The bonus of Chicago grit

In reflecting on my experience with the health care organization which served disadvantaged individuals on Chicago's Westside. I can apply some of the principles outlined in The Coherence Premium of what helped this organization continue to sustain itself throughout the years.The article refers to capabilities being, "The engine of value creation is a system of three to six capabilities that together allow a company to deliver its value proposition effective." The organization was founded in a church basement in the late 1970's by a group of African American mother's who wanted more quality social services for their children as they were witnessing the beginnings of a major drug epidemic. 

Many mainstream social services agencies were not headquartered or offered services in the area which posed problems for the clientele such as transportation which was a barrier, public discrimination was still widespread in areas such as the North side of Chicago or the Loop (downtown Chicago) where social services was being offered, and the lack of culturally sensitive services.  

This particular organization was able to meet the credibility index by its clientele with several capabilities. 1) The organization's leadership, board, frontline staff, were all reflective of the population they served, it was 90% African American, this diversity aspect helped to demystify negative assumptions associated with mental health and did not experience the attrition rates associated with counseling within this population that other's did. 2) The organization served as an economic beacon on the resource barren Chicago's Westside, many of the client base was able to ascend into professional positions post treatment thus increasing the organization's credibility in regards to providing a client with a means and path to sustained mental health recovery. 3) The organization had strong ties to African American clergy leadership throughout all of Chicago given its founding, as a result this organization was able to tap into a pool of donors that was unrivaled with larger mainstream organizations leading itself to be sustainable during times of economic downturn. 4) Therapy and counseling is not a product it is a service which calls for nonjudgemental engagement and empathy, which is essential to continuing to provide services and contribute to positive outcomes for the clientele, which this organization was very strong in as far as the local populace.

In sum, I believe that the leadership have not provided this in depth thought, however, it would be very valuable if leadership were to further identify opportunities with this unique mix to provide them insight on continued sustainability and longterm growth.