Sherry Immediato - SoL Online

Spring Comes

I received this reminder today, with lists of things to do dancing in my head.

With apologies to our southern friends who will wait 6 more months for spring:

Grass


Spring comes

and the grass

grows by itself.



Zen proverb of unknown origin.

Thanks to Tom Crum for sending this in his monthly Centering Hint mailing.

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Update on Global SoL Evolution Process

[Sent via e-mail 14 Feb 2010]

Dear SoL Members,

I'm writing to you today with an overdue progress report on the work of SoL's "group of 25" who formed last year to guide the process of SoL's global evolution. This group was asked by the SoL, Inc. Council of Trustees to make specific recommendations about the social, legal and economic functioning of SoL as a global network going forward. The members of the G25 came from SoL communities around the world, as well as SoL, Inc, the founding SoL community. They have worked diligently to generate creative options and reach closure on important questions so that SoL can be more effective as a global engaged and reflective learning community.

Over the course of the past 8 months, groups have met to consider (1) SoL's purpose, principles and vision; (2) our governance model going forward including membership structure; (3) our business model and (4) our communication processes and supporting infrastructure to enable the above. We all agree that our purpose, principles and vision should drive the choices that are made on the other questions. How will these choices be made? Ultimately, we know that you and those to come will choose with your "feet" - the reality of SoL will be determined by the engagement of our members. The most recent conversation on http://solevolution.ning.com/ highlights the perennial questions: "What does is mean to be engaged? (and specifically how can we support multiples levels of engagement?)" and "What kind of structure or conditions do we need to provide a container for self-organizing?" Because these questions are relevant to most contemporary systems, I hope many of you will share your thoughts, experiences and learnings as they apply more broadly.

This message includes an update on the group's work on purpose, principles and vision along with an overview of the process going forward and how it will be coordinated. We would like to begin here and follow up with future (shorter!) messages on the other subject areas of governance, business model, and communication & infrastructure.

There are 5 points I've been asked to cover in this report:

  1. A proposed update of SoL's purpose, principles and vision from the group of 25
  2. An Interim Council of Trustees for SoL, Inc. was elected to complete a transition to a global structure
  3. An anticipated call for proposals for SoL Global Forum in 2011
  4. Local SoL communities are meeting on global questions - will you help?
  5. My evolving role beyond managing director for Founding SoL

(1) SoL's Purpose, Principles and Vision

After much consideration, the group of 25 would like to focus attention on our purpose, principles and vision. We believe that it is important to have alignment around purpose and principles, and that from this alignment a mosaic of visions emerges.

Here is a proposed revision of SoL's purpose:

SoL's purpose is to enable people to connect with their deepest aspirations so as to facilitate collaboration for systemic change and social well-being (within individual organizations, communities, industries, sectors like education or healthcare, value chains, societies and regions). We believe that this is only achieved through ways of being with one another based on trust, openness, imagination, genuine caring and collective intelligence. Such ways of being enable us to see the larger systems we are creating and continually evolve these systems in line with what we most want to create and conserve. We also believe that sustained high performance in any setting is only achieved through creating high levels of social well-being.

Embracing organizational learning, SoL aims to contribute to co-creating a regenerative society as a natural by-product of day-to-day ways of living and operating. SoL acts as a platform for collaboration - engaging individuals, teams, organizations and larger networks to enable change. We are defined by our actions, and the quality of our actions is married with the quality of our reflection. Our network consists of and attracts living examples from learning communities nurturing systemic change at all levels. Our aim is to engage a large and diverse number of active members, attracting diverse individuals and communities from all ages, sectors and regions.


You can comment on this proposal (and see the original) at: http://solevolution.ning.com/page/purpose-in-one-line and access more background on the group's work on purpose, principles and vision. There's a particular request for suggestions for a more easy-to-remember one-line version.

Here is the current draft of SoL's principles. There are 2 new principles; the principle on cross-organizational collaboration has been expanded to include cross-cultural and cross-generational collaboration.
  • Drive to Learn - All human beings are born with innate, lifelong desire and ability to learn, which should be enhanced by all organizations.
  • Learning is Social - People learn best from and with one another, and participation in learning communities is vital to their effectiveness, well-being and happiness in any work setting.
  • Learning Communities The capacities and accomplishments of organizations are inseparable from, and dependent on, the capacities of the learning communities which they foster.
  • Cross-Organizational, Cross-Cultural and Cross-Generational Collaboration - Learning communities that connect multiple organizations and link across cultural and generational boundaries significantly enhance their capacity for profound systemic change.
  • Aligning with Nature - It is essential that all organizations and networks of organizations evolve to be in greater harmony with human nature and with the natural world.
  • Well-being and Performance - Sustained high performance in any social system comes through creating high levels of social well-being. (new addition)
  • Core Learning Capabilities - Organizations must develop individual and collective capabilities to sense emerging realities; understand complex, interdependent issues; engage in reflective, generative conversation; nurture personal and shared aspirations; and learn through conscious experimentation and correction.
  • Positive Systemic Impact - All learning is manifest in action and results, and we aim to achieve practical, on-the-ground innovations for healthier social and eco systems. (new addition)
You can comment at: http://solevolution.ning.com/page/enhance-the-sol-principles

Finally, how does all this translate into vision? One thing we re-affirmed in our gatherings and work these past 9 months is that SoL is about creating a field where powerful visions can come forward and be brought into reality. As a diverse global network of networks, there are a great many visions that people are working together to manifest. We came to this same conclusion twelve years ago when the first SoL constitution was crafted based on a statement if purpose and principles but no one vision. So, it is up to each of us to build the shared visions that most express our individual and collective aspirations.

I've posted a few short vision statements from members of the group of 25 at:http://solevolution.ning.com/page/sols-vision-in-our-lives You are invited to post your vision for SoL. Remember to put yourself in the picture! Rather than create a single vision statement; we want to help the system see the mosaic of visions that we bring to our community.

It is our intention to complete the revision of the purpose and principles for global SoL by April 30th.


