Do We Seek a Cure or Relief.
After 35 plus years of consulting, I have found this question to be one of the most important starting points of a personal, public, or organizational change strategy. Be it poverty, racism, environmental sustainability, a personal crisis, or a troubled organization there is a difference between a cure or relief but they are connected. Perhaps we have become a culture desperate for relief but reluctant to bear the cost of a true cure. Several years ago I was asked to develop an intervention for a unit, within a large public institution, with a record of systemic racism. An executive in charge aborted the effort due to the accountability measures.
A cure requires the need to embrace systemic change
A cure requires personal cost and investment of human energy, political capital, and resources.
A cure requires a long term perspective on both small gains and expected setbacks
A cure requires learning from and accepting mistakes and failure
A cure requires a collective and sustained effort
A cure is and will be inconvenient
A cure is ultimately about the truth of human advancement
A cure embodies more hope than the facts justify
A cure requires a willingness to be invaded by God in the end, for we are not alone.
Finding cures is why we are here.
Do We Seek a Cure or Relief
