Certainty - brain chocolate.

Certainty is to the brain as chocolate is to Tracy & Tammy.

The brain is constantly seeking patterns and is trying to predict the future. It CRAVES certainty. A primary reward or threat for the brain, it causing people who experience an increase in the unknown to AVOID engagement. It causes a negative response in the orbital frontal cortex, we fixate on the threat.

Certainty is the second of five principles of brain-based engagement.  Read more in our previous blogs on SCARF: Overview, S-Status.

Here's an example. A local big box store recently went under massive renovations while still having part of the store operational.  There were tarps hiding what was being worked on, and the layout of the store gradually shifted.  Things were not as they usually were.  People were seen pushing their buggies with glazed expressions, not knowing where to look or where to go. Others couldn't help themselves and peeked behind the tarps, hoping to get more information about what was going on. While others, whose AVOID response was most activated, voluntarily stopped shopping at the store all together.

When you transfer this concept to a situation where an agency is doing a re-org or when someone is new on the job or just moved into a community, or implementing a new software system you can see that a great deal of attention is required to satisfy the huge need for information. It also explains a great deal of the negative behaviours we see during change. When people are AVOIDING due to a lack of certainty, expect some behaviours driven by fear, threat and/or feelings of loss.

So how about you?  In what kinds of situations or level of uncertainty do you begin to AVOID?

Can you arrive at an event to offer your help only to be told to "deal with the catering"?  For some people, questions like; how many people, who is in charge? what's on the menu? screams out.

Are you eager or hesitant when someone is talking and you're not sure if they are asking something of you?

How do you feel if you don't know what your employer's/client's expectations are of you?

Can you tolerate not knowing when you'll next get some chocolate? (just joking!)

What's your certainty threshold?

When dealing with others, remember that we all react differently.  Your threshold might be much more sensitive than another person's.  How do you support a situation if you want someone to be engaged and not running away with fear? Here are a few ideas;

• Clearly map out plans.  Even though things rarely follow a plan, having one appeases our brains craving. Dates and timelines are important in these plans.
• Communicate before, during and after change. 
• Break down complex and confusing tasks into bite sized pieces.
• Establish clear expectations for all involved.
• Regularly provide chocolate!

RTV #29 Are you up for a 30 Day Challenge?

A Year of Raising the Village - week #29:  Try a 30 day challenge.

They say that if you do something (or stop something) everyday for 30 days you can start to form (or break) a habit. Matt Cutts, seen in this short TED talk, did a series of 30 day challenges - always something new, sometimes little and sometimes significant. He offers 3 important lessons from the experience.

1.  Time was memorable. With a focus on the challenge, those 30 days don't just blend into all the other months of the year - they become purposeful and defined by the experiences that were created during the challenge.

2.  Challenges increase self-confidence and spirit of adventure. Cutts found that after a few 30 day challenges under his belt, he became bolder and keen to try challenges that pushed him out of his comfort zone.

3.  The small challenges are sustainable - the big, hard, crazy ones aren't.  What a good community development lesson here! We've seen community builders try to pull off BIG massive changes when the little things are the actions that might actually stick around long enough to truly make a difference!

Consider doing a 30 day challenge of your own, or buddy up with a friend or colleague, or go a bit bigger and engage an entire community collaborative in a challenge. Need some ideas? Take a photograph everyday for 30 days, bike to work everyday, write a book (1,666 words per day for 30 days and you've got yourself a 50,000 word novel) or cruise through past Raising the Village blogs to find some community building ideas: could you pick up litter, connect with a friend, say hi to a stranger, talk to a business about being family friendly, eat local, carpool, share stories, dance, eat with your family.... for 30 days?

We are in for the challenge.  We at Raising the Village plan to take a photo about "collaboration" everyday for 30 days starting today (July 18 - August 16th)!  Follow our pics on Facebook (click here to go to FB and like our page).

What 30 day challenge will you do?

RTV #22 - Top 10 little actions

A Year of Raising the Village. Week #22 Our top 10 "little" picks to build social capital.


