Vision & Values
What’s Unique About BQI?
Learn why schools and companies across 5 continents trust BQI to get future-serious.
Schools as Ecosystems
Behind the Big Questions Institute work is a vision of schools as ecosystems – interdependent living systems that must support growth, thrive through relationships, and learn through struggle, joy, complexity, and messy-ness.
In ecosystems, “success” = flourishing. When we enter an ecosystem, we bring humility and practice deep listening and care. We want to help you nurture new growth (innovation), but also know that in natural systems nothing goes on forever, and it may be time for some things to end well. As difficult as this can be, nature teaches us to let go and stop optimizing for the past.
At the root of a school ecosystem are purpose, relationship, trust, and community. These both enrich and are enriched by deep learning, and courageous, visionary, steady leadership. Diversity of life ensures survival of the ecosystem. We practice fearless and fruitful inquiry to nurture environments where every learner flourishes and irresistible futures are cultivated with care and conviction.
This metaphor goes back to many ancient cultures and belief systems. Like the Tree of Life, revered across the world’s spiritual traditions, the tree helps us understand the links between the visible and invisible, the fact that all life has its seasons, and we must strive to be like the “fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch.”
Finally, as Richard Powers wrote in The Overstory: “Trees fall with spectacular crashes. But planting is silent and growth is invisible.” We engage in the quiet work of growth, and hope to support those who tend to the planting.
Questions emerging from a schools-as-ecosystems lens?
Our Values
We have been committed to creating an emergent organization guided by our deepest values and aspirations, including:
A Moral Obligation
We believe that designing a better future for our children and the world is a moral obligation for schools, and this guides our purpose.
Deep Equity
We hold a commitment to deep equity, not just equality. This will be reflected in the individuals and organizations we collaborate with, how we compensate partners, the range of sources of knowledge and expertise we draw from, and themes we choose to explore.
Fearless Inquiry
Just as we encourage participants to embrace fearless inquiry, we will strive to live this in our ongoing, humble posture of learning, openness to new ideas and methods, and commitment to honesty and truth-telling.
Community
We are building a community, not just a company.
Collaboration
We value collaboration over competition.
For every project we ensure the integrity of our process through the following traits:
Respect + Engagement
When a range of authentic voices from the school community helps shape the path forward, deep respect and authentic engagement must be practiced and modelled.
Unity + Belonging
The process of building a strategy may be as important as the plan itself. Creating and building unity, where all stakeholders feel they belong, and their input is valued, will form a core element of the process before, during, and after strategy/training/service articulation.
Innovation + Imagination
We balance a recognition that technology outputs double at least every four years, while basic human-centered learning is ancient and vital. Designing with foresight and innovation calls for collective imagination borne of psychological safety in an encouraging atmosphere. Outcomes are not predetermined.