Ecosystem Supports
Proven Model to Connect Teams and Communities
Cohado® has been described "an upgrade to the human operating system." Like any robust operating system, Cohado® serves a foundation for bringing new structures to life, or revitalizing them to foster community and ecosystem development. The philosophy behind Cohado® extends well beyond its foundations as game. For over decades inventor Paulo Gregory has stewarded individuals, teams, businesses, and families to apply Cohado's principles for transformative change in their lives, workplaces, and communities. The seven Cohado® symbols represent associated guiding principles that shape our approach to address challenges and open opportunities that enhance understanding and facilitate progress in all areas of our lives, work, and communities. The Cohado® Emergent Development System offers tools and supports to collaboratively evolve change, maximizing assets and miminizing waste.
The following outlines the structure of the levels of the Cohado® Emergent Development model.
Emergent Growth
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
ZERO — Emerge: Every process begins with members of the ground-level community articulating the core question or challenge. This question holds the seeds of the desired future state and anchors the power in the community itself.
ONE — Explore: Support the engaged members of the community to articulate their view of the question. It is of utmost importance to steward this process in a safe context to allow for the differences in perspective to emerge. These differences are the core of the innovation that will emerge.
TWO — Envision: Support the community to cultivate understanding across the field of perspectives and articulate where convergence and divergence exist. This process of building understanding in the space of respect opens the space for new possibilities to come into view.
THREE — Engender: As these possibilities emerge, support the community in beginning to shape and give rise to potential initiatives or actions that lean in towards the collective emerging vision.
FOUR — Evolve: Evolve a structure with the capacity to move the desired action forward with integrity. Embrace that the map is not a territory but an initial pathway towards the possibility of change and transformation. Chart waypoints that will serve to guide and understand movement.
FIVE — Engage: Begin Implementation. Utilize the established waypoints to support and manage progress as well as understanding when pivots need to occur along the path.
SIX — Elevate: Weave the process and benefits into the broader community to support expansion of both ownership and benefits yielded through the effort.
SEVEN — Re-Emerge: Reflect on both resulting accomplishments and challenges. Celebrate movement and success. Articulate the space that has been reached through the effort. Begin reengagement of the process from this new collaborative viewpoint with the broadened ecosystem that has engaged.
And Begin Again
When you arrive at this new space, it becomes the new place of beginning the cycle again.
The Core of this work centers on leading with RESPECT, creating the safety for TRANSPARENCY, which opens the space for RECIPROCITY, which yields TRUST. The cycle is iterative. With each journey through the stages of development, these aspects deepen which expands the capacity for the community to take on greater challenges leading to the development of increased power and impact.
The Root Bones Revealed
Accessing Cohado® to Support Change
Prior to designing the structure of Cohado® the game, the architecture of the principles were already clear. These were successfully used to support moving individuals through a structured guidance program that supported movement through each of the seven levels of development. Then these principles evolved into tools to support teams and collaboratives to generate a more robust and emergent culture that supports innovation.
Now that these systems have been proven at scale, organization development professionals and human resource providers can access both curricula and training to embed these results within the systems they work and support.
Some of Our Associates and Collaborators
