Collective Narratives & Sensemaking in Uncertainty

In my last post in this blogchain I said that one of the ways to navigate uncertainty was through sensemaking - and that the only way to run sensemaking in times of uncertainty is through group efforts - diverse voices combining, sparring & mingling with tight feedback loops.

Well - today is the public launch of The Yak Collective and their first report:

The inaugural report by the Yak Collective, Don’t Waste the Reboot offers organizations a smorgasbord of 25 creative and unexpected provocations, ideas, and action frameworks to navigate the Covid-19 crisis.

Authored by 21 diverse contributors from around the world – most of whom are working together for the first time – we believe this report will get you thinking about your reboot efforts in a bolder, more imaginative way. Let us know what you think!

The Yak Collective

Don't Waste the COVID-19 Reboot

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Check out the report: Don’t Waste the Reboot.

Why The Yak Collective Matters

What is the Yak Collective? It’s a loose collective of independent consultants, freelancers, coaches and creatives that have pulled together to create a support and collaboration platform for indies.

In the short term - this is a solution for mutual aid and support. Indies helping indies. But there’s a glimpse at the next next normal here, where indies are more agile, more diverse and better equipped to handle sensemaking than big agencies, consultancies and more traditional groups.

The deck is a fun provocation and has a playful tone - but if you stare at this 2x2 long enough you start to see something serious and important emerge:

I contributed by designing & building the website¹ and by adding one of the ideas:

Collective Narratives

The Yak Collective itself is a great example of collective narratives - creating a group that benefits rather than the individual. As the economy starts to reboot we’re going to see more of this - companies and organizations that realize that they should be inclusive by default - and that the right way to create growth is through collective growth.

Don’t forget to check out the full report.

Thank you to Paul Millerd and Venkatesh Rao for leading the charge on the community and report.