Life is change.
Each of us has a direction and a velocity.
Our direction and velocity shapes our lives, families, institutions, and provides us with learning, knowledge, and wisdom. Keeping your mind's eye open to when ideas arrive and being willing to change yourself with the wisdom gained shapes a future with hope.
I never considered myself as maintaining or furthering the "status quo". The software industry and personal computing brought about changes, it was fun to be a part of it.
QUO.COM was acquired in the fall of 1996 when I was set up my first internet domain and thought, as I was heading off to graduate school in public policy, that a domain named 'status.quo.com' would seem quite ironic given my nature.
Graduate school and work in the public sector has made me wiser in the ways of the world and how change occurs and why things stay the same, but as reasons arise, things do change.
Over time I have found other useful "quo" combinations, such as "quo vadimus", "quo animo", or "quid pro quo" to round out "quo".
Quo Vadimus - Our current direction - Where are we going?
Each of us creates mental models often made up of simple shared ideas (memes) of our shared values and common culture. These models and memes contain our beliefs, philosophy, and science. We do so in order to survive, bring about an understanding of the status quo, and develop wisdom about the future. The willingness to form and reshape our models and set new direction as we learn helps us answer the questions of what does it mean, why is is good, how is it useful, and where will we find hope?
Quo Animo - The intent. In what mind/spirit is something done?
Each of us holds a unique set of models and in working with others we see and hear their mental models and share our own. The sharing and communication occurs with intent. Some is open and natural, other restrained and controlled. It is always difficult, error prone, and imperfect. Doing it, listening, learning, and changing yourself opens the possibility for a long term permanent change. It is collaboration.
Quid Pro Quo - This for that, an exchange occurs.
One goal of our shared ideas and mental models is builiding and sustaining hope for a sustained and better future. When we seek hope in our sharing, we build community. That is where the hard work lies. As we nurtish and hold our models and ideas they will always diverge. With patience, tolerance, and listening we look for the boundary of divergence and ask ourselves do we honor or dissolve the differences with a design that brings hope both to ourselves and our community.
"...collaboration is vital to sustain what we call profound or really deep change, because without it, organizations are just overwhelmed by the forces of the status quo." - Peter Senge (1999)
