Connecting in Community
Duncan Robins just offered a good post...
He is coming out with a new book on organizational wealth and the nature of value that i think will be of interest to many of us (Duncan, when it comes out, let us know--we can do an on line discussion of it!)...
but he also raises the question of how best to connect with others interested in organizations, investing and value...which is much harder to do than one might imagine...
Duncan's perspective is based out of rural Northern California and mine from rural Colorado, but i think regardless of where we live (rural, urban, on the road...) many of us are confronting the same challenge...
I came here, to Grand Lake, in large part to seek community--a sense of community i have found, but one that only meets part of my needs and interests. I love being here and hanging out with my local friends. And I have loved being a part of Search and Rescue, and doing things for my local community as well...
But when it comes to building a better network of friends, colleagues and compatriots with whom i connect the world over, that is, indeed, much tougher--despite all the who-ha about technology's ability to connect us and create virtual communities.
Part of the issue is simply one of time--time to talk, email, finding opportunities when we are in the same place to spend one on one time again--and the other is diffusiion, by which i mean that there was perhaps a time when we worked in a field of interest (law, medicine, social work) and that came with a set of organizations we were a part of and primary actors with whom we connected, networked and mentored...
But today it seems that with so many of us cutting across boundaries, we are building our own value networks of friends and colleagues across professional disciplines, organiizational forms and geographic limits like never before.
On the one hand, this is great since you can almost feel how we are each being pulled along, into something so much bigger and greater than what we have had before...
And on the other hand, it is not so great since for every new person i meet i can think of three i should call...
I am now taking the next month to stay home...and will take it as an opportunity to call and connect with some of the many i have simply missed over these past months of too much travel and some great sessions...
But I'm curious:
Where are the best places for us all to connect? What are the best conferences, on line fora and related ways we can find each other more effectively?
What do you think???
Happy trails!!
jed
We need to continue building our community of actors...
both professionally and personally...
if we are to really change the world.
But doing so remains a challenge...
7 responses. (Add yours.)
Carla Dearing — Jul 20 2006 01:05 AM
I've been thinking about this. To change the world more quickly, I think we need our own meetings, new meetings that attract the new thinkers. Do you see the Gates Foundation leaders flocking to the COF Annual Conference? Where is the "Predator's Ball" for the top, new, venture-oriented foundations and social entrepreneurs? Maybe it's a new track at the TED conference? I haven't been "accepted" yet, have others? Maybe if a group of us tried? Maybe social change should be even a stronger track at Davos?
The underlying issue, I believe, reflects the age old pressure for networking events or organizations -- should we just "be" or should we "do?" I think many of us at our core let the time for "do" outweigh the time for "be." For good reason. I think we fundamentally don't want to just network or hang out -- with that much talent in the room, I think we would want to do something big together. Someone would have to lead with a big theme, and we'd all come. It should rotate among the major cities around the world.
Dr. Nina Mihaychuk — Jul 21 2006 12:01 AM
Since most focused actions are preceeded by thought, clear thoughts and ideas are needed to manifest the actions we wish to see in the world. My thinking is greatly stimulated when I exchange ideas with people from different fields, professions and backgrounds. Solutions to world problems are not exclusive to politicians, economists, and legal consultants. Great novels have created more change in the world than many a political coup. So, meetings of diverse people around a central theme can be a real postive force in the world. How do we get these people to find each other? Plan a meeting, invite people who have expressed an interest in the topic, and see who comes. If it becomes an annual event, word will get out and more and more people will come, and a community of interest and action around that theme will result.
Fifteen years ago when the Soviet Union collapsed, I wanted to help get Ukraine on its feet. I co-founded an organization called "Fund to Aid Ukraine" (my colleague picked the name), and for the past 15 years we have brought some bit of relief to medical and dental clinics and orphanages in the country. It began by trips to Ukraine to find people- literally. I went from place to place, meeting and talking to all kinds of people to find out what they needed, looked at the possiblities of what I could actually do, and who I could trust and work with. I realized right away that I needed a trustworthy group in the local centers to make this happen- not so easy in a corrupt system. But, we made it happen in a very grass-roots way, and it is a steady trickle of relief to a troubled country. It began by finding people of like interest.
As far as connecting in community, I personally focus on the present. By that, I mean, to the best of my ability, I put my full attention to the present moment. I don't use call waiting, I multitask as little as possible- because something is either worth my time and attention or it is not. I do have the luxury of a life and profession where I can choose to do that. I have found that when I give my full attention to a friend, a colleague, a patient, a project or a group, that builds a strong connection that is not "high maintenance". We function in diverse fields and interests that call us in different directions, but when we do connect- we are fully present.
As far as meetings that are already established- I just came from the Tallberg Forum, which brought together a semi-diverse group of people, and had many good discussions about world issues. It is the best meeting of this kind that I have been to so far.
Elana Yonah — Sep 5 2006 06:37 AM
For the first time in years i went riding out at Pt. Reyes from the redwoods to the ocean.
