I was able to attend a presentation on an idea referred to as “Collective Impact” [LINK HERE] at a conference sponsored by the The Juneau Community Suicide Prevention Task Force. The actual presentation was videotaped and is available on Youtube for anyone interested. [LINK HERE]
Building a coalition isn’t easy. As Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book “The Tipping Point,” it takes “Connectors” to put people together. As a result, I have a willingness to reach out to others who share similar thoughts and motives. But a good Connector has qualities that are needed to put people together. Here is what Gladwell wrote:
“These people who link us up with the world, who bridge Omaha and Sharon, who introduce us to our social circles – these people on whom we rely on more heavily than we realize – are Connectors, people with a very special gift of bringing people together.”
Building a coalition requires lots of Connections.
But another part of Connection is to engage with the “Outliers,” the title of another Gladwell book. Here is what the Collective Impact authors say.
“To intentiionally create a different conversation, ‘unusual suspects’ need to be engaged. Some unusual suspect may be people who have great influence – who bring gravitas to the process; others may be people with lived experience of the social challenge; and others because they are outliers who have the perspective and ability to shift the conversation towards new thinking and ideas.”
With respect to Suicide Prevention and ACE’s, I understand being an outlier. I write this post to make you aware that if you feel like you are one as well, understand that you need to look for opportunities to share your new thinking and ideas. There are precious few out there. But every week, I find one or more who finally understand and become true believers. I just shared my latest Suicide Prevention ideas with a number of new people. Out of about 20 participants, I think that 2 or 3 might get it. That’s success.
But also be open to new thinking and ideas. Don't dismiss something just because.
