5 Actions To Earn Social License For Your Project

How can you get people on side and supporting your project and avoid being mired in conflict and resistance? Start by doing these 5 things:

1.    Be Grateful

• Gratitude is the language of happiness. Being grateful will make you and all those around you happier and that will shine favourably on your project too
• Showing appreciation for everyone’s contribution brings more meaning to the work, it increases everyone’s self esteem and this adds energy and enthusiasm
• Humbleness makes it easier to network and removes opposition
• Gratitude is the best attitude :)

2.    Have Integrity

• Builds trust
• Builds loyalty
• Others will see you as a leader and they will share your ideas with others building momentum for your project
• “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”

3.    Add Value

• Invest in the place & people where you will do business.
• Have a vested interest in the wellbeing of the area and the benefit of your project in the people that live there.
• When you care about the place you are doing business and the people you are doing business with, decision-making will become very easy and choosing the right path becomes self-evident.
• This is not something that is a cursory mandatory for looks – if your actions are not sincere, people will see right through you, the project will have less meaning for you and will not achieve its full potential

4.    Build Relationships & Partnerships

"The cornerstone of any business or venture is relationships." 

• Consider the people of the area you want to work in as shareholders of your venture. When we have a stake in the success of an effort, in other words we stand to benefit or lose depending upon its success, then we have a natural inclination to help make it work. None of us wants to do something so we can lose. If you fail to do this, if the people have no stake in it, or worse yet see themselves as only losing if your venture succeeds, they will become an impediment to your success.
• Give respect – reassure people that they matter on a human level, not just as an element of your project’s success
• Build understanding by making sure that everyone has a similar level of awareness including you. This isn’t just making sure that everyone understands your goals, but also that you understand their needs, feelings and desires.
• Connect – one on one communication with others is vital. While e-mail, social media and messaging are handy tools, make sure you make the time to get “face-time” with people. Video is a surrogate for that and so is video conferencing, but make sure you also actually spend time with people, interact, look into their eyes and get to know them.

"Partnerships can be actual ownership sharing in the venture or simply a commitment by two or more to collaborate"

•  Innovate and create collaboratively for an integrated and coordinated solution
• Share your knowledge. This reduces risk, creates a wider reach, helps build a movement, makes better use of scarce resources, builds comaraderie and gives you others to share your success with.

5.    Make A Contribution - Build Legacy

• Legacy is a gift that is handed down, endowed or conveyed from one person to another – or from one generation to another. 
• Legacy is one of the greatest things we can develop. Our time here on earth is limited but our legacy can live on forever. If we can create something that not only benefits us today but will be a benefit far into the future for others, long after we are gone, then we have truly made a positive difference with our lives. 
• Your project can have meaning well beyond the benefits it brings today. If you start out with the intention of creating something of lasting benefit for many you will soon find you have many supporters willing and able to help you succeed. Alternatively, if you are intent on simply “making a quick buck” and moving on, you’ll have few supporters and perhaps even gain yourself some detractors.

You can get started building social licence for your project right now.

1.     Write down 5 things you are grateful for in your life. For example, “I am grateful for my health” or “ I am grateful for the opportunity to work on something I enjoy”

2.    Write down 3 things that you are grateful for with respect to your project. For example, “this project gives me a unique opportunity to learn about a new place and meet new people.”

3.    Write down a mantra, a short phrase or tag line, that conveys your commitment to integrity as a vital component of your project.

4.    What are 3 ways your project will add value to the place your project takes place or influences?

5.    Name 5 people or organizations that you could build relationships or partnerships with that would increase the probability of your project’s success.

6.    Think Big and envision an enduring legacy that your project could create. What positive, enduring benefit will your project create that is needed and currently doesn’t exist or is inadequate?