Avoiding the risk of poor community decisions
Every week when we read our local paper, there is a story about some contentious community problem. It seems community leaders are often trying to explain themselves after the fact; when “solutions” are already underway. Projects are stopped, lawsuits filed, and the cost of the solution suddenly skyrockets.  How can a community reduce its exposure to these very real, very expensive risks?

John Blakinger currently co-chairs the South Deschutes County – North Klamath County Groundwater Protection Citizen Advisory Committee to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.  The committee was formed in 2010 after citizens repealed an onsite septic system ordinance, voted out a county commissioner and filed a lawsuit against Deschutes County.  There is hard evidence of groundwater contamination in some neighborhoods and warranted concern for future risk to public health and declining property values. But, public anger over the situation has made resolving the problem of groundwater protection very difficult indeed. More about the problem is available at Groundwater Committee Site.

To help communities avoid backlash from faulty decision-making processes that result in poor decisions, John and co-author Greg Ranstrom recently published a book, The Moment of Oh!, that describes five stages and seven core principles of community engagement.

5 Stages of Engagement
There is a progression of reactions or stages which a person goes through when encountering a problem.  The “Stages of Engagement” chart on the right defines these. Stages:

• “What?” I don’t know about/am unaware of the situation.
• “No!” It’s not a problem for me.
• “Oh!” I will be impacted and must do something.
• “Whoa!” There is no perfect solution.
• “Let’s Go!” We’ve chosen the best solution, so let’s implement it.

If not enough community members have arrived at the Moment of Oh!, there is a high risk that the community won’t support the decision. And, if the decision involves large expenditures (as did the original groundwater ordinance – about $20,000 per property), the community will likely fall into a pit of hostility and mistrust; feelings that are reinforced by a sense of wasted money and wasted time.

How can we get community members to arrive at their Moment of Oh!, even if they engage with the problem late in the decision-making process?

One way leaders and community members can help is by sharing the path they took to get to their Moment of Oh!  This is the core principle called, “Leave Tracks.”

Leave Tracks
Imagine that you have visitors coming to your house from different locations.  Each visitor will take a different path to get to your home. Rather than focus your directions on where you live, you should describe specific routes that begin from each person’s unique starting point.

This approach also applies to providing guidance for people finding their way through the stages of engagement in arriving at community decisions. The more paths to the Moment of Oh! shared by multiple individuals – with varying interests – the better the chance the community will support the decision process and eventual solution.

You can read more about avoiding the risks of failed community decisions and get an e-book copy of “The Moment of Oh!” at Civilsay.net.

Bio:
John Blakinger began his career as a systems engineer for EDS. After recognizing that people need more than software to be successful, John began working on improving processes and leading people. Over the last decade he has focused on team/community achievement within corporations, government agencies and NGOs. John co-chairs the citizen advisory committee advising the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on groundwater issues in Central Oregon.

Greg Ranstrom brings over 25 years of experience teaching corporate, government, and non-profit leaders how to flip organizational chaos and conflict into creative cross-functional solutions. He runs several fellowship programs for the American Leadership Forum focusing on collaborative responses to community challenges. Greg has recently worked with technology start-up companies to foster vital cultures during fast growth.

John and Greg co-authored  The Moment of Oh! Making Community Decisions, CivilSay Press 2013. They are also the co-founders of CivilSay™ (www.civilsay.net).