I was there because an animator/friend/colleague had referred an entrepreneur my way, as the latter wanted to create a political media campaign for broadcast on large buildings in a dozen or so major U.S. cities.
We corresponded vigorously before he launched his projections. Following the desired media coverage of his high-rise campaign (in SF he projected political images on the Transamerica Building, the Ferry Building and the United States Mint of San Francisco - all without arrest), our discussion somehow led to horses. It was the exhilaration of a full gallop between the damp redwood floor and the brisk sea air that enforced our brief work exchange into what will be an enduring community relationship.
Online connections allow for the crucial frameworks of ones work, ideaology, creativity or community to be shared or sometimes formed - but i don't believe the net, nor large gatherings (like highly stimulating conferences), allow for the depth of commonality that couplets of events or activities do. For example: Omidyar Network conversations (please note plural) and then an in-person meeting at TED or a farmers market (either one).
If a one time gathering of folks is the only way to get people together to attain meaningful large-scale change, Francis Ford Coppola has one of the best formats:
50 people in a large room. 3-4 hours of introductions without reducing the conversation to citations from ones CV. Then a home cooked meal (Francis excused himself to do so) and another day for break-out sessions on highly focused subject matters (in this case, it was to discuss the future of interactive media).
Another wondrous model of communtiy building for replication is KaBOOM!'s community/corporate partnership model. With over 200 completed playgrounds, and over 25 million committed toward more they have created a 501(c)3 that is a catalyst for more than a safe play space for every child in America. With a urban barn-raising (building a playground in 8 hours) they bring volunteers and experts together for the beginning, middle and end (completion) of a single story. This inspires strangers to be life-long friends, and communties to make long-term change.
thanks for the great questions.
looking forward to hearing more answers.
Sam Shiroff — Apr 6 2007 09:01 AM
Jed - you, like many of us have been to an awful lot of conferences and meetings. Some are great and some are terrible. Some are good some years and bad the next. Anyone who has ever organized a conference knows just how difficult and expensive it is. Even the best organization doesn't equal good chemistry.
Like the old salons of Europe, the best events result from the right mix of people brought together by a dynamic host(ess).
The most enjoyable venues usually have fewer than 50 people and limited or informal presentation time, take place in a comfortable setting of natural or combo manmade/natural beauty and last between 48 and 96 hours. Ample alcohol in the evenings never hurts.
It is great to be in a room with very powerful people making high denomination commitments, but that is an arena to which only a limited few have access.
If you want an event that fits your tastes than organize one yourself. Identify the 50 (or less) people you think would fit best together; those individuals who would create the right dynamic and might be more than the sum of their parts.
My guess is that a Jedapolooza would be an event worth attending.
Mark Beam — Jul 2 2007 06:29 AM
This is a timely conversation for us at xigi. Last Friday Tim Freundlich, David Boyd, Brett Galimidi and me discussed our future event plans. Both Kevin Jones and I have organized major successful events which we love to do. It has been part of the xigi DNA from the outset. Jed at our last event in San Francisco (hosted by Tim and Calvert), I distinctly remember you saying "I'd come to these every couple of months." It was just an intimate gathering of about 30-40 people deeply entrenched in the blended value markets. Drinks on the terrace of downtown restaurant with a great view of the city. Nothing more. We are planning our next one for end of July and perhaps something slightly bigger in October. We are also considering just adding a xigi gathering at selected existing events like Skoll and SEA.
A bigger event? Yes but what to do? All of your comments here are really helpful in thinking about this. I am happy to work with all of you to create something of great value.
Kathryn Davison — Aug 12 2007 01:51 AM
Tools for good meetings:
Ban suits
Ban powerpoint
Serve really good food
Use interactive discussions in small, then medium, then large groups
Put experts in circles, not at podiums
Avoid hotel ballrooms
Start with good, personal questions
Stir people up, and get them moving out of their chairs, and let them vote.
I could go on and on, and practically have, here. Jed, this is a vital issue, and people are vitally bored by now. I have worked with an interactive theatrical simulation group, I have used sock puppets, toys, play money, voting with your feet - there are many tools, but our "scripts" about what constitutes a conference are as tired as the 5k fun-run. Help!
My friend Leigh Melander, at the Imaginal Institute, is working with me and the guys at DramaWorks to develop a TED-meets-Spoleto-meets-danceparty. I think we're going to call it Fool's Gold. Will keep you posted. Finance, and blended values and stuff, could be fun, if we escape the dull reaches of the hotel ballrooms. Help! Charity starts at home. Help! : )
Bev — Feb 6 2008 05:40 PM
Berkman Center for Internet and Society a great place to learn about communities. See also Shel Holtz's blog. He seems very wise on this subject. For Berkman, see cyber.law.harvard.edu. I'm helping Berkman with their 10th anniv. symposium and so have had a chance to see more closely the areas in which they are involved with Web 2.0 issues of many kinds. Also see their affiliate, Global Voices.