Perennial Social Sector Work: Making something that lasts

Let’s start with a simple question: How much of what you are making and managing in your social sector work will last one, five or 10 years? What about beyond that time, centuries from now?

In his new book Perennial Seller, author and strategist Ryan Holiday discusses this phenomenon of enduring work that outlasts its creators. As social sector strivers, we always say we are working on something that is sustainable. In theory, as social sector professionals, we are working on a problem that if solved correctly will make us irrelevant. We are teaching a skill, creating a piece of physical infrastructure, or building an organization that will stand the test of time. 

---

Perennial, or enduring things are based on ancient human needs and myths, that are geared to our current reality. As a human society we adapt these evergreen products, organizations and ideas to perfect a situation, or sometimes to just survive. Examples of perennial things are: Roman philosophy, major religions and ideas like the humanitarian principles. Perennial products are things like: Gore-Tex, the Star Wars series and Zildjian cymbals (founded 4 centuries ago in Istanbul). 

How much of what you do is perennial?
​My own answer to this question is alarming. The vast majority of my daily work is on things that are not meant to last, but are designed to solve an immediate issue or demand. This Social Sector Titian project is my first foray into consciously creating something for the social sectors that will have at least a remote chance of becoming perennial and helping my fellow professionals over time. But the majority of my day to day effort goes into making and managing products (documents, designs and systems) that are in service of humanitarian principles in a large sense but will not endure on their own. 

But should creating perennial content be the goal of Social Sector Professionals? 
An artist, musician or author should surely aspire to create something perennial.  But should we as social sector professionals also aspire to that goal? The dreaded and overused ‘sustainability’ term often crops up in our work. This is a way of saying that we are making something that lasts. But the word has been diluted through overuse and has become meaningless. Since it is tacked onto every project and initiative, it no longer differentiates between disposable and perennial. 

Some of us Social Sector professionals work on things that won’t last. And that is what is needed in some cases. An emergency response operation is designed to keep people alive after a disaster or during a conflict. However, we can still design our systems and mindsets to include perennial content to deliver at a higher level. The information system that we use (databases, assessments etc.) can be designed for many places  and used in the future. The mindsets that we use to problem solve and stay lucid and produce at a high level in stressful contexts can be linked back to timeless ideals such as stoicism or your major religious affiliation of choice. 

Strategies for creating perennial things in the Social Sectors
Here are a few mindsets and strategies that I’m experimenting with in my own life and work related to making things that will last:

Ignore the donors and their timeline - Our donor driven mindset is flawed. We react to an external, often opaque set of demands from institutions providing funding for our social sector cause. This donor driven funding cycle is often extremely short. A series of months or even two year cycles is pushing us to create a desired outcome that conforms to a donor cycle rather than the reality on the ground. Real perennial work can take years to mature and deliver. 

Use timeless principles - George Lucas’ Star Wars series is new in human history but is based on the hero’s journey from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Our work in the social sectors often ties back to core human principles. Think about that every day and let those core ideas directly flow into your work. When working from those core principles, what you create, will endure.

Define a process and stick with it - Great and lasting work comes from showing up every day and putting in effort in a defined process. Rapid creations of blinding genius are rare. Think about your work process and be deliberate in its design. Then show up every day and be consistent. This enhances your chances of creating enduring work.  It is tempting to think that the timeless works that we all use, the best books or our favorite album magically appeared from the creators desk. This is almost never the case. Good work is deliberate and takes time to develop. 
​
Define and know your audience. Forget everyone else - When we build for everyone, we build for no one. Limiting your audience at the outset, and having a picture of one member of this audience, or target group in your mind helps the work. In a data model that I’m creating with a team in the country of Niger, I am thinking of one person working in a humanitarian organization who will access and use the model to inform a quantitative process that we hope will improve their service to drought and conflict affected people. 
​
Using ‘perennial’ in your life outside of work 
The relationship between parent and child is a perennial opportunity. Your interactions can help give the the mindsets and strategies to build the best work and life.  Reach back and find the core things that matter and remember to apply them. This is probably the hardest thing that I do on a day to day basis. I have found the dust and glamor of the ‘field’ when you are in the midst of a critical work situation is much easier than showing up as a parent on low sleep and modeling calm and positive behavior when everyone is screaming that they won’t eat the scrambled eggs you have cooked for breakfast.

Happy Trails!