Focus On Improvements

Although I have always tried to reach out individually to students, whether through their preferred learning style, topics which related to their social environment and interests, or with activities they enjoyed in class, never has there been a point in time when the emphasis of learning was so learner-centred as now. With the increasing implementation of mobile tech, learning is revolving around the student: with their iPads, they can work calmly through their iBooks or create their own book with materials which they choose and are relevant to both themselves and their course work. [...]

by Ana Cristina Pratas @AnaCristinaPrts

Longer interview with Open Source Ecology founder Marcin Jakubowski that shows the (not always obvious) possible bridge function #transition of the OSE vision - a belief in technology AND reconnecting. (julia)

"Founder of Open Source Ecology Marcin Jakubowksi is creating open blueprints for the building blocks of civilization, starting with the Global Village Construction Set. This set of 50 low-cost machines will allow anyone to build all the infrastructure a community needs – including, at Factor E Farm, one of his own."

via @mbauwens

frog developed the Collective Action Toolkit to help groups of people create positive change in their communities.

* How to Develop Your Brand

As Tony Hsieh of Zappos would say, your culture is your brand.

You can spend a lot of money in advertising and posturing about who you are, or you can demonstrate it through your behavior.

Behaviors (as well as shared attitudes, values and goals) form your culture. Your culture informs/defines your brand.

.....core values you’re committed to to form the foundations of your culture?

Zappos culture, for example, is based on these 10 core values:

1) Deliver WOW Through Service
2) Embrace and Drive Change
3) Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4) Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5) Pursue Growth and Learning
6) Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7) Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8) Do More With Less
9) Be Passionate and Determined
10) Be Humble

A similar list can be found in the core values of Agile Boston:

* Serve Others
* Be Purposeful
* Create Results
* Create Relationships
* Increase Learning
* Communicate Honestly
* Create Fun
* Be Focused
* Be Committed
* Be Courageous

I’ve found this kind of intentional culture design to be truly transformative, and actually enjoyable. It creates psychological safety to know what’s actually valued by a community, so you can lovingly ‘call bullshit’ on others when they’re out of alignment with those values, and quickly correct situations that lead to unnecessary drama.

* How to Develop Your Community

This goes hand in hand with developing brand and culture.

I’m going to again reference the things covered the other day in the Memes, Manifestos and Movements post, specifically the insights about cultural/community development put forth by Dave Logan and Eric Raymond.

Dave’s advice was:

* Listen to the conversations around you
* Speak in terms of collective values
* Actively triad

Eric’s advice included:

* Name things
* Find the Deepest Yearning
* Use Cultural Capital
* Develop Mission Awareness

In both instances, the keys to weaving together and activating a network/community had to do with strong communication and leadership.

One of the things that came up in the interview discussion was how to better make the community visible to itself and foster collaboration within it.

Here are a few ideas in response to the original questions:

1. Raise awareness of organization’s presence in the world

Build relationships with people and groups in alignment with your mission and values.

What your organization cares about or represents already exists in the world. People are already doing it, or talking about it. Find them. Give them props. Be excited that you’ve found each other! They are your tribe, and will help you spread the word.

Partner with projects and events that reinforce and support your stated objectives.

Collaborating and teaming with other groups within the network demonstrates an actual commitment to collaboration and teamwork. Show your awareness of who’s out there already making things happen, and honor them by finding ways to support their efforts, share resources, and not waste time duplicating work.

Celebrate wins with the whole ecosystem.

I’m reminded of Kevin Kelly’s post about Brian Eno’s concept of “scenius,” which is defined as ‘the intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene.’ It talks about the ‘network effects of success’ as being part of the operating principles of a scenius. “When a record is broken, a hit happens, or breakthrough erupts, the success is claimed by the entire scene. This empower the scene to further success.” If your organization is trying to position itself within an ecosystem, share news of your own successes while also participating in the successes of the kindred spirits in your network.

