A Beanchain Process (www.bchain.coffee)
The Solution Seeking System (SSS) is a structured communication framework designed to help individuals and organizations solve interpersonal problems, navigate conflict, and continuously improve their shared environments. It was developed at Beanchain Coffee, a worker-directed café committed to cooperative principles, as a way to foster understanding, accountability, and trust without relying on traditional hierarchical discipline systems.
Unlike top-down management methods, the Solution Seeking System is meant to work in concert with whatever management or conflict resolution tools are already being used. It’s a philosophy that can be applied in tandem with others to encourage co-creation of solutions through compassion, clarity, and introspection. The system works alongside most leadership models and can be applied in a wide range of settings: workplaces, relationships, and community groups.
This system is an attempt to provide a simplified strategy for creating strong communication, effective leaders, and the shared understanding needed in order for Democracy to thrive in workplaces that seek to adopt it. In addition to the Communication Protocol, it provides documentation for the Wisdom Principles that support their use. The Communication Protocol is a communication pattern that is meant to create mutual understanding and solutions. The Wisdom Principles are concepts that are important to the success of that pattern. There are no shortcuts to good communication; one needs to understand their tools and have the courage of their convictions to be effective at it.
We want to see democracy in the workplace, stronger relationships, understanding easier to achieve, and for the systems that we are a part of to serve us all better. The Solution Seeking System is meant to help us all find solutions to these problems and more. We hope it helps you.
By enabling better communication and decision-making, SSS tackles core drivers of poverty like disempowerment, inequality, and organizational dysfunction. The end goal is to build a cooperative, just, and responsive economy supported by resilient systems.
“If we want to have Democracy in the workplace through systems like Cooperatives, we first need great communication. Communication is hard, and we’re trying to put a common sense framework around good communication and problem solving.” – David Baxter