Thank you for being a reader of Transition Edge. Please feel free to forward it to friends who you think might enjoy it too.

I’m Grant Symons. I convene Transition Edge to help us understand how we can transition to a low carbon sustainable world using leading thinking and practices.

Starting work in the construction sector right out of high school, one learns some hard lessons about the art of contracting. Going from a world where there were seemingly no real contracts, to mixing with hardened operators who had been in the game for 30 plus years was a steep learning curve. 

While making agreements has been around for millennia, the transition of our complex world will call for us as individuals and organisations to evolve our ability for better communication, commitment, trust and collaboration.

Human behaviour.

We make agreements and contracts with others every day and there are always differences between what we think, write, say and do. Our mindset, behaviour, emotion, relationship and sometimes the law, can all be part of the mix. As they say "we are only human".

The construction process is a good example of where the rubber meets the road and is a pressure cooker environment where human traits surface every moment of the day. Virtually every part of the process is temporary and fulfilled through a contract or subcontract. 

Contracting, or coming to an agreement, is simple in theory. There is an offer, an acceptance and the parties deliver their part of it. Everyone is clear about what they are to do, why, how and when it will be done. The process, risks and rewards are clear, articulated or written and accepted. Such an agreement can go on and on by mutual agreement. 

The power of a robust discussion and a handshake, the joy of seeing others celebrate success and the grit people can apply through their commitment and determination to something they have agreed to do, and being part of a tight and loyal team, can be immensely rewarding. And sometimes we have to get over the feeling of being frustrated, let down or deceived, as not all agreements work out.

"No matter which way you look at it, having agency, making commitments, and living by those commitments is a fulfilling way to live, learn and thrive."

Living and working alongside the people you have made agreements with is the ultimate test. The thrill, blood, sweat, tears, disappointments and joy are right there, right in your face...this is real life! But how many of us fail to fully define what we want or need, and perhaps opt to play it safe and never really agree to do much at all with others? Worse still, we might just see agreements as a way of transferring risk or getting something out of others.

When we are entering into a contract/agreement (think any type of relationship) experience shows us that it is necessary to pay attention to human behaviour. Despite what might be said or written down, it is still human beings that perform the agreement. Generally:

• We are autonomy and liberty seeking creatures.
• We tend to change what we say, not what we do. We often have hidden beliefs and reasons.
• People often say what they think you want to hear, not what should be said.
• Conditions and needs change over time.
• We constantly try to maintain or expand our boundaries or degrees of freedom; meaning every agreement can be a dance.
• The world is a network of agreements.
• Everything that gets done in the world has people somewhere in the process that make agreements to do things.
• Beyond one-to-one agreements, there is great scope for things to unravel.