Kia ora from Julie,

I've had many conversations over the last few weeks with different people and organisations about how to respond to change. I've noticed that there is a shared feeling of both fatigue, as well as uncertainty of what to do next, from people who are working towards a world that better cares for people and our planet. I feel this too sometimes.

It can be helpful to name and recognise when we're feeling this way and then have a plan to shift our energies back to focussing on what we can influence.

For those of you that have done some of our training or attended a talk from one of the team you will be familiar with the rock and balloon metaphor. We we use it to talk about how narratives work to enable changes that make the biggest difference. The metaphor comes from Daniel Hunter's great book Strategy and Soul.

“Politicians are like a balloon tied to a rock. If we swat at them, they may sway to the left or the right. But, tied down, they can only go so far. Instead of batting at them, we should move the rock: people’s activated social values. When we move the rock, it automatically pulls all the politicians towards us — without having to pressure each one separately.” Strategy and Soul, p184.

We at The Workshop love this metaphor because it highlights the power of our narratives, brought to life through stories, to create the conditions for change. It encourages us to take the long term approach so that the changes we get are sustained over time and political shifts.

We've just seen how decision makers (the balloon) can change. This metaphor and the theory of change that sits behind it gives us a focus for our energy and our actions - deepening public understanding and building support for the solutions we're working towards.

We can focus on shifting public understanding (the rock), using our collective power, our stories, to build support for the upstream changes we're working towards. When we shift the rock we build the public power and mandate. It can work to hold decision makers to account for what they are doing now as well as build momentum for the future things we will ask of them.

So if you're planning your next step amid change and uncertainty, take a moment to reflect on how you might focus your time, energy and resources on shifting the rock.

Ngā mihi

Julie