Want to learn about resilience from nature's perspective? Ever wondered how the principles of resilience, transformative justice and emergent strategy can be applied to human societies and movements? Curious about how these principles have been put into practice by famous personalities and organizations like Germany's World Cup team, Brenda Salgado, Marie Varghese, and Black Lives Matter? Dive in to discover how we can navigate change, deal with adversity, and create a world where everyone has the space and support to heal and thrive.

Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

Emergent strategy is a fascinating approach to navigating change in a dynamic environment, drawing inspiration from nature. The principles of emergent strategy emphasize small beginnings, constant change, and the importance of relationships. From mycelium networks underground fostering healthy ecosystems to the synchronized movements of starlings adapting without a central leader, nature teaches us about interconnectedness, adaptability, and collective leadership.

Consider the resilience of dandelions, often seen as weeds but possessing deep roots and the ability to regenerate. Similarly, emergent strategy values resilience, seeing failure as a lesson and trusting people to become trustworthy. It's about focusing on critical connections and moving at the speed of trust.

In Detroit, the artist collective Complex Movements explores these concepts through multimedia performances, using natural elements like ferns and ants to engage communities in social justice movements. They show how small-scale solutions can impact the whole system, embodying the idea that the micro reflects the macro.

This approach is echoed in the transformation of The Ruckus Society, which evolved from a masculine action culture to a deeply collaborative, feminist organization. By aligning their internal practices with their vision for social change, they shifted from surface-level actions to systemic-change-oriented direct action, emphasizing impacted leadership and long-term community relationships.

Embracing emergent strategy means practicing the world we wish to see at every level, from personal interactions to large-scale movements. It's about living intentionally, fostering collaboration, and transforming ourselves to transform the world. As we navigate the crises of our time, this approach helps us build a future rooted in justice, sustainability, and interconnectedness.

Can Nature's Wisdom Guide Us Toward Social Justice and Systemic Change?

Intentional adaptation is about how we change with purpose. Think of the starlings’ murmuration, where each bird focuses on its seven closest neighbors, creating a cohesive and synchronized flock. Similarly, water shows us how to be versatile and adaptable, always seeking balance.

From nature, we learn valuable lessons. For instance, the resilience of oak trees during hurricanes, which survive by intertwining their roots underground. This teaches us about the power of interdependence and decentralized efforts, vital for movements facing instability.

Malkia Cyril reminds us that change is inevitable and time is unfathomable, which fuels the courage to keep moving forward amidst challenges. Human evolution, as noted by Frank Herbert in "Dune," is an ongoing process influenced by eternal principles.

Intentional adaptation, the core of emergent strategy, is about staying purposeful amid changes. Many react to change with fear or stress, often because they lack a clear vision. Instead, embracing change and focusing on strategic intentions leads to better collaboration and innovation.

In group settings, fostering trust and shared vision is essential. Decentralized work, inspired by the murmuration of starlings or the shoaling of fish, allows for fluid and efficient adaptation. Leaders must build trust within the group, making adaptation a collective effort rather than a burden on a single person.

Aisha Shillingford draws inspiration from water’s adaptability, emphasizing the importance of understanding our purpose and direction. Malkia Cyril’s connection with nature reinforces the idea that change is an integral part of life, reminding us to stay grounded in our purpose.

When facing change, it’s crucial to practice ease, adapt intentionally, and remain connected to our vision. Embracing the lessons from nature and fostering interdependence can lead to a more resilient and effective movement.

Embrace Change Like Starlings: Lessons from Nature and Visionaries

Change is rarely straightforward; it takes winding paths and cycles, much like the butterfly effect in chaos theory, where a small action can lead to a massive impact. Transformation, both personal and collective, is nonlinear and iterative. 

Brenda Salgado, for instance, reflects on how nature's cycles of harvest and rest elucidate the importance of community celebrations in our transformation efforts. Similarly, Marie Varghese draws inspiration from fiddleheads, the young ferns that spiral out slowly, teaching patience and perspective shifts.

Sierra Pickett compares movement work to composting, emphasizing the need to grow from our mistakes and setbacks. Peter Hardie reminds us that the universe is a blend of order and chaos, and we must accept both in our organizing efforts.

Movements like Occupy and Black Lives Matter exemplify nonlinear growth, facing challenges yet contributing to the broader justice we seek. Our emotional growth is equally nonlinear, often requiring us to revisit old wounds and learn new lessons. adrienne maree brown shares a poignant narrative about time-traveling emotions, where past grief and joy resurface in the present, teaching resilience and the power of feeling.

In movements, critique and constructive feedback are part of the learning process, yet there’s a fine line between helpful critique and being a hater. Brown advises that if a movement doesn't serve you, it's best to either support it constructively or quietly step away, rather than detract from it.

Ultimately, transforming ourselves and our society requires embracing the messiness of change, honoring our emotions, and learning from each cycle. Movements are messy, iterative, and deeply human—each step, mistake, and success is part of the journey toward a more just and compassionate world.

Can Movements Like Black Lives Matter Teach Us the Art of Embracing Chaos and Transformation?

