Our Blog from Simon Solutions

Helen Keller once wrote, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

These words resonate within my soul.  They have become my mission in life – to help people discover the benefits of working together for common purposes.

This is especially true for community service providers; those who help meet the needs of people during times of crisis and despair.  Every community is faced with this enormous challenge.  So, would it not make good sense to share the responsibility?

Just think what would happen if every community service provider suddenly began working together.  By this, I refer to churches, non-profit charities, and social service government agencies.  Suddenly, service providers would say, “Count on us to help.  We don’t care who gets the credit for acts of service.  We simply want to see all the people within our entire community benefit from our working together.”

If this was to truly happen within a community, no one would go hungry; no one would go without shelter and clothes.  No one would feel alone in their sorrow or desperate situation.

I believe this can happen in any community in America if we would follow Henry Ford’s simple formula for success.

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
-Henry Ford

Service providers should start by “talking” with other service providers in their community.  Get to know each other; after all, service providers have the same passion and burden to help people.  This is true, regardless of what name appears on the organization’s letterhead.  They all have the same mission.

The second step is a little more difficult.  Service providers should make considerable effort to build relationships with each other.  This may mean cutting through all the busyness and noise in our own organizational environment; finding time to gather together with others from different organizations.  Luncheons, casual visits, telephone conversations, and roundtable discussions are all good ways to build friendships that lead to working relationships.

Another way to stay together is to find a “common tool” that helps facilitate an on-going working relationship.  One that helps all community service providers stay “connected” in communications, collaborate, and shared case management.  This progressive step with ultimately lead to a better understanding of needs and a focused approach to care.  This can happen through a web-based software solution that everyone has access to and really likes.

The third step in actually working together will provide a broad-based solution for care that covers the entire community.  Everyone benefits.  Service providers can now share responsibility. No one is overwhelmed.  More resources are identified for meeting needs.  Referrals are easily found.  Recipients are given proper care.  No one “falls through the cracks”.

This shared working environment will also cut back on duplication of services and combat benevolence fraud.  This saves organizations time and money. The right resources get into the right hands.

Another great benefit of a shared working environment is innovation.  Innovation happens as we capitalize on knowledge-sharing, which becomes a powerful asset.  I’ve come to realize that all of us are smarter than any one of us.  This then leads to a collective-knowing, which serves as a catalyst for community-driven solutions with creative applications for other areas of concerns.

By working together, community service providers can find hope in transforming their community from the inside out.  Instead of only seeing problems, needs, and deficiencies, the focus can shift to solutions and assets. 

This ignites progress and growth.