(2) SoL Inc.'s Interim Council of Trustees was elected to complete a transition to a global structure

When the Group of 25 reported on its initial work to the SoL, Inc. Council of Trustees of Founding SoL last summer and fall, a number of practical issues were evident in moving the general recommendations and insights of the Group of 25 to implementation. The council decided to dissolve itself and to establish an interim council to work out the next steps in setting up the governance structure, business model, communication structure for SoL as a global network which can enable and provide useful guidance to the network of existing SoL communities. This includes the specific responsibility to establish a global SoL entity AND address the legacy business issues from the Founding SoL. Specifically, the interim council will assume responsibility for SoL's assets and liabilities. The Founding SoL Council of Trustees felt that many of the liabilities of "founding SoL" (which total approximately $275,000) represented start-up costs of building the SoL brand and should not be separated from SoL's assets. Since the new global governance structure is not yet established, the Founding SoL Council ultimately proposed a resolution to the voting members to insure that SoL's fiduciary responsibilities are being carried out while creating a viable bridging mechanism for the future. An interim council was proposed to the community by the retiring council as representing a cross section of the community with passion for completing the transition process while also including needed capability for fundraising. The details of the specific amendment to the SoL, Inc. constitution are available at: http://blogs.solonline.org/users/immediato/

On December 29th, the members of founding SoL elected the following people to serve as the Interim Council through June 30, 2011 or until a new governance structure is established (whichever comes first). We hope to model the attributes of a desired governance structure going forward in actually making decisions about governance and other matters. The group will meet monthly alternating between face to face and telephone meetings and will meet next in person on in April. It is our intention to be transparent and share our work with the entire SoL community.

Peter Senge and Alfred Hanner are serving as co-chairs of the Interim Council. Members of the Interim Council are:

  1. Peter Senge, member Group of 25; research member
  2. Stefan Skarin, SoL Sweden corporate member; member Group of 25
  3. Alfred Hanner, Corporate member (Saudi Aramco): Coordinator for Gulf SoL; facilitator for Group of 25
  4. Deborah Reidy, former Council Co-Chair; representative of the forming SoL North America Community; former Consultant Trustee
  5. Ginny Wiley, Former President of Pegasus Communications; Connections member
  6. Roger Saillant, Executive Director of The Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at Case Western Reserve University; former corporate member(Ford, Visteon, Plug Power); Connections member
  7. Finance expert (to be recruited by the other members of the council)
  8. President of SoL (Currently Sherry Immediato)


Peter is focusing on initiating a network of exemplars, part of the vision of the Group of 25. Stefan and Roger are focusing on SoL's financial grounding (and business plan), with the goal of initiating an endowment through a fundraising campaign so that SoL might realize the vision of becoming a network of a million change agents. Deborah is focusing on facilitating a group of members in North America who will form the new geographically-based SoL community on this continent. Ginny is focusing on SoL's evolving membership structure and the practicalities of transition. Sherry will continue to focus on current operations in support of both founding and global SoL with a strategic focus on communications. Alfred will continue to provide facilitation for the Group of 25 and provide project management for the initiatives of the Interim Council.

Over the past 13 years, many people have given generously served all of us as stewards for the SoL community by serving on the elected council for Founding SoL. (You can click here to see a listing of all those who have served as trustees.) For the moment, please join me in thanking Carol Gorelick, Jim Tebbe, Shawn Patterson, Jason Schulist, Shelia Covert-Weiss, Jeremy Seligman, Dave Flanigan, Tony Rollins, Fred Simon, Cynthia Way, John Ehrenfeld, Becky Smith, and Christoph Mandl for their service on the Founding SoL Council from 2007-2009. They have served generously on behalf of all of us.

(3) SoL Global Forum in 2011 - Cross-Organizational,Cross-Cultural and Cross-Generational Collaboration

One of my favorite e-mail messages to receive is "When is the next SoL Global Forum?" Perhaps there will come a time when these forums happen on a schedule, but for now we are creating them as momentum surfaces in the community. The group of 25 and local SoL community coordinators agree it is time. We are fortunate to have a good body of learning about the process of creating these events, including selecting a host. Based on the conversations in the Group of 25, we expect the theme of the 2011 forum to speak to the proposed SOL principle to enhance Cross-Organizational,Cross-Cultural and Cross-Generational Collaboration. I will consult with the community coordinators and interim council to finalize a process by the end of March to request proposals from the community to host the next forum. If you are eager to begin the process of considering whether your community would like to make a proposal, I am happy to provide the guidelines we have used in the past to help you get started now.


(4) Local SoL communities are meeting on global questions - will you help?

If you've studied the "U" model introduced in Presence and fully developed in Theory U by Otto Scharmer, you are familiar with the idea of prototyping as part of the creative learning process. (You can also visit http://www.presencing.com/for a quick overview.) When a group of local SoL community coordinators met last fall to consider how we could test the work of the group of 25 by taking action, a simple proposal captured the imagine of the group - let's have simultaneous meetings around the world on questions that transcend our local interests. The specific idea that triggered this proposal was the suggestion that we host world cafe sessions locally to provide constructive input to the Copenhagen meetings on climate change last December. While we loved the idea, we also thought we needed to build some momentum on a more modest scale. Local meetings were held in Austria, Spain, the US, Hungary and Sweden in December around these general questions: "If climate change is a symptom of a more fundamental issue, what is the more fundamental issue we must address? What can I do (personally) to address the fundamental issue?"

Our goal is to have quarterly events/dialogues around the world (and virtually for those without a physical place to go) for SoL community members. Our aspiration is to share the results across the larger community. In the ideal, we would like to link at least some of the conversations to each other in real time. Based on our experience in December, we need a little more coordination support to achieve these results. If you have a special interest in (1) coordinating the selection of questions, (2) coordinating a schedule with local coordinators and/or (3) facilitating a process of learning exchange across communities/events, please let me know. A few interested people could dramatically increase our ability to achieve these aspirations and provide a better foundation for collaboration among local communities.