Resilience is our ability to recover and transform after adversity. Nature provides us with countless examples of resilience. Mushrooms detoxify and nourish soil after trauma, and forests regenerate after fires. Starfish can regrow limbs if their core remains intact. These natural phenomena remind us that healing is organic and part of our birthright.

Humans, too, are remarkably resilient. We endure loss, pain, and hardship but persist and recover. Our resilience often shines in moments of challenge and adversity. For individuals and communities, transformative justice is a core practice of resilience. It involves changing the conditions that allow injustice to thrive and addressing harm creatively and sustainably.

Nature’s resilience teaches us that everything in the ecosystem has a role and nothing is disposable. Similarly, in human societies, we must learn to value every individual and find non-punitive ways to address harm. Transformative justice asks us to look beyond immediate reactions and seek the root causes of conflict, transforming pain into growth and healing.

In sports, resilience and emergent strategy are evident. Germany’s World Cup team demonstrated how collective focus and adaptability can overcome individual star power. This approach mirrors nature’s way of working in unison and adapting to change.

Transformative justice in our personal lives involves honesty, boundaries, and community support. It requires us to understand abusive dynamics, take responsibility, and seek mediation for healing and transformation. It’s about recognizing our patterns and working towards healthier relationships.

In movements for social change, transformative justice is crucial. We must pivot from punitive responses to systemic change, asking why harm occurs and how we can learn and grow from it. By practicing transformative justice, we can build a culture of trust, resilience, and interdependence, ensuring that our communities and movements are strong and vibrant.

Ultimately, resilience is about embracing our human nature, learning from pain, and continuously striving for balance and healing. Let’s commit to transformative justice and create a world where everyone has the space and support to heal and thrive.

From Nature to Nations: Embracing Resilience and Transformative Justice

Creating more possibilities in life is about embracing the unique, the imaginative, and the transformative. From the roots of a tree reaching for water to humans manifesting endless potential, the natural world teaches us about resilience, diversity, and growth. As Paul Stamets reminds us, mushrooms find new food in the most unexpected places, echoing the limitless possibilities we can create for ourselves.

Chrislene DeJean reflects on a walk in the arboretum, marveling at trees with roots stretching into a stream. This imagery of persistence and adaptation encourages us to find ways to grow and thrive, even in the face of limitations. Similarly, Jay-Marie Hill trusts nature to reimagine justice and hope, drawing parallels to how water shapes its path through the world, constantly adapting and nourishing life.

Brenda Salgado learns generosity and the beauty of blossoming from plants, teaching us that when we open up, we inspire others to do the same. Biodiversity, the variety of life, is a testament to nature's ability to create options, a lesson we can apply to our human practices by embracing diverse ecosystems over monocultures.

Water, with its ability to move through obstacles, vaporize, freeze, and nourish, is a powerful metaphor for human potential. Jayeesha Dutta finds healing and balance living between the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, reminding us that like water, we can remain in balance through life's highs and lows.

Joan Morgan, a priest of Yemoja, finds solace in the ocean's constant movement. She learns not to equate visibility with productivity and finds peace in flowing with life's currents. Nia Eshu Robinson emphasizes the necessity of true diversity for survival, advocating for inclusive and liberating social movements.

In the realm of strategy, creating more possibilities challenges the traditional military concept of narrowing down to one path. Instead, it encourages embracing abundance and diversity, experimenting, and allowing new ideas to flourish. This approach fosters authentic unity and ensures that no one is left behind in our quest for justice and equity.

Sofia Samatar's exploration of "Quantum Blackness" highlights the complexity and infinite possibilities within Black existence, emphasizing the need for a multitude of experiments and perspectives.

Collaborative ideation, the process of birthing new ideas together, is crucial for creating a world that works for everyone. By sharing the creative process, we ensure that diverse concerns are addressed from the outset, strengthening relationships and expanding possibilities.

Embracing practices from the natural world, whether through meditation, mindfulness, or permaculture, helps us stay grounded and connected. Dani McClain's meditation practice, rooted in Buddhist principles, illustrates how mindfulness can help us navigate uncertainty and remain centered.

Ultimately, creating more possibilities is about collective dreaming, visioning, and implementing a future that honors all our gifts and embraces complexity. By learning from nature, practicing resilience, and fostering collaboration, we can shape a world where infinite possibilities abound.

Can Nature's Wisdom Unlock Infinite Human Potential?

Emergent Strategy is about transforming ourselves and the world around us through meaningful practices. Think of it as a personal and collective evolution, where meditation, somatics, and visionary fiction become tools for transformation. By engaging in various practices like yoga, daily rituals, and journaling, we tap into our own potential, healing ourselves and our communities simultaneously.

Take "coevolution through friendship"—a term inspired by rapper Drake's "woes," which means "Working On Excellence." It's about growing intentionally with people who know your aspirations and challenges. It's friendship with transparency and purpose. This idea of mutual transformation was further explored by Gibrán Rivera in the "Engage Community of Practice," highlighting how we evolve in relationships of shared growth.

In parallel, practices like meditation and somatics help us understand our interconnectedness. Meditation, often misunderstood, is about choosing where our attention goes, allowing us to be present and intentional. Somatics, on the other hand, is the study of the body in its wholeness, emphasizing that change doesn't just come from thinking differently but from connecting with our body's wisdom.

