Thinking about momentum

http://www.theharwoodinstitute.org/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/8383 (This is a web site from the Harwood Institute that should take you to Rich Harwood's discussion of the 3As of public life -- authority, accountability and authenticity. Those three As are critical to a change process.


Change is not something for which most people clamor. Most of us really like it when things stay pretty much the same and we don't have to put up with the dissonance brought on by change. Jeanne Robertson, a well-know professional public speaker from North Carolina, used to have a line she used in her talks, "People don't change until the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same." When you think about community building you naturally have to think about change and how to make it happen for the public good.

In Hartsville we are thinking about some major change as we try to determine how to make the positive living in Hartsville experience more visible to potential residents before they make the resident-location decision. To recap, we lose a lot of people who work in Hartsville to another nearby area that is perceived as a larger city with more "to do." We are working on Selling Hartsville with the change proposition -- Hartsville -- The Art of Good Living. Just a few minutes ago I heard someone on NPR quoted as saying they wanted 'that guy in Portland to be quiet, we don't want to share the Portland secrets with the rest of you...' was the jist of the statement. We have some in Hartsville who probably feel that way but we also have a good many volunteers in Selling Hartsville who are enthused about finding ways to bring in new neighbors and friends to this dynamic, cosmopolitan small community.

And, that brings me the question of the 3As in Community Building. This effort at Selling Hartsville is a boundary spanning effort that encompasses just about any organization you can think of. We have a lot of action happening. We have a lot of momentum building. We are using authority for this effort from months of listening to community members saying this is something that needs to be done. The listening is paying off in the variety of people from all areas of the town who are helping build this program.

Accountability gets a little cloudier in the Selling Hartsville program. During one group meeting the facilitator suggested that those who wanted to make this happen start working to make it happen and the selling process would begin to happen. We are moving and we are holding ourselves accountable in the various task forces. We are hoping to be so transparent that in a short time the residents of the city begin to discuss accountability and begin to ensure this process takes off.

As a community project the question of authenticity is at every turn. But, again, with a commitment to be open, with a desire for as much involvement as possible and with so much to be gained on so many levels, the question of authenticity of motive and authenticity of action is open for the assessment of any who want to view or to join.

At the same time, it appears to me as we all think about community building and positive change to make Hartsville one of the best places in the world in which to live, we have to be certain that we are holding ourselves and others to the principles inherent in the 3As of authenticity, authority and accountability. Failing to establish those basic foundations will stall any real progress toward getting the world to recognize Hartsville as a town that understands and practices The art of good living.