(5) My role going forward

As some of you know, I have been contemplating my own next steps, particularly in light of SoL's needs for the future. It has been a remarkable privilege to serve as SoL Inc.'s managing director since 2001. I came to that position on an interim basis while we figured out what we really needed in a managing director. Nine years is quite a long time to engage in that question! For many years, the SoL council has discussed the structural misfit of the concept of "managing director" in a system such as ours. I think we recognize the time has come to initiate change in this particular part of our infrastructure as part of the transition process. While I think there are needs for regular leadership rotation for the health of a system, we also have some issues of design that need to be addressed to increase our effectiveness. I am committed to working with the Interim council to support all leadership transitions that are needed.
I am sure I will remain an active member of the SoL community in any case and would like to consider specific roles around research and dissemination of the work in this field so that SoL is not only a strong social network but also the "go to" resource for all things associated with organizational learning. In the short term, I think that means we need to be more effective in sharing stories and research that document both examples of the impact of organizational learning/system intelligence and the process that systems use to build and maintain this culture and capacity. I have a particular interest in supporting this research process at the global level - I think we can learn a great deal by assuming that the best examples are happening everywhere, and to specifically study places like India, China, Brazil, South Africa as the incubators of innovation. That said, I know that transitions can be challenging. In the language of Otto's framework, I'm working on letting go and letting come at both a personal and system level. I really appreciate the support that many of you have offered now and over the years - it makes for a wonderful learning environment.


So much is happening at multiple levels. On behalf of the group of 25 and Interim Council, we are working to be of service to you and to facilitate your involvement going forward. Please accept my apologies for the gap in communication because at least in part, I have been a bottleneck in this process. Ironically, it is a reflection of much activity rather than little - I think we call that a vicious cycle! The interim council has a priority to improve our performance in this area, and you'll be hearing from us more often going forward. Thanks for hanging in there with us.

With appreciation,


Sherry

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ELECTION OF INTERIM COUNCL - Approved Amendment to SoL Constitution

NOTE: This amendment to the SoL Constitution was approved at the special members' meeting on December 29th, 2009.

ARTICLE X - PROVISION RELATING TO INTERIM COUNCIL

Section 10.01 Transition Period

This Article shall be effective, and Sections 7.01, 7.02, 7.03, 7.04 and 7.05 shall cease to be effective, during the Transition Period, which is hereafter defined to be the period commencing upon the approval of this Article by a vote the Members in accordance with Section 6.09 hereof and ending on June 30, 2011, or such earlier or later date as the Members may determine by vote. At the expiration of the Transition Period, this Article shall cease to effective and Sections 7.01, 7.02, 7.03, 7.04 and 7.05 shall be reinstated with full effect, as the same may have been hereafter modified by vote of the Members, and at the next following annual meeting of Members, the Council shall be reconstituted and Trustees elected in accordance with said Sections.

Section 10.02 Interim Council

(a) During the Transition Period, there shall be an Interim Council that replaces the Council as constituted immediately prior thereto.All references herein to the Council shall be deemed references to the Interim Council during the Transition Period.

(b) The number of Trustees on the Interim Council shall be eight (8).

(c) The Trustees at the inception of the Transition Period shall be the following individuals, identified by name or office:

  1. Peter Senge
  2. Stefan Skarin
  3. Alfred Hanner
  4. Deborah Reidy
  5. Ginny Wiley
  6. Roger Saillant
  7. [Finance expert]
  8. President of SoL, serving ex-officio

(d) Each Trustee shall serve for the Transition Period.

(e) Each Trustee shall be a representative of the entire SoL community and not of any class of Members.The Trustees identified by name in clause (b) above are elected and serve as individuals and may resign at any time. The President of SoL serves ex-officio.

(f) All Trustees have a single vote and all matters are determined by majority vote of the Interim Council at which a quorum is present, unless another provision hereof requires a greater vote.

(g) A quorum of the Interim Council shall consist of a majority of the Trustees.

(h) Any vacancy on the Council will be replaced by a successor elected by a majority vote of the Council.

Section 10.03 Powers and Duties

(a) The Interim Council shall have all of the duties and responsibilities of the Council, as supplemented by this Article.The business and other activities of SoL shall be managed by the Interim Council, which may exercise all such powers of the corporation and do all such lawful acts and things as are not by statute, the Charter or Constitution directed or required to be exercised or done by Members. In no event shall the Council exercise any powers that are reserved for approval by the Members pursuant to Section 6.13.

(b )The Interim Council is charged with the duty to specifically address the following:

(i) Oversight of SoL’s current operations
(ii)
Hiring/firing of SoL officers
(iii)
Develop a business model for SoL that generates sufficient revenue to cover operating costs, consistent with SoL’s tax status
(iv)
Elimination of SoL’s current accumulated operating deficit
(v)
Clarify ownership of SoL brand and products and policies for use by SoL members and the broader SoL community
(vi)
Participate in the development of the organizational structure for a global community based on the Purposes and Principles, including, if determined to be appropriate, the transition of SoL into a central role in this community
(vii)
Development of successor leadership of SoL
(viii)
Communication with and engagement of the Members with the forgoing
(ix)
Coordination with the leadership group of the forming SoL North America community
(x)
Insuring that Members receive benefits to which they are entitled

Section 10.04 Interpretation

If Section 10.01, 10.02 or 10.03 is inconsistent with any other provision of this Constitution, such other provision, to the extent possible, shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with Sections 10.01, 10.02 and 10.03, and shall otherwise be inoperative.

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Interim Governing Body

Sent to voting members on December 8, 2009

The purpose of this message is to provide you with official notification of a meeting of SoL members December 29th. The sole purpose of this meeting is the creation of an interim governing body and the designation of the members of this body. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE PRESENT AT THIS MEETING, BUT WE DO NEED YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE VOTING PROCESS TO MAKE THIS CHANGE.

We are proposing this change because we believe that SoL has a mission that is needed in today's world and that our form must adapt to meet the opportunities and challenges we face, and to adapt our governance to reflect the reality of our community. As members, we anticipate that this will only produce positive results for you. It is our intention to maintain operations during this interim time period and to support consideration of new ways to strengthen local activities both within North America and beyond.

