A place for strategy in the household?
I was thinking just now that maybe people in sharehouses should do more strategic planning. You know what i mean; put aside some time and crank out a couple of house powermaps on issues that are important to them, do a stakeholder analysis of the house, or develop mini-campaigns to get their housemates to do the washing up, stop having loud sex, clean a common area etc.
Most of us fail to change the behaviour of those around us without difficulty on our part. But perhaps a considered and strategic (and compassionate) housemate could iron out every potential tension with a touch of strategic planning.
Think of yourself. If a housemate was being irritating, most of us would bottle it up and eventually become passive agressive. A few of us (a bit more brash or confident by nature) might choose to confront it head on, ‘get it all out in the air’ - rather than let it fester as they say. Either way our reaction would probably lack a well thought through plan of how we could achieve the optimal outcome.
And thats how most of us also approach the things we don’t like in the world. Say you come across an injustice the chances are that you will ignore it, not recognise it, want to change it and not know how or jump in head first and start ‘changing’ it. Very few people would map out what was already being done about the issue, understand the various stakeholders and how powerful they are, think critically about their personal ability to contribute and form a plan of action based on all that.
But perhaps more of us should have that reaction, both to our housemates and opportunities to further justice/social goods. I know i should.
p.s. I’d love to hear your examples of strategic planning in the household. Did it make you feel weird and alien to do it? Did it work>?
