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The Citizens of Teslin Tlingit First Nation (see photo, above) didn’t start out with the intention to “improve their resilience.” They weren’t asking themselves how they could strengthen their ability to “adapt to change.” What got them going was that the community’s birth rate was down, unemployment and the housing shortage were up, and elders were growing scarce. Their government, Teslin Tlingit Council (TTC), had to take action which would have some serious results within ten years. Its solution: to develop a 5-year strategic plan.

Now that may sound like a strange way to respond to very serious problems. “Planning” often is a substitute for action, and a time-consuming one at that. As one of the consultants supporting TTC’s strategic planning process, I have to say (rather sheepishly) that we have been at it for three years and we still don’t have a plan. I am starting to see, however, that this long effort is already paying off big time in a host of other ways. TTC insists that their plan have measurable outcomes and that achieving those outcomes is paramount – not “the plan.” Consequently, three years in, TTC’s Government is learning how to excel at change.

Let me explain.