Percept toasts to five years of building a fierce, wholehearted collective

Shivani Ranchod | October 2022

Percept toasts to five years of building a fierce, wholehearted collective

Right from the get-go, Percept has had a life force of its own, superseding the individuals involved. The name Percept arrived in the middle of the night: an insistence, a calling. When the name arrived, we didn’t even know what it meant. The deep seeing, the noticing of patterns, the willingness to disrupt patterns… They are all part of the essence of Percept-ing: a powerful witnessing, enabling change through shifts in perspective.

Percept has been a catalyst for all of our personal transformation, through the triple gift of the internal organisational design work, the constant learning that comes from the wide variety of meaningful projects, and the nourishing and profound relationships that have developed. Through the work to build an inclusive, collaborative, kind workplace where people can thrive, we’ve been changed by the alchemy. Our gratitude for these gifts is immense.

Percept is a small, fierce force in the world. The portfolio of partnerships and work that has emerged over the five years is difficult to reconcile with such a small group of humans. We’ve worked in symbiotic partnership with donors, with global agencies, with governments, with large corporates, with industry bodies and with start-ups, to collectively imagine the future, to build strategies, to tell stories, to solve problems and to forge new ways. These opportunities, and relationships, and the continuous unfolding of impact have been astounding to be a part of.

It has been an enormous privilege to be so wholeheartedly connected and in community with the shining lights of Percept humans. In our diversity, we have been united in our unstoppable desire to put our skills, experience, voice and presence to use in building a healthier and more resilient world.

Percept is a pathfinder, building new maps for a world where the old maps can’t traverse the paradoxes of our times: how to be kind and fierce, how to be of service and be a steward, how to be anti-hierarchical and deeply accountable, how to think carefully and move rapidly, how to be digital and human, how to be analytical and creative, how to be connected and boundaried, how to honour the self and other.

Percept’s manifesto was co-written by the first four Perceptors – a weaving together of our individual longings for a different way of work. The manifesto has been prescient, laying out a path for us. The manifesto is clear about how we proceed from here: “Have faith in the future. Don’t think small. Be flexible and adaptable. Be resourceful. Be resilient.”

Here’s to you, Percept. Here’s to the willingness to re-compose, to re-form; here’s to “a spur to boldness and a deeper participation”.¹ Happy 5th birthday!

¹ David Whyte