Council on Flow of Finances

To wrap up a recent project, a 2008 planning meeting for CUPE’s union developers, I met with colleagues and cohosts Nancy and Angela. We met in phone council — checking in, naming a question, listening, harvesting, choosing wise action, checking out. Though the specifics of this conversation mattered less, the three of us work in beautiful partnership, I learned a lot about how to shape and feel this issue.

The questions we asked of each other:

What are your needs?
What flow can we create with this money?
What is best right-relations sharing of this pot?
What gifting might we decide to offer to others to support this pattern?

I love the agreement we came to with such clarity, beauty, and swiftness.

Split the pot equally.
Give some right-relations amount extra to the project lead.
Always ask for what you need and offer what you can.

And these very cool learnings / principles…

  1. Whereas the old model for these decisions is more transactional, the new model is energetic. It is not about who did what work. It is about how we collectively invite, create, hold a field to work in before, during, and after the event.
  2. As with design, work on logistics with open heart, engaged conversation, and clarity of action — beautiful.
  3. Agree to this as a conversation each time, not a formula, to listen with attention and act with love.
  4. Welcome the “when” of working and creating together again.

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