I was half asleep when my wife, ever busy, decided I should know about whom she was reading, in The Times Obituary column. It was 22nd February 2023 and about 6.30am.
And I am so glad that she should be so helpful, because the subject of her sharing was an Architect, John Thompson, who sounds to me as though he should have swapped his architectural skills to being in charge of the world, certainly the UN.
He was reported to have said the following:-
“If you consult people, you get the wrong answer. People almost invariably don’t know what they need, and that has nothing to do with intelligence.
What has to take place is communication. Ask the people to tell you what their lives are like and how they would like them to be. Ask them to be as negative as they wish – to get all their problems out, then ask for their dreams. Do not say it cannot happen: after 45 minutes of problems and dreams, you get to solutions. The only way communities take part is when they realise they have a place at the table.”
For me this approach would cover most sins of the world. Having been a mediator for 17 years to 2020, I wish I had read this a decade earlier. Maybe I did and just forgot it – quite likely!
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