Page 17 - FDI Alliance International Magazine. Winter 2020 Digital Interactive Issue.

■ Training at the Hague ■ Community meeting, Flint, MI

and scholarship programs. The community is also using Strategic Doing Human Insight itself used Strategic Doing to broaden its marketing in
to help address its water crisis that began several years ago. One of the Netherlands.
the unique programs that helped gain community input and trust was
Living Room Conversations. In LRC, volunteers would organize dinner at Human Insight uses its AEM-Cube assessments to better understand
a family home and sit down over the meal to discuss the goals of parents participants at the start of the Strategic Doing process. “It measures the
and children. All these efforts, notes Dotson, are ways to help people strategic diversity of the team itself, who brings what to the table,” notes
feel welcome and wanted, adding “everyone is somebody important”. Hamers. He stresses though, that a big part of Strategic Doing is making
sure the people at the table are committed and willing to engage. “If
In the southern U.S. lie Florence and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. These people are costing energy, cut them out of the process at the moment
two cities anchor the metro area known as The Shoals. While the area and invite them to rejoin later when the project is hopefully in a different
has long been a transportation and manufacturing hub, it may have life-cycle,” Hamers adds. Human Insight has trained more than 100 of
been better known outside of Alabama for its vibrant music scene and its consultants and coaches in Strategic Doing.
recording studios. But both music and manufacturing began to fade. In
2014, Mary Marshall VanSant at the University of North Alabama and Creating diversity and inclusion in an organization or community is tough
others convened a community Strategic Doing meeting to discuss how work, but there are great benefits to taking action. For many, including
to change the economy for the information era. Like Flint, the process those noted above, the key is to keep talking AND start Doing.
began with a simple statement meant to encourage imagination and
visioning. “Our framing question was ‘What would it look like if the Shoals For more information:
had a digital economy’,” says VanSant. VanSant notes that the discussion Flint, Michigan: www.wowoutreach.org
became one about creating an innovation and entrepreneurial pipeline in The Shoals: www.shoalsshift.com
the area and to do that youth in the region needed to be included. From Human Insight: www.human-insight.nl
the first meeting came four ‘pathfinder” projects; projects where the group Strategic Doing: www.strategicdoing.net
felt they could have immediate impact with available community assets.
“Those projects included the Idea Auction, a business pitch idea for small
firms or entrepreneurs that gives them feedback as well as an introduction
to community business leaders,” says VanSant. There are prizes, $5,000
for first place, to help the top three presenters pursue their ideas. Shoals
Spark is a similar business pitch event for elementary, middle, and high
school students. The newest event is LiftOff Shoals, aimed at newly
developed, independent ventures in the pre-seed, startup, or early growth
stages. Existing business can also pitch a venture into a new high-growth
market. LiftOff Shoals has a top prize of $25,000. In addition to the
three pitch events, there is also Smart Start Weekend. This is an intensive
two-day program to kick-start new, university student-run companies and
build entrepreneurial capabilities in students.

Each program has its own team of individuals and entities, while the ROB O’BRIAN
core team itself has continued to meet monthly. Everything is now under CEcD O’Brian & Associates.
the umbrella name of The Shoals Shift; reflecting the efforts to shift the
economy to the digital age. But it is still a wide collaboration where the Rob O’Brian served as President of the Joplin Area Chamber of
teams make it happen. “When we say nobody is in charge and no one Commerce for twenty-three years. Rob founded O’Brian and
takes credit we mean it,“ adds VanSant. Associates in early 2018 to advise and assist communities on
economic and workforce development.
The Strategic Doing process can be used anywhere collaborative effort is
needed to address complex issues. Sebastian Hamers of Human Insight,
a consulting firm in The Hague, Netherlands has been using Strategic 417.438.0100
Doing as part of its offerings. Hamers points out the firm works with
individuals, organizations, and communities to help them find better ways
to reach their goals. “We focus on giving insight into every individual’s Rob@obrianassociates.com
valuable contribution and we celebrate diversity,” says Hamers. In fact,

17. FDI ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL