[pf] Aikido politics

by Fitzsimmons, Diane

19 December 2000 17:03 UTC

PF-ers: I lurk on the Cobb Hill Co-housing list-serv, where I am treated to
the conversation of some great minds, such as Donella ("Dana") Meadows.
Today she posted the following, which is taken from Amory Lovins.  (Arianna,
currently MIA from this list, knows the Lovineses, I believe, if I may be
permitted to practice the six degrees of separation :^) !)  Anyway, I
thought the concepts presented below were very interesting and something to
keep in mind as our country goes through political changes.

Diane Fitzsimmons
Norman, Okla.


Folks,

The following is a quote Drew Jones just extracted from Amory Lovins, in
order
to illustrate a point we try to make in SustainabilityInstitute workshops.
It's
so apropos, not only of the work we try to do at SI, but of the group skills
we
are trying to develop at Cobb Hill, that I thought I'd share it with all of
you.

Notice especially the part about honoring others' beliefs as if they were
your
own!  And the part about giving credit for good outcomes, whether the credit
is
deserved or not.

Dana

Aikido is a vigorous but nonviolent martial art in which you don't fight
with an
opponent but dance with a partner. Instead of resisting an attack by
remaining
rigidly fixed in a position, you blend with your partner's energy to deflect
it
harmlessly past you so nobody is hurt. 

Similarly, in aikido politics, you honor others' beliefs as you would your
own,
even if you disagree with them. You're not fixed in a position, but can move
around fluidly and view the issue from every side. You're committed to
process,
not outcome, in the belief that from a good process will emerge a better
outcome
than anyone had thought of in the first place -- and then your
responsibility is
to ensure that whoever needs to take credit for the outcome will do so,
whether
they deserve it or not. 

The Tao Te Ching says of water, "That that which is of all things most
yielding
can overcome that which is most hard is a fact known by all but used by
none.
Being substanceless, it can enter in even where there are no cracks." In
this
spirit, aikido politics is the politics of water. It's principled,
nonadversarial, and insidiously effective in most cases. It's also fun.

For further details, see Tom Crumm's The Magic of Conflict (video, book,
etc)
and other publications from Aiki Works in Aspen.

> The martial art of Aikido uses the commitment/ position/ movement of
> the opponent against them, by blending with that and then moving the
> person where you want them to go, not where they may have thought
> they were going. It is a partnering with the "opposition" in a dance,
> not a rigid defense of a fixed position. It seeks not to harm the
> attacker, but to arrive at a mutually safe outcome.
>
> Aikido politics is the refusal to take a position (especially a me/us
> versus you/them stance) and defend it with bug-eyed zealotry, such
> that you can not see any validity in the other side.
>
> Practitioners are willing to change with changing facts, to give up
> their position, but not their values, to expose uncertainties,
> concede flaws, and mistakes. Doing this tends to disarm an
> opposition. It also makes you human and more powerful.
>
> It is a willingness to appear wrong, or foolish.
>
> it is sharing power and leadership rather than gathering exclusive power.
>
> It uses humor, but allows you to be angry and to show how you feel.
>
> A useful tool is to recap the history of any conflict, clarifying
> facts and definitions, as conflicts breed different versions of the
> facts. When everyone agrees on the history, they can better create
> the future.
>
> Never write off a constituency. Some people, even those within
> institutions that appear monolithic, have doubts. If you can give
> them an opportunity to do the right thing, they will begin to move
> the institution for you.
>
> Be committed to the process, which means being willing to lose, but be
> committed to success. It is easy to be a loser, because then you can
> be self-righteously right. It is irresponsible to have the mentality
> of a loser, as you then never have to put your ideas to the test.
>
> Aikido politics can be stunningly effective. It is also only one
> tool. It is often the best opening move, but can be abandoned in
> favor of hard-ball politics at need.