BACKGROUND

If you have been a member of SoL for at least a year, you may recall our message to you last November about the state of SoL Inc. At that time, we indicated that we, the SoL Council of Trustees, had taken various steps along with the SoL staff to streamline our operations in order to keep SoL economically viable. In addition, we described our desire to complete the design of SoL so that it could function more effectively as the global community it has become since its inception in 1997.

Over the past year, many members were involved in two design processes. "The group of 25" addressed the evolution of global SoL and was charged with proposing any revision to SoL's purpose and principles while also proposing a business model, governance process and communication infrastructure. In addition, several members in North America conducted a research project with the intention of establishing a local SoL community in North America. At the same time, local communities all over the world have been re-examining their purpose and design. All these groups are continuing their work and none have the capacity to deal with the legacy issues of SoL, Inc.

You might ask, "since SoL, Inc. (to which I belong) is based in Boston, isn't that really SoL North America?" The answer to this question really helps explain why we are proposing the creation of an interim governing structure.

When SoL was founded in 1997, a corporation, SoL, Inc. was registered in Massachusetts. Because this was the only SoL community, it did not have any real geographic boundary. As of today, there are about 20 SoL communities incorporated in various parts of the world. SoL, Inc. based in Cambridge functions as described in its bylaws - we have consultant, research and organizational members. Today, there are about 120 consultant members, about 40 research members and 8 organizational members who have about 500 employees active within SoL. In addition, there are over 1000 "correspondent members" of SoL that we refer to as Connections members. According to the constitution, this latter category of members has no voting rights. Of the current members of SoL, Inc. about 20% of consultant and researchers are based outside the US and about 50% of organizational member employees and Connections members are based outside the US. Finally, all local SoL communities around the world (whether defined by geography or interest) also pay membership fees of approximately $50 per member to SoL, Inc. because we are the legal holders of all non-local SoL trademarks and copyrights. Their membership fees give them the rights to use the SoL name, to receive member discounts, and to receive the same benefits as Connections members - again, with no voting rights.

In recent years, we have struggled with this dilemma: SoL, Inc. and its council of trustees in many ways act as what we might call "SoL International" but our form is an artifact of the past and is not consistent with our principles, specifically:

Subsidiarity - Make no decision and perform no function at a higher or more central level than can be accomplished at a more local level.

Inclusiveness - Conduct all deliberations and make all decisions by bodies and methods which reasonably represent all relevant and affected parties.

Shared Responsibility - Advance the Purpose in accordance with these Principles in ways which enhance the capacity of the community as a whole, as well as that of each member.

Adaptive Governance - Continually conceive, implement, and practice governance concepts and processes which encourage adaptability, diversity, flexibility, and innovation.

While anticipating a transition to new governance structures, we have in recent months considered implementing an explicitly interim governance structure. It was the intention of the current council members to see the transition through to completion, but upon further consideration, we feel that it is important for all voting members to actively support this transition by electing a transition council to act on behalf of the entire SoL community. By July of 2011, a governance process would be in place consistent with SoL's principles. We also recognize that this is a particularly vulnerable moment in SoL's history - a transition will most likely be successful if SoL is on good financial footing. While we have made remarkable progress in reducing our liabilities, we feel it is very important to temporarily imitate other successful non-profits who have appointed directors to address their fundraising needs.

PROPOSAL

At our meeting on November 6th, we passed the following resolution:

WHEREAS, it was proposed that a Founding SoL Transition Council be formed to replace the existing Council of Trustees,

The purpose of this interim council is to act on behalf of the entire SoL community so that SoL, Inc. currently known as founding SoL, be either transformed into Global SoL OR dissolved when its net assets have been transferred to another non-profit entity and all its historical financial obligations have been completed by June 30, 2011.

The responsibilities of the interim council will be:

  • Oversight of management of current operations to insure a stable transition
  • Hiring/firing of Managing Director
  • Create a compelling vision and business model for SoL which generates ongoing capital
  • Eliminate the accumulated deficit (reduced from a high in 1997 of about $750,000 and anticipated to be about $275,000 as of 12/31/09)
  • Replace themselves – establish an on-going SoL leadership community
  • Establish global SoL as a valid legal entity
  • Communicate with the community and engage the community into acting into the future
  • Clarify ownership of the SoL brand and products and policies for use by SoL members
  • Coordinate with the leadership group of the forming SoL North America community
  • Insure Founding SoL members (you) receive benefits to which they are entitled
  • Other responsibilities as determined

This action will be finalized by a vote by the members of SoL per SoL’s by-laws.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that this proposal was seconded and adopted unanimously.

The council recommends the following slate of trustees to serve in this interim capacity:

  1. Peter Senge, Founding Chair, SoL; member Group of 25; research member
  2. Stefan Skarin, SoL Sweden corporate member; member Group of 25
  3. Alfred Hanner, Corporate Trustee (Saudi Aramco): Coordinator for Gulf SoL; facilitator for Group of 25
  4. Deborah Reidy, current Council Co-Chair (as a representative of the forming SoL North America Community), Consultant Trustee
  5. Ginny Wiley, Former President of Pegasus Communications; Connections member
  6. Roger Saillant, Executive Director of The Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at Case Western
  7. Reserve University; former corporate member; Connections member(Ford, Plug Power)
  8. Finance expert (to be recruited by the other members of the transition council)
  9. President of SoL (Currently Sherry Immediato)

We believe this group includes many of the essential talents and voices necessary for a transition. We also expect that this group will engage others as advisors, e.g., the group is lacking in marketing expertise, something essential for our continued success.

NEXT STEPS

We know that you are likely to have many questions. We will hold two open conference calls the week of December 14th and 21st to discuss this proposal. We will provide details about calls, voting and proxies in a separate message.

Acting on the proposed resolution requires a meeting of members, and an affirmative vote of 2/3rds of SoL’s voting members representing 75% of all outstanding votes. We propose to poll the members by providing an electronic absentee ballot and requesting your proxy at that time. A short meeting will be held by teleconference on December 29thth at 10 AM EDT to accept the results of the poll.

