Prototypes, probes, and piglets
Sometimes you learn about something in a new way and concepts become clearer. I have been working with dialogic ways of working and have experienced the transformative power of collective intelligence and action. I am always curious to explore more why and how this magic seems to occur. Recently in Uganda, I had an aha moment that reinforced the importance of learning from prototypes and probes.
Let me set some context first. The images below compare two ways of thinking about organizational, systems, and community change. Neither is right or wrong. Each has its place. What is important is to think about what is most useful in a situation by understanding the context and what you (and others) are hoping to create.
A planned change model is based upon a mechanistic view of organizations and systems that focuses on fixing what is broken. (1) It follows the predictable path below that we may all be fairly familiar (and comfortable) with to solve technical problems. A generative change model is based upon social science (social construction and the idea that our realities and shared meaning are constructed through relational processes) and natural science (complex adaptive systems and emergence that recognizes the challenges we face are often more complex, ambiguous, and uncertain). Generative change isn’t focused on “solving problems” but rather focuses on the progress we are making (adaptive behaviors) given the complex ever changing nature of the context. (2, 3) Generative change approaches are especially useful when a shift in mindsets and core narratives is required — when we must think anew to create the desired future — seeing old things in new ways, creating new possibilities and innovative actions.
During the time of COVID lockdowns, older persons groups in Uganda faced many challenges keeping their income-generating projects going. One of these was a piggery project that began in 2019, in which each member contributed to a savings group and received a piglet. It was a prototype developed as a result of older persons coming together to design collaborative strategies to increase income security. Income security helps older persons with important necessities such as paying school fees for grandchildren they are raising and affording medications. Mama Cossey for example, recently needed to be hospitalized. They were able to sell one of the pigs to pay for the hospital fees. Many times, these types of expenses can cause significant stress on families who need to choose between priorities such as food, health, and education.
The plan was going well. When someone’s pig had piglets, they shared with others in the older persons groups, so that eventually everyone who wanted to participate would have their own piggery project. However, with COVID, the cost of feed made it prohibitive to maintain their pigs and many pigs were sold or used for food for the family.
On a recent visit, we wanted to learn how to support the older persons groups to reinvigorate their project. Instead of going to communities and finding out what wasn’t working — what was wrong with the piggery project when it didn’t work (see planned change model) — we decided to engage in conversations and capture stories from people who had managed to keep their piggery project going — what they were already doing and what they were learning (see generative change model). (4)
We learned about the challenges with the ongoing cost of feed. For example, we discovered that keeping more than one male pig didn’t make financial sense if you needed to buy feed. When you sold the male pig at six months, you would encounter a loss and your capital used to feed it would have been tied up in that activity instead of other profit generating activities. We asked people how they were managing this challenge. Here were some solutions we learned from what people were already doing:
- Mr. Kawooya shared how he can give away male pigs to someone who is using them for breeding in exchange for a female piglet each time they breed. Now he can focus only on what does make money — selling piglets. With a small loan he will be able to feed his remaining pigs and repay the loan within six months.
- Mama Cossey shared how she developed an agreement with her neighbors in her village to pick up food scraps. She gave a piglet to her granddaughter who will be able to use the income she generates for school fees. Her granddaughter in return takes a pail and collects the scraps each day. She is learning valuable skills, is invested in the piggery project, and is saving for secondary education.
- Mama Betty provides space for neighbors who buy piglets from her. This supports others to have their own income-generating project while sharing the management of raising pigs.
Following dialogic OD, these probes would be invested in and scaled. This shifted our thinking from continuing as normal (giving everyone a piglet) to investing in what we were learning. We learned of the importance of people understanding the cost drivers of raising pigs. So, HealthNest Uganda will be offering financial literacy training and helping people develop a business plan for managing their piggery project — understanding and developing strategies to minimize costs and maximize revenue so that the project is not only sustainable but thriving. And older persons groups can share the creative ways they have come together to reduce costs and support each other.
Here is where a 10x exponential mindset (magnifier effect) comes in. 10x thinking can be thought of as an abundance multiplier of the quality of our purpose, time, resources, and relationships. (5)
- These learnings aren’t limited to individuals. They are shared amongst the older persons groups who support each other in their projects. Mr. Kawooya is a leader in his older persons groups and mentors others in their piggery projects. Mama Betty provides space on her land to others who want to have a pig. Older persons share male pigs to minimize in-breeding.
- Multiple generations are engaged in the piggery projects, strengthening intergenerational relationships through cooperation and shared learning.
- Health Nest Uganda is investigating opportunities for group purchasing of feed and vaccinations. If feed is bought in Northern Uganda in bulk and kept at the community Wisdom Centre, older persons can then access lower cost feed.
Using 10x thinking helps us go beyond the minimal incremental improvements we can make in one household to magnifying impact — growing what is working and expanding this to the rest of the community.
We get to choose how we are making meaning in our conversations and interactions that “frame people’s experiences and create the possibilities and limitations that govern their daily behavior”. (6) In our conversations we were able to disrupt a potential deficit discourse of older persons not being able to manage the piggery project given all of the challenges and rather highlight the strengths, resources, solutions, and innovations that were making a difference in helping them address the challenges they were facing. And we can invest in scaling and spreading these solutions for an exponential effect.
It was in these conversations that powerful stories emerge. Stories help illuminate what is being done and make existing resources and progress towards our shared vision more visible. (7) It is through story that it is possible to narrow the gap between the challenges we face and our preferred future, illuminate resources for practice, and create a language of hope. (8)
(1) Bushe & Marshak (2018) The Dialogic Mindset for Generative Change. The Change Handbook, Third Edition — https://b-m-institute.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/TCH_chapter.pdf
(2) Bushe, G.R. & Marshak, R.J. (2022) Dialogic organization development and the generative change model: Opportunities and challenges for managing global crises. In J. Bartunek, (Ed.) Social scientists
confronting global crises (32–41). Routledge.
(3) Schein, E (2015) Foreword Dialogic Organizational Development: Past, Present, and Future. Dialogic Organization Development: The Theory and Practice of Tranformational Change. Berrett-Koehler Publications
(4) Moon, H. (2022) Coaching A-Z: The Extraordinary Use of Ordinary Words. Page Two
(5) Sullivan, D & Hardy, B (2023) 10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less. Hay House Business
(6) Bushe, G. , Marshak, B., Schumacher (2024) Changing the Conversation
(7) Bodiford, Kristin and Whitehouse, Peter (2020). Intergenerative Community Building: Co-creating flourishing futures. Invited chapter for publication in The Sage Handbook of Constructionist Practices, Sage Publications
(8) Moon, H. (2019). Making progress visible for learners of solution-focused dialogue. Inter-Action, 11(1). Retrieved August 25, 2020 from http://sfio.org/ the-journal/interaction-vol-11-no-1-august- 2019/page-4/
