Ride the Wave

Yesterday's Ride the Wave group meeting was useful for us. It provided an opportunity for us to tell the story of this proposal and engage in a dialogue with some clearly interested people. Lots of good questions and helpful comments.

One question was, "Could the Ride the Wave group be the steward of the Community Indicators Initiative here?" No one could definitely say because the board is reconstituting. And the new board would need to decide. That process will take time. Michael Davidson, President and CEO of Tourism Walla Walla, was enthusiastic about the site. Dr VanAusdle, President of WWCC, suggested that a few key indicators just get posted immediately.

We were looking for a steward, concerned about governance. Before we give birth to it, we will be well-served to consider the responsibilities parenthood brings. And I'm informed by the Spokane CII, which found its own way without grand strategy or clear objectives. This seems to be the nature of emergent processes. They start where ever they start. They roam where they roam. Later, after an obvious success has been achieved, it's easy to conclude that grand strategy or clear objectives guided the success. Not! Not with emergent processes.

It might not matter how this initiative starts, who initially stewards it, what colors the freaking site palatte projects. Maybe this initiative just needs to ditch the inertia of rest in favor of the inertia of motion, believing that momentum will present opportunities as well as difficulties. Perhaps that will provide the perfect context for the real steward to appear. Once the baby's falling, someone's going to try to catch it. Or not.