A Viewfinder BLOG ENTRY

by Leslie C. Lewis

I have long had a guiding principle that helps me evaluate the effectiveness of my work – ROR, Return on Relationship. At the basis of any good, sustainable (sustainable being the key word here) policy or initiative, there must exist a web of generative relationships grounded in mutual respect, distributed power, and shared accountability.

Ted Rubin & Kathryn Rose originally coined the ROR term and used it as the title of their 2013 book that concentrated on marketing strategy, brand loyalty, and the value of building community. 3SC’s take on the meaningful ROR rubric shifts the focus of its lens onto internal, rather than external, connections.

As a strategic planner and facilitator I am often called in to organizations to help in situations where intra-organizational conflict has caused harm (both personal and systemic), where structural impediments are resulting in stagnation, where the lack of equity is prohibitive to progress and there is a desire for change, or where visioning the path forward requires an outside perspective.

The starting place in any of these situations is with people – who makes decisions and how, what communications processes are in place, what priorities are stated or hidden, and what power dynamics drive operations. Where is there harmony and where is there dissonance? I find that development at this level always pays the biggest “dividends” in the end.

Whether you are embarking on a new strategic direction or simply looking to increase organizational effectiveness, look to the health of your internal relational network to help you gauge where you need to invest in order to boost your ROR.

#ReturnOnRelationship, #ROR, #StrategicPlanning, #OrganizationalDevelopment, #RestorativeRelationships, #RestorativePractice