To summarize:
  1. You will receive a mailing with the wording of the proposed amendment to the SoL Constitution and By-Laws to enact the proposal described in this message and instructions about how to vote by absentee ballot and provide your proxy for the meeting.
  2. You will be invited to participate in the teleconferences during the weeks of December 14th and 21st.
  3. You are also invited to share any comments you wish on SoL's blog.
  4. Consultant and research members will receive information on how to renew your membership for 2010. Even though the form of SoL is changing, we hope our community will remain active and strong.
  5. You will receive specific instructions on how to log onto the teleconference on December 29th if you do not wish to vote in advance or provide your proxy.
  6. The interim council will officially begin its work on December 29th.

We have been honored to serve you and our mission in our capacity as trustees. We have been appreciative of all the offers you have made to continue SoL's work through the group of 25, SoL North America and other activities. We believe this conscious transition will help us emerge transformed as an exemplary 21st century organization.

SoL Council of Trustees

Alfred Hanner (Saudi Aramco)
Shelia Covert Weiss (Ford)
Jason Schulist (DTE)
Jim Tebbe (Shell)
Dave Flanigan, Consultant Trustee
Deborah Reidy, Consultant Trustee
Tony Rollins, Consultant Trustee
Fred Simon, Consultant Trustee
Cynthia Way, Consultant Trustee
Carol Gorelick, Research Trustee
Becky Smith, Research Trustee
Sherry Immediato, President


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Renewal Process for the global SoL network

17 February 2009

Dear SoL Member,

In a few weeks, SoL will celebrate its 12th anniversary. At its inception, SoL was founded with the aspiration of creating a new organizational design that could support a global network of communities dedicated to the interdependent development of people and their institutions. These aspirations have materialized in many dramatic ways, including our 3rd Global Forum in Oman last April.

At the same time, the world is experiencing a dramatic set of challenges that calls for the evolution of many existing entities. We believe now is a critical moment in SoL’s history when we have the potential to coordinate our work to create a larger collective impact. We also recognize that on-going renewal and succession planning is essential for any organization to survive its founders, remain relevant in changing circumstances and achieve financial sustainability. We are a group chartered by the founding SoL Council of Trustees to create a process to engage the community in this evolution by celebrating what we have accomplished and envision the future.

As a SoL member, we invite you to be part of a renewal and re-visioning process from which global SoL 2.0 will emerge as a stronger social network with increased ability to create knowledge, take action and have greater impact in key areas.

Below you will find:
  1. The invitation to participate in the 6 month design process
  2. The process and next steps moving forward
  3. Selection criteria for a 25 member working team
  4. Request for everyone’s contribution

1. The invitation: please participate in a six-month SoL design process starting today!

As the legal stewards for SoL's name and trademarks, the Council of Trustees of SoL, Inc. recognized the need for founding SoL to assume its appropriate place in the SoL universe as a local community, and formalize a design for SoL that allows for self-governance and for the system to “see itself”. Some of us see this as our own "Copernican Revolution" where we recognize our values, principles and vision as the center of the universe around which we all revolve (and evolve). In this process, the founding SoL community will also discover its appropriate role as a member of this system.

At its November meeting, the Council asked 9 SoL members to design a process to engage the entire SoL community in making many decisions about our future. This "gang of 9" as we have called ourselves has proposed a fairly simple process where a group of 25 will act on behalf of all of us, with the benefit of input from all constituencies on key questions. As part of this process, it is the intention of the Council of Trustees to act on recommendations from the group of 25 to transfer legal responsibility and authority for global SoL matters to a new entity.

We have created a new website solely for the purpose of exchange about the evolution of the global SoL network. Visit: http://solevolution.ning.com/ to join. One of our first tasks was to create a map of the SoL networks so we could share a picture of current reality. We would appreciate your comments on this map. You will also find a "History" tab highlighting key events on the SoL timeline. (Please note that you have the option of staying informed of new content by subscribing to the RSS feed on the SoL evolution site.)

(The Council also chartered a different group to address the evolution of what has been known as founding SoL. This is a separate but complementary process and will proceed in parallel.)


2. The process: A group of 25 takes the next step in SoL's design process by creating a vision, interim governance structure and business model for SoL with input from community members.

After exploring a number of process options, we've selected one which we think is simple and inclusive. We will convene a group of 25 to meet in May for 2.5 days in Europe (our geographic center of gravity) to address a number of questions about SoL's future. This group will continue to work virtually over the summer, ask for input and present a final product by the beginning of October.

ESTIMATED TIMELINE:
  • Now - Communication with the Community
  • 23 February – All applications for the Group of 25 received
  • 3 March – Volunteers are informed of their status relative to group of 25 and other possible roles
  • 3 March – 15 May – preparation for May meeting including some phone/web meetings of the group of 25 with us (gang of 9); input from the rest of the community
  • 17-19 May – meeting of group of 25 in Europe
  • 20 May – 1 August – Follow-up committee-work as needed; more input from the community
  • Draft report and recommendations for comment by 1 August
  • Response from the Council of Trustees on matters it must approve by 15 September
  • Final report by 1 October

Because SoL France is centrally located and has hosted many key meetings in the history of the global SoL network, we expect to meet outside Paris in May.

While various groups in the past addressed issues of governance, none created a vision for SoL from a substantive standpoint. We will clarify the unifying force that unites us, and use it to define specific governance structures and the relationships needed between the "parts" and the whole. At the moment, we feel that SoL has a great deal of untapped potential impact because our connections are relatively informal and loose.

We believe that the group of 25 can only be effective as our representatives with the active participation of all local communities and associated networks. For this reason, we are asking each community/network/initiative on the map to identify a contact person. The contact person will serve as a conduit of information between his/her community and the designated representative on the group of 25. This includes sharing news and requests from the group of 25 and providing responses and other input to the group of 25. Please indicate who this contact person will be on the SoL evolution website.


