(cross-posted on http://vonemmel.com)

There is $120 billion dollars in the U.S social capital market, money waiting to be spent on social good, according to Hope Consulting's new http://www.hopeconsulting.us/money-for-good/">report. Imagine what that investment could do for alleviating poverty. Why are investors interested in investing in a better world?

Because money is not the thing. People use money to create what they really want - belonging, health, peace, making a difference and environmental balance. People are choosing to lead a simpler life and give back to society more (London School of Economics, Boston Consulting Group).

Now, to free up this value for good is another thing. We need new new business models, organization design and social processes grounded in the new paradigm of a relational economy. The Dreamfish cooperative is building such a relational economy. We are developing value tools that are grounded in the fundamental idea that development flourishes in connection, not control. Every Friday, we host a Leadership Lab to explore new ideas in "human work" and relational economy. This last Friday, I introduced this Relational Value model. Want to swim a little? Here are the notes and audio-recording (available for limited time). There are three views of the Relational Value model. The first graphic above shows you "what is value". The second below shows you "how do we get there". The third graphic shows what the experience is that social designers and change agents design for. The Relational Value Map above is an analytical tool. It offers individuals and teams a tool to make meaning and evaluate what kinds of impact you want to make. These five categories have subcategories.

• Belonging includes family, friends, and community.
• Wellness includes food, shelter, physical safety, health, security.
• Achievement includes quality, productivity, self-worth, self-efficacy, self-confidence.
• Development includes learning, collaboration, human and enterprise development
• Global care includes peace, human rights, and sustainability.

The Relational Value Flow above is a roadmap. It is the "how we get there".

The Relational Value Experience describes the individual's experience. This is helpful for designing a social experience. You know your design is in the right direction when individuals say things like this. To paraphrase Nancy White, "we build social software for networks of people, but it is individuals who experience it." What's under the hood? The Relational Value model is built from an analysis of Dreamfish member experience through a lens of my previous research in knowledge and relational culture design. The map correlates with Relational Cultural theory's growth-in-connection, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Brian Hall's Value Technology. ( For a deeper reading, you can read about these types of impact in a case story I wrote of a Dreamfish project to build an organizational culture of resilience and sustainability in Innovations in Transformative Learning, chapter 10. ) Commodity thinking versus relational thinking? I'll leave you with a great quote from last Friday's Dreamfish Leadership Lab. Leonard Perlson told a great story that illustrates the difference between the Value as commodity or value that is growthful. (Leonard is our new Dreamfish finance lead, has decades of experience as a CFO of private family offices, a social impact investor and in developing artists at the Leonard Perlson Gallery in NYC.) Leonard says,

The difference between trading value and creating value is the difference between trading a Picasso and developing an artist.

People are artists of life. Let's develop the next billion out of poverty.