Better Together is a book and website (bettertogether.org) by Robert Putnam and Lewis Feldstein. Putnam is an author that influenced us a great deal when researching for our book Raising the Village.

Better Together is about building social capital - which we have blogged about before. It is defined as the collective value of all the social connections that people have and the desire from these groups to do things for each other. The authors write that, "social capital is built through hundreds of little and big actions we take everyday." From their list of 150 things that people can do to build social capital, we wanted to share our top ten picks of the little actions. Those little things that if done regularly and/or if done by more people, DO add up to make a difference.

Top 10 Little Actions

1. donate blood


2. avoid gossip


3. ask to see a friend's family photos


4. see if your neighbour needs anything when you run to the store


5. hang out at the town dump...and chat with neighbours as you sort your trash for recycling


6. say hi to people in the elevator


7. buy a BIG hot tub (ok the price tag isn't so little, but it sounds fun!)


8. sit on your front step


9. pick it up -- even if you didn't drop it


10. log off and go to the park

Village Raising Question
What little thing have you done lately that contributes to social capital?

RTV #20 - Support and be Supported by a Service Club.

A Year of Raising the Village -- Week #20.  Service Clubs Support.


"An association of business or professional people with the aims of promoting community welfare and goodwill."  Sounds like the work you do?  It also aptly describes the role of service clubs around the world.  Service clubs have a long, long history..for example, Rotary International has been around for over a century, not to mention the really old ones steeped in mystery and intrigue thanks to author Dan Brown!


Many people automatically think of service clubs as a source of money.  Yes, they fundraise, but consider the influence and momentum that could be leveraged by having access to a group of willing people "to promote community welfare." That priviledge of access, like everything else, means more than asking for money...it means developing a relationship.


Here are a few of the major ones, along with their missions.  Match your needs and their needs for big impact!  OR consider joining up.
Rotary International:  What would it take to change the world? Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto Service Above Self.


Kin Canada (formerly Kinsmen and Kinettes - way to evolve!!):  Kin Canada is a dynamic volunteer organization enriching communities through service while embracing national pride, positive values, personal development and lasting friendships. Each club operates autonomously when determining how it fundraises and distributes those funds within the local community.


Lions Club International:  In 206 countries, in hospitals and senior centers, in regions battered by natural disaster, in schools and eyeglass recycling centers, Lions are doing community volunteer work, helping, leading, planning and supporting. Because they're local, they can serve the unique needs of the communities they live in. And because they're global, they can address challenges that go beyond borders. Specific areas of interest include VISION, HEALTH, YOUTH and ENVIRONMENT.


Fraternal Order of Eagles:  The Fraternal Order of Eagles is an international non-profit organization uniting fraternally in the spirit of liberty, truth, justice, and equality, to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills and promoting peace, prosperity, gladness and hope.  The Fraternal Order of Eagles uphold and nourish the values of home, family and community "that are so necessary and it seems so often get ignored and trampled in today's society."


Soroptomist International: Soroptimist International is a vibrant, dynamic organisation for today's professional and business women. They are committed to a world where women and girls together achieve their individual and collective potential, realise aspirations and have an equal voice in creating strong, peaceful communities worldwide.  Soroptimists inspire action and create opportunities to transform the lives of women and girls through a global network of members and international partnerships. Club projects range from renovating domestic violence shelters and providing mammograms to low-income women, 
to sponsoring self-esteem workshops for teenage girls. 


Village Raising Question:

Service Clubs vary in focus and strength from community to community.  Which groups have you had experience with or have been partners with in your village raising/community building processes?

RTV #14 Embrace Change. Spark Change

A Year of Raising the Village - Week #14. Be the change you wish to see!

Einstein said that we can't solve problems with the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. That means that if we want to see change we have to change ourselves. Change isn't easy for many people. (that is probably an understatement!) As a village raiser, we have the opportunity to set an example by being agents of change. Carla Rieger, a Vancouver based "creativity catalyst" (http://www.artistryofchange.com/) recently shared her top 3 practices in what she describes as the artistry of change.