2. Make goals and objectives clear to the public

Help others locate themselves in relationship to your story.

Have a clear vision, mission and values on your About page. Be explicit about what you want and what steps are currently underway to actualize those things. Give examples of accomplishments, and how you measured success. Show how the efforts being undertaken from other independent entities within your ecosystem are by default also supporting your own goals.

3. Make it easy for aligned partners and projects to engage

Design structure for interactions.

Provide some clear entry points and tiers for engagement. (To donate, click here. To promote or share with your networks, do this. To participate in a project, see what help is needed here. To submit a project, follow these submission guidelines. To join the conversations, go there. To let us know about your community, introduce yourself here. etc)

Provide some standards and guidelines for what quality and excellence looks like. (If you’re fostering dialogue, set the ground rules for engagement so there’s a bias towards sharing, learning and growth. If you’re looking to promote collaboration across projects or communities, help define the protocols of communication and documentation that promote interoperability.)

Have the question “How can I help you?” at the top of mind and heart when engaging with others in the network.

4. Weave smaller communities together into a larger global ecosystem

Uncover the bigger picture story, and tell it.

Talk to the people in these communities, and look for common patterns in the beliefs, values, language, and practices within them. Connect the dots and help shape the narrative, find common ground, and discover the vision that everyone is already sharing.

Tell people what’s in it for them.

I’m a believer in enlightened self-interest, the idea that we can act in a way that serves both ourselves and others at the same time. I see this as similar to a non-zero-sum game, the concept that we can have outcomes that don’t require one player to lose in order for the other to win. (In fact, it’s theorized that as networks and society becomes more complex and interdependent, we realize this strategy actually makes more sense in enabling everyone to get what they want.)

People are already pursuing their own goals. They may be unaware of the other players, unsure of why coordinating with those other players might actually make their own goals easier to reach, or how to do it. Help tell that story.

How do we form learning cultures in times of accelerating change? What tools and practices can self-organizing structures implement to become more agile and adaptive? I just received a copy of a ne...

Venessa Miemis is well known for brilliantly summarizing transition-relevant books and conepts. Here she goes again, with her friend Dan Mezick's book "The Culture Game"'s core learning practices, adding her own experience plus valuable resources, which she mostly highlighted and summarized before. (julia)

This is a conversation between International Economist, James Quilligan and Charles Eisenstein, author of Sacred Economics recorded at Immediacy Studio in Me...

I long for more open and inspired discussions between "heart and reason", as one commenter describes it. Still so many questions left....watch it ! (julia)

Charles Eisenstein shares his book online: http://sacred-economics.com/

( tweet by @CDEgger: Finding this really helpful: Seeing 3 distinct roles in creativity- artist, editor, agent )

Do you have a chorus of voices chiming in whenever you have to make a big decision? How to get your inner selves to work together.

...There are three voices within every creator:

The Inner Artist

The Inner Editor

The Inner Agent

To have a successful career, we must all learn how to deploy each of them at particular times, and keep them from stepping on each other's toes.

I would argue that most of the problems in our creative lives stem from bringing the wrong part of ourselves to the task at hand. Most of us under-utilize at least one of the three roles and over-use one of the other roles.

A thriving creative career requires consciously shifting between the three voices, utilizing each at the right time...

"Sustainability: a global introduction" examines the global forces that will determine our sustainable future. We'll look at such questions as: What are the biggest threats - is it loss of biodiversity, climate change, or population growth?

Is "peak oil" real, and can renewable sources bridge the energy gap?Where are we headed - do demographics, economics, science and policy point towards a prosperous future?

The course is completely free, and delivered online. There will be a mixture of readings, short lectures, quizzes, collaborative projects and discussions. All participants who successfully complete the required activities (and tests!) will earn a completion badge.

This course is the first ever "MOOC" (Massive Open Online Course) on sustainability, and is being supported by the School of Earth, Society and Environment, the Office of Online and Continuing Education, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and by the University of Illinois.