Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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the whole story as a manager, you can begin to take action to do something about what is happening. “It sounds to me like we have an angry bear up in the meadow. We better tell other humans about this to keep them away. Or, better yet, have the bear removed to a safer place, so the porcupines can climb down the tree and return to their home.” If We Exclude Others, We Don’t Get the Whole Story: I then remove four members of the group. Rob is removed because he looks like a hippie, and we certainly don’t want to give him any recognition. Jon is always looking for the negative in things, so leave him out. Then, Deb is a member of the public, what does she know about these things? Finally, don’t include Dawn, she is part of that rabid environmentalist group. So, we are left with this story: Kathy: “It was a warm and sunny day.” Laura: “He saw another animal in the meadow.” Crista: There he met a female porcupine who became his mate for life.” Now,... is that the same story? It is certainly a warm and positive story, but it is incomplete, and leaves out important information. If you made a decision to send a group of people up to this meadow, would they have all the information they need? Coalitions Form and a Battle Begins: The four people who were excluded find they have a common purpose. They were not included, acknowledged, or their information listened to. They form a coalition to get the attention of those who make the decision. They form a line facing the “included group” and begin shouting their sentences at the same time to the others, wanting attention and acknowledgment of their views. All Rob: A porcupine walked into the meadow.” Spoken Jon: “It was a bear, an angry bear just wakng up from a winter nap.” At the Dawn: “This frightened the porcupine, so he climbed a tree to get away from the bear. Same time Debbie: The bear growled at the porcupine when he approached.” This causes the “included group to come together as a block, expressing their point of view just as loudly, and at the same time. No one listens, if they did it would just sound garbled. All spoken Kathy: “It was a warm and sunny day.” At the Laura: “He saw another animal in the meadow.” Same time Crista: There he met a female porcupine who became his mate for life.” Again, the message is visually and intellectually clear to the larger group. If you exclude people, do not hear or acknowledge their information, they will form coalitions and oppose you. In doing so, while all the needed information is expressed, little of it is actually heard. Including everyone, hearing the whole story, results in community. I bring back the excluded members and they are integrated into the whole story. I remind them that the collective statement includes all words MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 6-7, 2009 Page 23 Goals Setting Session