Choose your attitude.
Fish! (by Stephen Lundin) also does a great job outlining how attitude is all about choice. Feelings are things we can't control, but when it comes to how we approach and respond to situations - we are in the driver's seat. Ask yourself: what attitude are you choosing right now? What attitude do you want in your life more often? What attitude do you want to model in your home, workplace, neighbourhood and community? What attitude will it take to raise the village?


Let go and lean into problems.
Rieger suggests that if the roller coaster of life starts to go downhill, act as if you are confident about dealing with the situation until you also feel confident. It's a "fake it until you make it" or "think it and you'll be it" scenario. Actions and feelings are intertwined. Psychology suggests that the brain tells the body how to feel and then the body acts accordingly. As the roller coaster starts going downhill, pry your white knuckles off the bar, lean into the rapid change in altitude and FEEL (don't resist) the thrill. Recently, a group of innovative village raisers came together getting ready for ACTION! They had talked and explored and researched and were narrowing in on a project that had some exciting potential. The closer the group got to making a decision, people resisted, hesitated and pulled back with increasing force, Rieger calls these folks change-challenged. Take her quiz to find out if you are change-challenged or a change artist - and LEAN in.

Think in possibilities.
Creative thinking can be learned and practiced. Books (and apps) are filled with brain games to generate ideas, create new opportunities and improve old products or processes. Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko is just one resource that we use to break out of traditional patterns of thinking and play around in the innovation sandbox. Gamestorming by Gray, Brown and Mucanufo is another one that has tools for groups. Ask "what if" more often.

Ghandi said be the change you want to see. Can't argue with that! Einstein and Ghandi were pretty smart and both changed the world!

Related blogs:
Take the Change-agent Challenge
Be a Mischief-maker


Village Raising Question: What's the change you are going to be?

Take a Change-agent Challenge!

Your group or organization is about to undertake on a new project. As a group you’ve asked:

Why is this project important?

How does this project get to the change we seek?

What are our outcomes for this project?

How will these outcomes happen? (See the mini-steps from last week’s theory of change blog!).

There is excitement, creative brainstorming, goal setting, and a project vision that speaks to the proposed impact on the community. The group is poised and ready to “set out” and begin on the tasks of making the project happen. To-do lists are made, sub-committees begin to meet, and partnerships are a plenty! Awesome Village Raising stuff AND perhaps there is one more step to consider in this creative project process. Have you thought to ask others (beyond your group) about the impact, influence, and leverage of this project before you dive in to the nitty-gritty details?

We call this a theory of change approach or a “Change-agent Challenge” and it goes something like this:

1. For one week, speak to three people a day (including children and youth and family and friends, people on the street etc.) about the vision of your project. Do they understand the vision without too much explanation? Have they heard of your group and your mission before? What are their reactions?

2. Two weeks later – go back! Choose a sample of the people and go back and ask them to repeat the vision of the project! Do they remember the vision? Can they repeat it without prompts? How memorable is it?

3. Do these people feel the vision includes them? What part of the vision is open enough that it speaks to everyone? How is the language engaging and inclusive? Is it something they feel they can “get behind”? Why or why not?

4. Record all the reactions to the project’s vision. This input can provide valuable insight and evaluative “food for thought” for your collaborative group. How is the vision of this project inspiring community members to engage? How memorable is the vision of this project? Is there a need to “tweak”, add to, or simplify the vision of the project? Has anyone provided a comment that sparks a new idea?

Following these steps encourages the project group to look at that question of “How will we know if this project has impact” in a new way. Collaborative projects have the most impact when they nourish meaning and purpose for all group members and the broader community.

Village Raising Question
If you (or your group) had to identify in 20 words or less what this project stands for, what you believe, and what is truly critical about this work … what would those words be?

Village Raising Challenge
Talk to someone you have never met about your current projects! Rather than trying to persuade them to take part – listen deeply at their response. What is there to learn from this person? What lands as important (or not)?