Moreover, social media can also be a tool for intimate community building. Groups like "Sugar Shift" on Facebook and "Am I the Artist or Am I the Art?" on Instagram provide spaces for people to support each other through lifestyle changes and self-celebration. These platforms become places of vulnerability, honesty, and transformation.

Finally, visionary fiction offers a way to imagine and practice the future. It's not about utopian or dystopian narratives but about realistic, hopeful stories that center marginalized voices. Through writing and sharing stories, we practice shaping the future collectively.

In essence, Emergent Strategy is about being intentional with our practices, engaging in personal and collective transformation, and creating a future that aligns with our values. It's a journey of evolving ourselves and our communities, grounded in the belief that healing and transformation are interconnected.

Drake-Inspired Transformation: How Emergent Strategy Fuels Personal and Collective Evolution

In Jemez, New Mexico, representatives from diverse backgrounds gathered to discuss globalization and trade, hosted by the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice. 

They established the "Jemez Principles" for democratic organizing, which emphasize inclusivity, bottom-up organizing, letting people speak for themselves, solidarity, building just relationships, and self-transformation. These principles aim to create alternative policies to neo-liberalism and ensure equitable wealth and work distribution.

Protocols, inspired by Indigenous communities, were highlighted for their clarity in honoring culture, leadership, and history. Groups like Bay Area Solidarity Action Team (BASAT) and #Asians4BlackLives (A4BL) were mentioned for their powerful principles guiding solidarity work, emphasizing inclusivity, diversity of tactics, trust, transparency, bold action, and collective healing.

The text also discussed efficient consensus decision-making, stressing the importance of proposal-based decisions to avoid confusion and ensure all voices are heard. This method involves identifying decision areas, having exploratory conversations, developing proposals, and reviewing them collectively.

Strategic intentions were likened to a north star, guiding organizations to adapt while staying true to their mission. The process involves visioning, mission alignment, and setting strategic intentions to embody sustainable practices.

Facilitation tools for collaboration included study groups, DARCI grids for decision clarity, agenda templates to streamline meetings, and techniques for nonlinear planning like post-it notes and circular agendas. 

Conflict resolution tools such as talking circles and mediation were highlighted for their effectiveness in deepening relationships and resolving disputes. The author emphasized the importance of individual and collective reflection, transformative justice, and fostering interdependence to build resilient, decentralized organizations.

Overall, the narrative underscored the importance of inclusivity, strategic planning, and collaborative decision-making in building strong, just movements.

Can the Jemez Principles Revolutionize Global Trade and Democracy?

Navigating change through emergent strategy involves embracing principles inspired by nature, such as interconnectedness, adaptability, and collective leadership. This approach values small beginnings, resilience, and the importance of relationships, drawing from examples like mycelium networks and the synchronized movements of starlings. It emphasizes the significance of critical connections, moving at the speed of trust, and seeing failure as a learning opportunity.

Incorporating these principles into social justice movements and organizations can lead to transformative change. This involves shifting from surface-level actions to systemic-change-oriented practices, fostering impacted leadership, and aligning internal practices with broader visions for social change. Embracing emergent strategy means living intentionally, fostering collaboration, and transforming ourselves to transform the world.

Intentional adaptation is key—it's about purposeful change in response to dynamic environments, much like the adaptability of starlings or water. Embracing change with strategic intentions fosters better collaboration and innovation. Trust and shared vision are crucial in group settings, allowing for decentralized and fluid adaptation.

Resilience is central to this strategy, with lessons drawn from nature's ability to recover and transform after adversity. This extends to transformative justice practices, which focus on addressing harm creatively and sustainably, rather than punitively. Emphasizing non-punitive ways to address conflict and valuing every individual are crucial for building trust, resilience, and interdependence.

Creating more possibilities involves embracing diversity, imagination, and transformation. Nature teaches resilience and growth through diverse ecosystems, which can inform human practices. Embracing abundance and diversity in strategy encourages experimentation and ensures that no one is left behind in the quest for justice and equity.

Emergent strategy also involves personal and collective evolution through meaningful practices. Engaging in meditation, somatics, and visionary fiction helps tap into potential and foster interconnectedness. Platforms for community support and storytelling provide spaces for vulnerability and transformation.

Ultimately, emergent strategy is about intentional practice, personal and collective transformation, and creating a future aligned with shared values. It underscores the importance of inclusivity, strategic planning, and collaborative decision-making in building resilient, just movements grounded in interconnectedness and adaptability.

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Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

Adrienne Maree Brown

8 Key ideas

22 MINS

4.9 (983)

Want to learn about resilience from nature's perspective?

Ever wondered how the principles of resilience, transformative justice and emergent strategy can be applied to human societies and movements?

Curious about how these principles have been put into practice by famous personalities and organizations like Germany's World Cup team, Brenda Salgado, Marie Varghese, and Black Lives Matter?

Dive in to discover how we can navigate change, deal with adversity, and create a world where everyone has the space and support to heal and thrive.

Key Ideas

#1