Here is the next installment of Michael J. Brennan's series, "The Seven Disciplines of a Community of Progress: Creating a New Path." In it, Brennan, the president of United Way for Southeastern Michigan, explores how our region can move forward, and looks at past successes.
Discipline Four: The Power of ThreeWhen the public, private and nonprofit sectors find common purpose — headway is made. The potency of these three sectors of society working in alignment provides a winning combination for communities — a trifecta. When the three sectors align around a bold and measurable goal, there is a greater chance of sustained success. Absence of that alignment, a drift of time, energy, and resources takes place throughout the community.
Granted, the barriers often come in the form of turf, politics and cultural differences. Institutional racism, historical mindsets and harsh realities often create obstacles too large to solve. I am not trying to be naive about politics — left, center or right. Nor am I attempting to be simple-minded about the challenges. A look at achievement around the country, one sees that much of it is owed to groups leveraging the intersection of the public, private and nonprofit sectors. The common ground between people and sectors is in abundance. Yet, as individuals, institutions and communities we often leave that bounty on the table.
"Great vision needs to be backed by full commitment from the private sector and also the government." — Roger Penske, Crain's 2006 Newsmaker of the Year
With 150 municipalities, 120 school districts, 230,000 businesses, and 6,000 nonprofits in a 100 square mile area called the metropolitian Detroit tri-county area, there is vast opportunity to leverage and align each other's good work. A community of progress understands that just adding up stellar results of our "silos" does not necessarily result in a powerful cumulative impact.
Integrating diverse goals make solutions better, talent stronger and sustainability more probable. Individual actions are necessary, but without aligning individual actions into a collective force, forward movement can sputter and stall. There must be room in community to find intersections that connect the work of the public, private and nonprofit sectors — the sweet spot of community. The power of three.
"The most effective solutions to social problems are those that engage nonprofit, business, and government agencies in cross-sector partnerships where each sector concentrates on what it does best." — Mark Kramer & John Kania, Stanford University, Stanford Social Innovation Review
There were many reasons the Super Bowl XL was successful. But the key reason mentioned was how business, government, nonprofits and citizens all worked together. The Super Bowl provided a teachable moment for the region, a blueprint to follow for the tasks ahead. This can be done – but only if we are willing to work together on common goals.
Discipline Four in Action
Something happened on October 28, 2005. For the first time in our state's history the three sectors of this region, public, private, and nonprofit came together to help connect resources and jobs to individuals in an unprecedented way and scale at the Southeastern Michigan Employment, Training and Family Resource Expo.
On that single day, the State of Michigan, the three counties of Oakland, Macomb and Wayne, the City of Detroit, 150 corporations, 100 nonprofits and 6,000 potential jobs came together to do what no entity could do alone. With over 6,000 jobs available by employers that day, all partners rallied to help knock down the barriers to employment and bridge individuals to a new path.
Local residents came, 10,000 in all. They came from all walks of life, ages and race with over 25 percent having college degrees.
This was the largest Employment Expo ever in Michigan — and it happened because the three sectors came together around common purpose and to make an impact. The focus was not on turf but on the citizens in Detroit and southeastern Michigan who have been laid off, displaced and looking for work — a job — a career. On that day, regional cooperation trumped partisanship and parochialism. The Expo set a benchmark for how work can be done.
On that day, at that moment, the region got together and did very well. Moving from a single event, to working together day in and day out to produce results must be the ongoing target.
Previous installments: • Creating a New Path
• Believe it to be Possible
• Pass the Torch of Leadership
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