3. Criteria for the selection of the group of 25 - opportunities to participate

We would like to invite individuals to be part of the group of 25 in early March. At this point, we have only decided that Peter Senge must be a member of this group - all other positions are open. We will invite participants based on the responses we receive to this message and our own review of the SoL network. If you would like to be considered as a member of this group, please complete a form online indicating your interests in participating. The deadline for applications is February 23rd. If you are interested and can't make the deadline, please reply to this message to let us know.

These are our criteria in forming the group:
  • diversity as a whole (age, gender, culture, geography, issues, experience with SoL)
  • representative of the SoL community stakeholders including large and small business, government, civil society, consultants and researchers (see map)
  • as a whole has good business sense
  • individuals who can work productively with conflict
  • individuals with maturity - are reflective and self-aware independent of age; are good listeners
  • individuals with working knowledge of the basics of organizational learning and embody them in their conduct
  • individuals who see their work as serving the whole of SoL while representing key stakeholders
  • individuals demonstrating a commitment to SoL's purpose and can credibly provide interim global leadership
  • inclusive of the new faces of SoL leadership so that the group is part of succession planning for SoL
Participants should be prepared to answer questions such as these during the process:
  • How do we define SoL today?
  • What is it about SoL that makes it important to each of us and to the world?
  • What do we want to conserve?
  • What has been holding SoL back in the past and what would allow it to reach its full potential in the future?
  • What type of structures are required to satisfy the needs of the future?
  • How can we begin to bring that structure into reality?
  • How can we build resiliency into the design that will allow it to accommodate the changing world and the various member needs?
Specific issues are likely to include:
  • membership policies
  • marketing strategies
  • succession plan
  • central infrastructure (e.g. website)
  • reasonable way to secure funds to meet annual operations and create a surplus for future investment
  • bring value to each member

We recognize that many SoL members are not strongly associated with a local community, but participate in activities of the whole. There are others who are interested in organizing something new. We will include representatives of these perspectives in the group of 25.

Participants should expect to spend about 16 hours per month through September in preparation, e-mail exchange, calls and meetings.

We expect local communities to cover the costs of participation for their own representatives, or provide financial support for the overall process. We welcome contributions and corporate support for participants; we do not expect participants to pay for their own travel costs personally unless they would like to make this donation to the process.


4. How we all contribute to the process

You can contribute to this process in a number of ways:
  • offer to serve on the group of 25
  • encourage someone else to offer to serve on the group of 25
  • serve as a contact point in this process for your local community
  • actively encourage members of your primary community to provide input into this process as requested by the group of 25
  • share your personal reflections on the SoL evolution website
  • encourage your local community to support this process economically - we will make a specific request of all communities as we finalize the budget for the process

We have been crafting this proposal for the past two and half months. In this process, we continue to be inspired by what SoL has to contribute in today's world and the great potential residing in our network of relationships. We are impressed by diversity and innovation present in these networks, and we anticipate this renewal and re-visioning process will help us be a greater force for collective intelligence and wisdom in the world. We look forward to participating in this process with you and we will keep you posted on our progress.

With appreciation,

"The Gang of 9"

Peter Senge, Founding Chair
Simone Amber, SoL Sustainability Consortium (member)
Alfred Hanner, Corporate Council Member & Gulf SoL
Sherry Immediato, President, SoL Inc.
Shawn Patterson, Corporate Council Member
Deborah Reidy, Council of Trustees Co-Chair
Roger Saillant, Connections Member and advisor to Council
Anita Seidler, President, SoL Spain
Jim Tebbe, Corporate Council Member

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WELCOME

www.solononline.org
This blog is intended for use by SoL members. On November 6, 2008, a message was sent to consultants and researchers about the state of SoL. The purpose of this blog is to create a space for questions and comments by members. Thanks for participating!

For more information about SoL, please visit http://www.solonline.org.

The photo above was taken by Greg Thome, my "baby brother" who is serving at the US Embassy in Baghdad. It was taken in Jordan over the Dead Sea at sunset in October.

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FAQs regarding SoL

HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS I HAVE HEARD MEMBERS POSE IN RESPONSE TO THE LETTER SENT FROM THE COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 6, 2008. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. I will respond or forward your questions and comments to the Council co-chairs (Deborah Reidy and Carol Gorelick) or other council members to continue the conversation.

THE QUESTIONS:

DETAILED RESPONSES:


What specific decisions has the SoL Council made in recent months?


In May of 2008, the council passed the following resolutions:

  1. Whereas it was proposed that action be taken to improve SoL’s financial results and that the MD and Finance Committee jointly develop an Action Plan to achieve break even or better financial results for the 2008 calendar year. They will meet weekly until an action plan to achieve results is implemented. Standing monthly reports will be made to the Council.

  2. Therefore, be it resolved that this proposal was seconded and unanimously adopted.

  3. Whereas:
  4. • The rapid rise of the digital world, creates new opportunities for the design of social spaces.
    • People and organizations need new practices and tools to deal with an increasingly global and complex world.
    • Really persistent, systemic challenges require collaborative, networked relationships across boundaries.
    • To thrive in an increasingly complex world, organizations require, and must be worthy of, the whole person;

    We propose that we re-define the global network of SoL so that the SoL mission, values and principles are the center and foundation of this network.

    Therefore, be it resolved that we will address this in two ways: 1) Establish a workgroup to re-examine the current organization and business structure of founding SoL, considering its legal, business and community aspects, and to consider its place in the global network, and 2) We will establish an ad-hoc SoL Global Workgroup to re-examine the organization of Global SoL.
    This proposal was seconded and unanimously adopted.

    In October of 2008, the council passed the following resolutions:

  5. Whereas it was proposed Deborah Reidy serve as co-chair as the SoL Council through the SoL council meeting following the next council election;

    Therefore, be it resolved that this proposal was seconded and unanimously adopted.

  6. Whereas it was proposed that we conduct elections for trustees by July 1, 2009 and extend current terms to retain staggered terms as described in the constitution.

