2.04: The Experiment: On Moving From Starting To Building: Behind-The-Scenes Of Change Work Growth

In episode four of season two, Tim and Tuesday explore the nature of moving from a start-up mindset to next-phase growth. As enthusiastic prototypers and experimenters, how do we know one phase is done and it’s time to capture learning and institutionalize? When do we call it, and how do we grow?

Together, Tim Merry and Tuesday Ryan-Hart are THE OUTSIDE—systems change and equity facilitators who bring the fresh air necessary to organize movements, organizations, and collaborators forward for progress, surfacing new mindsets for greater participation and shared impact.

2.03 —— SHOW NOTESTues: We started The Outside eighteen months ago with the goal to experiment for two years to see what would happen.Tim: One experiment is done and the next one begins—an increase in scale, sophistication, breadth of relationships drawn into do the work. Now, we want to start building infrastructure that’s an investment into the next five years.Tues: A big part of the experiment: could we build our work around systems change with equity at the centre?Tim: We’ve received a lot of feedback over the years as to the potency of that [our] partnership. We wanted to take this to another level—a deeper commitment to one another and to the learning between us.Tim: We have three long-term, systems change efforts that are in different stages. We’ve realized that The Outside is with clients for a period of 2-5 years. We’re there to help things to get unstuck, lifted and moving.Tues: We don’t parachute in… but it’s not a long-term thing. Our role is to help you get unstuck, get things moving and build a capacity. This is what we’ve learned. We did not know this 18 months ago.Tim: We’re trying to build an ecosystem of different apps and practices that enable us to function effectively as an organization. We are working with a tool called monday.com which allows us to list all of our activities, track movement, have conversation, give each other feedback, attach documents and links. It’s basically a project management tool for across the organization. We also use whatsapp.com, slack.com and zoom.com. This is the infrastructure of how we function. On another level, we use programs like waveapps.com and xero.com to get a financial overview of how the organization is evolving.

Song: Stay High by Brittany Howard

Poem: Time to awaken, an original by Tim Merry (one of the first poems Tim performed!)

We all be learners and teachers

We don't need no preachers

To find the whole

soul

force

Of course!

It is like riding a horse

remaining in the saddle

even when up shit creek without a paddle.

Be yourself

Everyone else is taken

No point fakin

The only person you're foolin is youself

You already got all the wealth

Don't need to search no more

Knocking door to door

Cause its all in the place you was born in

No more stallin'

Listen loudly to the callin'

Why you here?

It ain't nothing to do with fear

That much is clear.

I must confess

my greatest fear was success

Daring to shine bright

Get into the line of sight

Stepping into the spotlight.

I trained for years

To be on stage and hide my fears

In the character of another

Always under cover

Never truly the deeper me

Time to see

Be free

Be

Now

Fear no more

I am sure

I have felt the

Whole

Soul Force

Course

Through my veins

I know what it means to be sane

Living in partnership with my brain

My body and blood

And the un-nameable flood

Of realisation

Be Self

Everyone else is taken

It is time to awaken.

Are you stirred and shakin'?

Are you quakin'?

If not why not?

Take a look around

The world is calling to become profound

The messages loud and clear

Drop the fear

The time is now

The place is here.

It always the occasion

Don't get lost in the alien invasion

Take action

to let go of distraction

Feel the heart

In the breath of the now

Kaboom kapow

Like a hit on head

Sit up in bed

The nightmare is over

You just found the four leaf clover

Ego move over

I am getting on my horse

The whole

Soul

force of course!

No more fakin'

be Self

everyone else is taken

It's time to

Awaken.

Subscribe to the podcast now—in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or anywhere else you find podcasts. New episodes will be available every second Tuesday. If you’d like to get in touch with us about something you heard on the show, reach us at [email protected]. 

Find the song we played in today’s show—and every song we’ve played in previous shows—on the playlist. Just search ‘Find the Outside’ on Spotify.

Duration: 29:07

Produced by: Mark Coffin @ Sound Good Studios

Theme music: Gary Blakemore

Episode cover image: source

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