“Mind the gap” is a robo message on British trains cautioning departing passengers to beware of the gap between train and platform. This catchy phrase is being applied to many gaps, like the income difference between the 99% and the 1%.
The Compression Institute and like-minded movements have in mind a different gap, the one between knowing what to do to live better while using much less and taking effective action to do that. “Fairness gaps,” as in income levels or tax rates, naturally rile people. Collective gaps such as the vulnerability of a community to shortages or weather extremes must be spanned by greater foresight and collaboration. Maybe we can call this one the Compression Thinking gap. To span it we must appeal, not to anger, but to a sense of collective responsibility — to community pride and confidence.
From June 6 – June 10, 2014 Doc Hall and Jack Ward will be available for meetings in the Boston area. We are attending the conference of the New Economy Coalition June 7-8, but will make time to meet with any of you in the Boston area that are interested in “the gap.” We seek ways to further action programs – get beyond the talk.
Principles of Compression Thinking are a guide for spanning the knowledge-action gap. A short version is below, and a longer version is here. But lists come alive only when illustrated by real stories.
The update “Quality before Quantity” helps illustrate one principle of Compression Thinking: Quality before Quantity, Always. It is accessable here.
