Posted by Internet at Every Where on 10:38 AM
We continue to have countless conversations with funders and others who want to "grow" networks of collaborations and innovations. This is impossible until they have enough network literacy to understand what it means that a "network" actually "grows."Here are 9 simple indicators of network growth, to this purpose. They become both indicators and strategies for the intentional growth of existing networks.People in the network gain broader and deeper awareness of the available assets in the networkPeople in the network gain broader and deeper awareness of potential new collaborators and co-conspirators in the networkPeople in the network spend more time introducing people to one another who are 2+ steps away from each other in the networkPeople in the network spend more time introducing themselves...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 1:06 PM
Special thanks to Oustruplund, J�rgen Vognsen, Mai Espersen, Hjemmet and my mom for help to make this happ...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 9:37 AM
Special thanks to Dansk Landbrugsmuseum GL. Estrup, Irene Hellvik and to my m...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 12:50 PM
Special thanks to Thelma Uranga, Irasema Gonzalez, Tejer y Poder Students, Pros Arts and AfterSchoolMatte...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 12:21 PM
I wonder if a Goldman Sachs executive would spend a night in the house above? After all, they do kind of "own" it. The house, in the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland, had a mortgage that was part of the Goldman Sachs synthetic CDO, ABACUS 2007-AC1. In 2008, the house was foreclosed upon, and still sits abandoned today. At least the ivy devouring the south side of the building seems happy.I am writing this in the Red Chimney restaurant, a social hub for the locals in Slavic Village. This place is probably the only thing that has not changed drastically in the last ten years in this neighborhood. It feels very comfortable -- old networks...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 6:55 PM
Special thanks to Vers10n Fest, Ed Marszewski & Dayton Castlem...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 5:58 AM
A Network Weaver is someone who is aware of the networks around them and explicitly works to make them healthier (more inclusive, bridging divides). Network Weaversdo this by connecting people strategically where there's potential for mutual benefit, helping people identify their passions, and serving as a catalyst for self-organizing groups.If you at at the NTEN conference, or want to think about what it means to be a conscious Network Weaver at any conference, check out the Google Doc we created to gather what we learn. We are particularly interested in learning what it means to witness others being Network Weavers. How can we notice and support people who are natural Network Weave...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 2:05 PM
What if we invented an approach to democracy where voting was not a design element in the model. Voting continues to be the root cause of unchallenged excesses, bad decision making, special unethical interests, and leadership incompetence.In most cases, voting is an excuse to avoid conversations that are information-based, inclusive, and innovative. There is no wisdom in crowds of weak networks. Managing assets in the commons can happen in strong networks of people as long as the commons are at the scale of networks where the degrees of connection are relatively close. In these networks, people come together to create commons they manage through conversations that matter. A very different world inde...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 6:43 AM
We often think of our networks as belonging to us, or our group/team/family. We imagine they have an identifiable beginning and end. We want to draw borders to define "yours" and "mine." Yet, in reality we cannot. We really cannot define where my network stops and yours starts... no matter if you are a person, group, organization, or country. We are all intersected and our connections overlap with those of our network neighbors. Boundaries are fuzzy, at best.Let's look at a simple example. Organizations, whether for-profit, or not-for-profit, usually have a Board of Directors. We can think of this Board as a network that belongs to the...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 4:42 PM
As networks grow, they grow in confidence. Confidence is the expectation of success and comes from thousands of small acts of success within and across networks.These small acts include solving common problems and problems in common together and sharing learning, knowledge, opportunities, talents and resources together. Every instance of success adds to the network's collective self-confidence that incubates even more collaborations and successes, resulting in "virtuous spirals" of thrivancy and thrivability.And of course, the narrative culture within networks accelerate and scale ripples of confidence throughout the network and beyond to other networ...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 10:32 AM
June, Valdis and I have seen countless networks grow over the past 30 years. It's interesting to see networks grow from weaker to stronger. They go through four stages in the process. Here is a model based on the phases of human development. When we bring people together in their networks, we see all four stages within various connections in the network.Best of all, unlike human development where phases cannot be skipped, effective network development can involve immediate acceleration to an emerging and scaling network of adult connections.InfancyPeople in the network feel dependent on formal leaders to make things happen in the network. Their whole life is structured around demands that parent leaders take care of all their needs. Their whole thrivancy is based on the trade of compliance...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 12:09 PM
As you may know, I've been working on a Network Weaver Handbook for some time now. I've got almost 100 pages of activities and stories that you will be able to use with your networks, and I think it will end up around 200 pages before I'm through. But right now, I need your help!I have loaded the Table of Contents in a google doc and hope you will click on the link to the page, then add comments, questions, edits, etc. Here are some questions:1. Which part looks most interesting or exciting to you?2. What is missing that you would like to see included?3. What is included that you don't think is that important?Thanks so much for working with me...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 10:40 AM
