Sunday, January 23, 2022

Fwd: Seth's Blog : The control/responsibility matrix

----- Forwarded message ---
From: Seth Godin

Alert readers of my last two posts have probably guessed what this one is about. People make choices about their preferences for control and for taking responsibility. When we combine those choices, we end up with a simple matrix. In the top right is an ...
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The control/responsibility matrix

Alert readers of my last two posts have probably guessed what this one is about.

The control/responsibility matrix (click to enlarge)

People make choices about their preferences for control and for taking responsibility. When we combine those choices, we end up with a simple matrix.

In the top right is an ideal combination. Someone with control and authority who also takes responsibility when things go wrong. This creates a useful feedback loop, because they can actually do something about the problems they caused.

In the bottom right is a disaster waiting to happen. This is brittle megalomaniac, Robert Moses, the builder, who spent nearly a century paving New York while neglecting housing and other social justice issues, but never took responsibility for any of the effects of his work. People who grab control and avoid responsibility are often easily identified because they spend a lot of time whining.

In the top left corner is someone who truly cares. They bring huge empathy to the situation, and they help people feel seen. Alas, because they don't have power (either because it's been denied to them or because they avoid it), their willingness to take responsibility is sort of hollow. This is one reason that frontline workers that are required to exert emotional labor and empathy on the job so often burn out.

And finally, in most situations, most people are in the bottom left. The system pushes us to be cogs, to accept what's given in exchange for being let off the hook and not being held responsible for what happens next.

In many situations, we have the freedom to choose. We can choose a quadrant or we can choose not to participate. And if we're lucky or care enough, we can choose who to vote for, who to work for and where we're headed.

   



Thursday, January 20, 2022

Fwd: Special One Northside Message

--- Forwarded message ---------
From: ONE NORTHSIDE


A Special One Northside Message

Dear Northside Residents,

It is with a heavy heart that we send this message. As many of you know, a young man lost his life yesterday, January 19, outside of Oliver City-wide Academy during school dismissal. We are all saddened by the unnecessary loss of 15-year old Marquis Campbell. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and the staff at Oliver City-wide.

In a show of unity around this tragedy, newly elected Mayor Ed Gainey and Pittsburgh Public Schools Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters held a joint press conference. This sincere response shows a level of leadership in our city and the public school system that brings hope. Hope, even in the darkest of times, is what keeps us moving forward.

We remain hopeful that by working together as One Northside and with Mayor Gainey and Interim Superintendent Walters we can support the change needed to stop the violence, reduce crime and ensure safe and welcoming communities in all 18 neighborhoods of the Northside.

We are strongest when we work together and support each other.

Support & Be Supported

In every community, there is a give and take.

Sometimes you are the one offering support and other

times you need to receive it. It's all part of our work together.

Click to learn more.

Tony Norman, of the P-G wrote, in part:

There is an alternative to this depressing cycle of carnage, but it requires a willingness to intervene early and often in the lives of troubled young men in the community. These boys and young men are easy to identify at school and in the neighborhood. What’s needed is radical empathy and creativity from the community.
A young man who can’t read at grade level is at risk, especially if his aspirations go no farther than securing his next meal. The boy who exhibits bullying behavior on the playground is crying out for both love and intervention. It would be better if the community responded instead of the police.
Children with no positive parental guidance are almost guaranteed to lash out “at the village” if that village is indifferent to their alienation. If they don’t develop meaningful social connections when they’re young, they will become oppressors within that community — and they will be merciless.