We received comments from one of our readers, who agreed for us to share her reflections in an anonymously:

Ideas and questions I sought to test based on Investing from a Regenerative Mind included having the framework in the back of my head, while doing interviews regarding a local capital mapping project. I listened to stakeholders through the lens of the pentad (…)

By asking familiar questions that would be relatively easy to answer, and systems questions that required personal reflection based on their experience, I hoped to gain an understanding of the interview subject’s operational paradigm, their connection to the people they serve, and how they perceived the outcome of their engagement.

Reflection:

I enjoyed making these connections, and in the process, coming to understand the local investment ecosystem better. It was evident how the stakeholder’s operational paradigm shaped the interview subject’s responses. Prior to impact investing, investment has been considered transactional, held within a mechanical paradigm, driven by balancing risk with return and shaped by competition between lending institutions/investment groups for deals. The perception of many lenders is that there is a shortage of ready deals, while local businesses complain of not having access to investors or capital that is flexible enough to achieve their goals (…)

The basis for regenerative investment, truly focusing on essence-to-essence connection and the building the Systems capacity for evolution, may have been implied in some cases, but not as explicit.