View on Progression

This is a small snippet from a 50 page guide on community management that i am writing. I just want a few opinions on it.

Progression is a rather complicated concept. However, describing it is rather simple. The dictionary defines progression as, "a series with a definite pattern of advance". It's a well known fact that progression means a step forward. The complication comes when progression is attempted. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution despite popular belief. This short article of sorts will take a bit more of a look at progression and it's dependencies.

The definition is the first key step in reaching a goal through the use of progression. Firstly, it's important to remember that goals cannot be achieved without progression being made. That's the key principal. Progression requires a pattern of success and what makes it a pattern repetition. It's important to learn what works and what doesn't. This means that all actions or ideas implemented must be monitored in hopes of finding a pattern that allows for success. Documenting every change is the path to progression.

Whilst this is true, a particular pattern will not work when certain factors change. As said previously, there is no 'one-size-fits-all- solution. When there is change, our methods must also. I'm not going to give an example for every idea that i touch upon because what works for one example would not share any similarities to any other cases of patterns being applied. Changing factors are caused by events. Documentation allows for us to clearly identify these events and to alter the pattern so that it continues to be as efficient.

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  So what causes progression? Every idea implemented to push forward success must have one of the following:
• Self-Learning - Wherever the idea of progression is used in a community setting, the members must be able to learn without spoon feeding them information. Anything that an individual learns by him/herself will be converted to wisdom over time. I think it's rather clear how this contributes to progression.
• Sufficient Power - Without power of anything, progression cannot be made. It simply does not work. In a community environment, respect means a lot more than member privileges. It's important to never forget this. An idea presented by a respected member of a community will have a higher success rate.
• Fear - Fear is what runs the world. It's what turns large groups of people into sheep. Luckily, people are afraid of many things. The amount of insecurities that people have are amazing.

In conclusion, progression is rather simple to achieve. This doesn't mean that the pathway to our goals should be rushes or taken carelessly. Feel free to throw in your comments or conflicting ideas about it here. I wrote this ages ago but never bothered to post it.