    Therefore, be it resolved that this proposal was seconded and unanimously adopted.

  7. Whereas it was proposed that individual membership rates for consultants and researchers be set at $300 for 2009.

    Therefore, be it resolved that this proposal was seconded and unanimously adopted.

What is the outlook for SoL in the coming months?

The financial upheaval of recent months has made it hard for many to focus on their aspirations when survival seems much more urgent. The current crisis makes a key point very strongly - we are all interconnected in ways that were inconceivable 100 years ago. From my point of view, this makes the case that a more holistic approach to management is essential but not sufficient. We need to be sure our systems are healthy as well as our institutions.

SoL members have made great strides in this regard, and a number of cases of cross-organizational and cross-sector collaboration are featured in Peter Senge et al's new book, The Necessary Revolution: How individuals and organizational are working together to create a sustainable world. These illustrations make the case about the relevance of organizational learning as a means for transforming management into a consistently life-giving discipline.

In the short-term, we expect an overall lower level of activity, but we will use this as an opportunity to reframe organizational membership and to introduce some new products. We also hope to integrate more Web 2.0 technology as a way for the community to remain more connected on an on-going basis and to support convenings that are an alternative to face to face meetings. We will make most progress with members with passions in these areas who want to help us create the necessary infrastructure.


How does SoL make money?

SoL has five basic business lines: membership, projects, courses and events, consortia and grants, and publishing.

Membership is the structure we’ve created for SoL’s social network. After direct costs, SoL’s margin has been about 50%. Last year, membership gross income was almost $600,000. This year it will be about $400,000.

The Projects business was intended to be the way SoL practices applied learning and generates new knowledge. While many projects have a small research component, in most cases, SoL is acting as a general contractor. After direct costs, SoL’s margin has been about 25%. Last year’s project income was about $1,125,000 and will be about the same this year.

Courses and events provide our signature capacity building offerings and events are convenings for the community. SoL’s margin is about 15%. Last year’s course and events income was about $600,000 and will be about $550,000 this year.

Consortia and grants are another way for SoL to support applied learning. Since SoL is primarily a fiscal agent for these activities, the margin is only about 5%. Net management fees will be less than $10,000.

Publishing (books, Reflections and Connections membership) is seen as a way to both disseminate our learnings and to bring in new business. Publishing margin overall is small due to investment in products and that we do not charge individual or organizational members for Reflections. Gross sales have been about $300,000 per year and we expect about a 5% margin this year.

This sounds good – what’s the problem? SoL’s general administrative expenses have been slightly over $600,000. This includes the office, all insurance and legal fees, unallocated staff salaries, support for the council, the website, IT etc. If we strive to meet an industry standard of business areas that contribute on average of 20% margin to general overhead, we need $3,000,000 worth of business to cover $600,000 in overhead. Our overall level activity in recent years has been $2,500,000 - $2,750,000.


Why is SoL suffering from a cash crisis?

There are two issues contributing to SoL’s economic woes at the moment – a downturn in general operations and an accumulated historical deficit which must be dealt with as the business grows smaller. In general SoL’s overall level of financial activity has gone down over the years – membership fees have decreased without a balancing increase in numbers of members, course offerings have gone down, project activity in early 2008 was significantly lower than recent years. In retrospect, we were slower to adjust our general overhead expenses than we should have been, despite not filling some positions which became vacant and actively working to reduce general office expenses for the past few years. We have reduced our general expenses by over 50% since January.

When SoL was founded, it started with debt to MIT of $900,000. Net of other assets, SoL began life with a deficit of about $550,000 in 1997. Since that time SoL has had years when it made money, and years where it lost money on operations netting out to no progress in eliminating the initial $550,000 debt. While MIT was paid many years ago, SoL has funded this chronic deficit by living off membership fees paid in advance. When we reduced organizational membership fees in 2007 and did not increase the number of members, the amount of cash available lessened. As a result, we have been living in a chronic cash crisis and need to come up with about $250,000 by April in addition to normal operations to responsibly handle our obligations.


What has been the result of SoL’s cost cutting measures?

SoL’s current operating costs are about 50% of what they were in January.


How can I renew my membership?

Consultants and researchers will be receiving an e-mail notice about 2009 renewal instructions in mid-November. You can renew at any time at:
http://store-solonline.org/MembershipAndRenewals

Connections members can renew their membership at anytime at: https://www.solonline.org/reflections/register/


What were the results of the SoL Academy?

We appreciated the generous offers by many SoL members to offer sessions in Seattle. Due to an unexpected strike by Boeing workers and the general economic downturn, we only had about 100 participants in the Academy. Some attended only a half-day session. Others attended 4 days of workshops. As with last year’s academy, the participant ratings for the sessions were very high.

We offered a total of 5 full-day workshops and 7 half-day workshops. 11 consultants, 1 SoL staff member and 5 Boeing managers were session facilitators.

We are still processing the final expenses for this session, so we don’t have an exact figure, but the profit from the event will exceed $25,000. Special thanks to Frank Schneider, Jon Vogen, Alfred Hanner and Kristen Gemeny (Boeing) for co-leading the design team for this event.

We will continue assess what we can learn from this event and prior on in Detroit in September 2007 to determine how we continue with the idea of the SoL Academy. In the interim, we are happy to conduct mini-academies for company members. If you would like to offer a workshop as an in-house workshop that is a “sampler” of what SoL can offer, let Frank Schneider know.


Why wasn’t the design of SoL as a global network finished in 1997?

Those active at the time offer a number one practical consideration: the design team ran out of time before the necessary paperwork needed to filed. In retrospect, the reality is that when the constitution was drafted, the idea of local SoL “fractals” was completely theoretical, while the invited companies, researchers and consultants were real.

Over the years there have been various attempts to draft a global SoL constitution, but in recent years, the community has preferred to spend its time designing gatherings (e.g. Global Forums 1-3) and other collaborative efforts rather than in creating a governance structure.


What is the current state of SoL around the world?

