Solving Policy Issues Holistically

Joel Benson

Joel Benson is a long-time Holistic Management Certified Educator who has worked on policies and projects for Horizon Organic, Nestle, and Marksbury Farm, and the state of Kentucky as well as serving as a town trustee for 4 years and mayor for 8 years for the Town of Buena Vista, Colorado (population 3,000).

Joel first learned about Holistic Policy Design when he began HMI’s Certified Educator Program in 1996 and when he was in graduate school at the University of New Mexico for Community and Regional Planning. After graduation, he and his wife, Laurie, started a fair-trade coffee roastery in Buena Vista and began incorporating the Holistic Management principles into that business.

As he became more aware of town issues, he became involved in town policy. When he became mayor in 2010, he helped the town trustees draft a “collective vision statement” for the Town of Buena Vista, which was essentially a holistic goal/context. He then crafted the filter questions to test town policies toward that collective vision statement, using the Holistic Management decision testing questions as his guide.

Even though he no longer serves as mayor or as a town trustee, the town still uses the collective vision statement (last updated in 2020 on their website). They also still use the filter questions to test policies. Joel has continued to expand his skill set by successfully completing a PhD program in Public Affairs from the University of Colorado. It has been from this vantage that Joel has continued to build on and improve the Holistic Policy Design process. He will be facilitating a half-day Holistic Policy Design Workshop that is both in person and virtual on November 5, 2025 in conjunction with the 2025 REGENERATE Conference being held from November 5-7, 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Problem Definition

Many people think that policy design is only something that politicians engage in, but everyone creates policies, whether for a business, non-profit, or a family. “Policy serves to solve an existing problem or prevent a problem,” says Joel. “We need to look at how we design, implement and maintain policies. Those are the key steps. If there is a policy already in place or being considered, we need to consider how do we analyze a policy and how can we adapt it.

“Within the policy process, we need to be cognizant of the options within each phase of policy which includes: 1) design; 2) implementation; 3) maintenance; and 4) analysis. There are different questions and opportunities at each of these steps.

There are different components to the life cycle of a policy. Understanding these different aspects helps those influencing policy more effectively engage in conversation that will improve the policy and its desired outcomes.

“When I looked at how Holistic Management functions in the policy mode, I found that the ‘Root Cause’ (Cause & Effect) testing question is critical in considering what is really at the root of the problem rather than just addressing symptoms. This question can upend the decision-making mode since the majority of decisions follow the idea of “solve a problem or prevent a problem”. For this reason, the ‘Problem Definition’ is the first and natural step for policy design/analysis.”

Joel notes that the Policy Life Cycle consists of 5 key steps:

1.     Policy Formulation

2.     Policy Adoption

3.     Policy Implementation

4.     Policy Evaluation

5.     Policy Maintenance

“Mostly, this is a cycle that continues to repeat in a cyclical and iterative fashion, but at times the order may shift,” says Joel. “Understanding this cycle helps you better understand where you are stepping into the process and how to influence the process at any point.”

Joel also notes that within the Holistic Management Framework, we need to consider many other things including:

✤    What is the Context? Who is making the decisions? Who is impacted by the decisions? What is the quality of life desired by these people? What is the holistic vision/future resource base that is required?

✤    Problem ID (Cause and Effect)-people often throw out solutions without really identifying the problem. This part is often given short shrift, but you need to create a problem statement that goes to that root cause.

✤    Do you take a Problem or Solution approach to help shift the paradigm of the group you are working with so that people use the root cause of the problem as the starting point, or do you start with the desired outcome or solution that you want and determine the causes for why you haven’t been able to achieve that outcome as well as all the effects that would occur if you could create that solution?

The Problem or Solution Tree

Joel reiterated that problem identification is critical to get everyone on the same page in the conversation because the intent of policy is to address a perceived problem. However, if you can change the narrative to “What does the problem prevent the people in the whole from achieving,” you help them make the shift to what are we trying to accomplish? This shift can reframe the conversation radically and actually allow for a more holistic or collaborative approach. It also is one step closer to taking a solutions, or desired outcome, approach, which is so critical in holistic decision-making.

This is an example of a Problem Tree exploring the root cause and effects of bare ground.

In the usual policy narrative, you look at the policy as if it were a tree with the problem being the trunk of the tree. The roots of the tree are the causes of the problem and the leaves of the trees are the effects that are felt. The thinking is that if you address the causes, you solve the problem and alleviate the negative effects.

But, if you take the solutions approach, then you start by asking the question: “What would need to be put into place in order to create the situation that is the general opposite of the problem?” This would lead to much different effects, positively stated, that are desired outcomes. In this case the solution is the trunk of the tree and the roots are the causes/actions that can create the solution and the leaves of the tree are the further effects that will occur if the current solution being considered can be achieved. Always, you have to ask “What is the intent of the policy?”

This is an example of how using a solution focus (with a Solution Tree) can help you focus on the desired outcome of covered ground and the different ways to achieve it.

An example of how this shift from problem to solution changes the conversation can be seen in the example of the problem being identified as bare ground as a critical

environmental issue for a country or region. The causes of bare ground might include: Desertification, Climate crisis, overpopulation, lack of rain, overgrazing, wildlife, and use of fossil fuels. The effects of the problem could be: Drought, Famine, Biodiversity Loss, Environmental Failure, War, and Strife. If we try to tackle the causes listed above with policy, some of them are very daunting since they are at a global level we do not have control over.

If we instead look at the perceived problem of bare ground and ask what is the desired outcome, we might identify the solution as Healthy Soils. The cause/action that supports healthy soils would be: proper grazing, reduced use of fire as a management tool, proper crop management, etc. The effects of healthy soils would include: water in rivers, healthy animals, happy people, and a prosperous community. Policies would be developed to support the action or causes listed above which can be done at a local, state/province, and national level.

This shift in public policy and civic engagement can happen for any municipality, organization, or business that are ready to get the right people in the right place for the right reason and create solutions instead of focusing on problems.

Come to Joel's half-day Holistic Policy Design Workshop that is both in person and virtual on November 5, 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the 2025 REGENERATE Conference to learn how to apply these concepts in your community.