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My Experiments with LSI 1/2

I was first introduced to Large System interventions through a course in my Masters program at TISS. I was very fascinated by the idea of creating solutions for complex systems using group wisdom. Over the course of my next three months of the semester, I actually put my theoretical knowledge of LSI to practice. Here's an excerpt of my experiments with LSI!

Part 1: Envisioning a future for i labs using Future Search



i labs is a student-led platform that promotes the spirit of entrepreneurship at TISS Mumbai. Founded by three TISSians- Ajay (HRM), Priya (LSE-SW) and myself, Chaitanya (ODCL) in January 2019, i labs had come a long way from being just a series of entrepreneurship talks.

In June 2019, we conducted impactathon- a competition for Juniors on campus to create solutions for real-world problem. After celebrating the overwhelming success, reality hit the three of us- We had just 9 Months left on campus. This also meant that what we created as i labs would leave campus along with us.


That is when we decided to induct a bunch of entrepreneurial juniors to be a part of the core team and to take the dream forward once we move out of campus. After screening several candidates and weeks of interviews later, we selected a bunch of 10 fresh minds to join us. We thought we'd solved the situation. But the truth was the situation had just began.
We soon realized that the new teammates do not display the same amount of ownership and enthusiasm as the three of us did. And rightly so- because we were the "founders" and i labs was "our idea."
This was when i first proposed to my team to have a Visioning exercise for the new larger team so we design our way forward. The objective was simple. We needed a new vision that belongs to All thirteen of us. Not just three.


Over the next few days, I put my learning to paper and designed a visioning workshop for i labs. The workshop was based on the concept of FutureSearch and used the principles of Appreciative Inquiry to discover the driving force and shared Vision for i labs.

 





The exercise was a great success and the new thirteen-member team at i labs had a "Vision" that resounded with each member. Today, the juniors effectively lead initiatives at i labs and have been able to successfully takes the initiative to greater heights.  






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