The 3rd SoL Global Forum held in Oman in April is emblematic of the state of the SoL community. We had about 400 participants with not quite half attending from Europe and North America, indicative of the growing interest in SoL around the world. In addition to producing a very positive experience for attendees, net profits for this event exceeded $50,000 due to the generosity of Saudi Aramco in supporting this event with staff and financial contributions, as well as sponsorships from other members of Gulf SoL

SoL France celebrated its 10th anniversary in October with a workshop attended by a significant number of European members in addition to SoL France members. SoL Sweden hosted a working session on Sustainability featuring a learning journey to meet with practitioners; SoL Finland continues to host a well-attended conference every November with an optional learning journey to Team Academy. Gulf SoL hosted a dinner meeting where I shared some examples of work going on within SoL about companies shifting to more holistic management practices. Other SoL groups (UK, India) have been meeting in recent weeks to clarify their goals for the future. Coordinators in Europe are working to create common materials that speak to the benefits of SoL that can be used to further develop local communities. All these events are moments where these developing networks become visible. Alfred Hanner (Organizational Council member, Saudi Aramco; Project manager for the 3rd Global Forum) is hosting a NING group for those interested in the shaping the design of the global SoL network going forward.


Where are there active SoL communities?

Communities are in the process of forming in:

How are local communities recognized as SoL members?

Currently, the SoL staff approve applications based on the guidelines the council approved in January of 2003 for the use of the SoL name.

The council believes that there should be a membership process governed by the members of the global SoL network. This would be one part of new design for global SoL.

Communities must supply and update the following information regularly:
  1. The community name and the legal organization of the entity. Recognized SoL communities must be organized as legally recognized not-for-profit entities if any money changes hands in SoL's name.
  2. The purpose of this particular community, and its target audience for membership.
  3. Membership and governance structure (policy and specifics). Please include the names and contact information for the current governing body, and numbers of members by membership category. (There are no required membership categories, but it is helpful to know how you intend to engage practitioners, consultants and researchers.) Please indicate who is designated as coordinator to interact with the SoL offices in Cambridge.
  4. Governance process - how often does the steering group meet? Is there a regular agenda?
  5. Past and expected goals/ areas of interest for the community.
  6. Past and expected activities for the community.
  7. What the community hopes to gain by affiliating with the larger SoL community and what it hopes to contribute to it.

When applying, applicants must also supply:
  1. Members of the SoL community who are familiar with the organizing efforts and can recommend the application.
  2. Agreement of the governing body to support SoL's purpose, abide by SoL's principles <http://www.solonline.org/aboutsol/purposes/>, adhere to the organizing and administrative policies for local SoL communities, to pay a minimum community fee of $1000 per year for the first 20 members and $50 per member above this minimum (in addition to the local fee structure if there is one) based on registered membership, and to participate in global SoL activities.


What are some specific volunteer opportunities?
WHAT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE:
  • find a buyer for SoL's phone system and copier lease that are no longer needed
  • organize and facilitate periodic learning groups (in person or by phone) so that SoL members have a support structure for acting on their own learning agendas
  • serve as a guest editor for Reflections (propose a topic for an issue; offer an article, invite others, select features)
  • thoroughly investigate options for a new online space for the SoL community which includes both e-commerce and web 2.0 features
  • thoroughly investigate options for a SoL " global classroom " - how can we efficiently offer more capacity and network building options without having to travel

Where is the SoL office?

The SoL staff are currently in a nomadic mode, subletting space in Porter Square at 18 White Street on a month to month basis. Our current lease at 25 First St. does not expire until October 31, 2009. We are pleased that we were able to sublet the space and recover our costs even though we regretted giving up what had been a good location for community meetings. Until we are clear about our staffing needs, we are choosing housing options that don't require a long-term commitment. We also have chosen not to replace staff who have departed and have eliminated some services, consolidated some responsibilities, and will contract out for other essential services until we are clear we want to make offers of employment for key positions.


Who are the current SoL staff?
This staffing strategy is designed to allow us to maintain operations while we make decisions about the future.

    In addition, Peter Vitello provides contract IT system services; Nina Kruschwitz will continue to edit Reflections on a contract basis through the end of volume 9. We are contracting with Dave Neumann, former CFO for Plug Power for accounting services.


    What happened to the rest of the SoL staff?




    What is the structure of the Council?

    By the terms of SoL's constitution, the council is composed of 5 organizational, consultant and research members plus the president of SoL. (16 members) In addition, Peter Senge was elected a permanent non-voting member (Founding Chair) of the council. Council members are elected by the members of their constituency to serve 2-year terms. Elections are held every year, and terms are staggered. The current council has elected to postpone elections from fall of 2008 to occur by July 1 of 2009. The next council elections would then be held by July of 2010.



    Who are the current Council members?

    ORGANIZATIONS:
    Sheila Covert Weiss, Ford
    Alfred Hanner, Saudi Aramco
    Shawn Patterson, DTE
    Jim Tebbe, Shell
    Vacancy

    CONSULTANTS
    Dave Flanigan
    Deborah Reidy (co-chair)
    Tony Rollins
    Fred Simon
    Cynthia Way

    RESEARCHERS
    John Ehrenfeld
    Carol Gorelick (co-chair)
    Christoph Mandl
    Becky Smith
    Vacancy

    In recent months, Hillary Bradury (R) resigned, as did Jeremy Seligman (O). Jeremy was required to resign because he was longer working for Ford and the constitution requires that organizational representatives of the council be employees of organizational members. Christoph Mandl will be completing 2 years of service in November, and will step down at that time.

    Therefore as of November there will be three vacancies: 2 research and 1 organizational.


    Will the vacancies on the council be filled prior to the scheduled election?

    The council is interested in filling the current vacancies prior to the scheduled elections. The constitution provides for filling vacancies by a vote of council members if the vacancy occurs at least 90 days prior to the election. Please contact Carol Gorelick if you are interested in running for the Council or filling a vacancy.


    What are the desired qualifications of new council members?

    The Council members we are seeking:

    Who are the current organizational members of founding SoL?

    The following companies are members of the SoL Sustainability Consortium*:



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