since we have quite slowly added new households it is quite clear that our successful meals program is what has helped get more... Read More

Question: We are 3 months into starting a co-housing community in western MA. We will soon be discussing how we will make group decisions. I don’t think we have to reinvent the wheel on this one. Consensus and sociocracy seem to be common strategies. Which do you recommend? Sociocracy and consensus are not opposite things.... Read More