Participative Wisdom

The best exploration and the best decisions are made when four conditions are present:

When there is diversity of opinion, because no matter how smart an individual or group is, we are all stuck in our own ways of seeing and behaving.

When there is independence to pursue different possibilities, because when groups are formally bound to each other, there is often pressure to bend to dominant ideas or trends.

When there is decentralization because different groups have different strengths to add; and because we need to attend to local cultures and preferences. 

When there is a way to aggregate what the entire community is learning so that great decisions can be made about what to pursue and what to leave behind.

Read: The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki. ISBN 0-385-72170-6

Consulting

Our Approach to Consulting

We seek to understand our clients deeply so we know what they want, and more importantly, what they are passionate about.

We believe that passion trumps logic -- reasoned solutions won’t go anywhere unless others are passionately engaged with your ideas.

Our practice is participatory.

We believe that many voices, speaking openly in a safe setting, builds the best way forward. People are engaged when they are co-creators of a plan.

The presence of independent, diverse ideas builds organizational resilience. Great leaders engage passionate people! They don't expect passionate people to agree; but they do want them to execute decisions.

Consultants at Leap! Corporation are engaged in complexity.

We focus on the confluence of relationships, interests and power to understand why some communities, organizations, and processes work, and others don't. 

We are at our best when faced with diverse, competing, and even hostile views. When people need to appreciate each others' perspectives to bring about positive change, we are masterful!

We focus on helping our clients to deliver value that is meaningful to their stakeholders, clients and customers.  We work with clients who want to make themselves, their communities and organizations, and the world a better place.

You can read about some of our projects here.

Clients Think of Us When...

 They want to engage staff and stakeholders in building a common future.
Leaders need a sounding board to help them to grow into new roles or to lead change.
Organizational strategies and priorities need to be reset.
They need to make cuts and get smaller, purposefully and meaningfully.
They need to grow without over-extending.
They need to re-structure and re-invest.
They want to improve organizational accountability and effectiveness.
They want better performance from their leaders.
They want to build a more cohesive leadership team.
Lack of trust between or within departments threatens organizational effectiveness or profitability.
Morale is low and staff members are disengaged.
They want input from stakeholders, especially when diverse or hostile views are present.
Two or more organizations with distinct cultures and ways of doing business must work together or are merging.