Beth Kanter and I met at a workshop for foundations last fall. She loved the concept of Network Weaving and we decided to spend some time figuring out the synergies between Network Weaving and social media. We decided to use a call line she had but Skype would work as well. Meanwhile, she set up a little exercise for us to do, which she described on a google doc she set up.Exercise:1. Create 3-5 slide powerpoint with photos that defines/explain network weaving and your key ah ha from session2. Upload into SlideShare3. Put in the Network Weavers Group4. Comment on someone elses slides5. Create a new deck based on feedback and/or remixing...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 9:24 AM
A recent article called Structural Folds: Generative Disruption in Overlapping Groups , by Balazs Vedres and David Stark is chock full of important research on innovation, collaboration and networks. Vedres and Stark studied relationships among businesses in Hungary over the last 20 years. In contrast to Ron Burt�s concept of structural holes, they explore the concept of structural folds.The concept of structural holes describes how individuals who span two different clusters or groups can become powerful by brokering the relationships and information flow across the clusters. Managers who span structural holes often move quickly up the corporate ladder.Using the concept of structural folds, Vedres and Stark argue that moving ideas from one cluster or group to another is not enough to spawn...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 7:46 AM
How do we get started with self-organization?One simple process (adapted from a Peter Block activity) I've used many times is the Opportunity Process. Here's the simple steps:1. Have people put their interest or current passion or challenge on a 9 x 12 sheet of paper or PostIt. Have someone sort into Action Groups of 3-10 people.2. Have each group identify opportunities in that area where something could really make a difference right now. 3. Generate ideas for small projects/small acts that could help the group explore that opportunity. Each act needs a champion.4. Identify the gifts (skills and resources) that the project team already has to...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 9:09 PM
Networks can actually envision and measure their economic growth impacts on communities and regions and network spaces. Here are just a few indicators that can consider:Number of new college-degreed & non-degreed jobs created by current organizations in each sectorNumber of jobs created by new organizations in each sectorNumber of new organizations coming to locate here from outside in each sectorNumber of new organizations started from within the community in each sectorNumber of new product and service lines offered by community organizations in each sectorNumber of people in the community less or no longer dependent on public services and aid in each sectorNumber of businesses performing better in each sectorNumber of organizations with successful strategic processes in each sectorNumber...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 5:02 AM
In Appalachian Ohio, a small group of non-profits worked with a regional/community foundation to set up an Innovation Fund called the Yellowroot Fund. This fund had less than $15,000 a year. It provided small seed grants ($500-3000) to small collaborative projects in the region. All projects had to include a mix of both entrepreneurs and support organizations (non-profits, tourism bureaus, local gov't, etc). The first year 15 projects were funded. Most were successful in small ways, but several were very dynamic and successful, and we helped them access larger dollars. Innovation funds encourage people to work collaboratively -- but in small...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 2:05 PM
I have created a Network Weaving List on Twitter. This is to follow those who focus on network weaving/building/organizing/mentoring/coaching/facilitating/etc. This list is not about network analysis nor network mapping.Please see what is being tweeted and send me a DM to my @orgnet account if you would like to join.The three authors of this blog are all active on Twitter: June, Jack, and ValdisCome join us as we weave conversations and networ...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 8:48 AM
As the funding landscape shifts at the rate of the economy, many funders are rethinking, if not reinventing, the way they approach their missions and success metrics.There continues to be a whole genre of problems and issues in every market and community that persist specifically because of the fragmentation and competition among funder grantees. Many funders are realizing that systemic issues cannot be impacted by any amount of fragmented or competitive efforts.This is not to say that there isn't value in the kind of fragmented and competitive efforts supported by funder RFP and award contests. Much good has come from these over the past decades, but there is a glass ceiling of impact and outcomes that can only be broken through with new kinds of collaborations between and among providers.More...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 12:25 PM
In every network, people cluster by affiliations. These are affiliations based on shared transactions, ideologies, interests, adversaries, demographics, and histories.And there are two basic types of affiliations, dynamic and static. In static affiliations, people cluster with an intention to protect the membership and characteristics of their affiliation. Sociology sometimes refers to these as "strong cliques" where people feel a relatively strong/sticky sense of loyalty to one another and the basis for their affiliations.In dynamic affiliations, people cluster with an intention to grow and evolve their cluster's membership and characteristics. They are more loyal to the kind of inclusion and diversity that allows the cluster to emerge as a self-organizing, adaptive ecology of connections.When...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 3:38 PM
The more we understand about networks, the more amazed we become at their immense and inscrutable power and elegance, starting with the fact that networks do not have "centers" or "boundaries" and act more like complex adaptive systems than orderly hierarchies. Getting things done in networks barely resembles the rules of getting things done when the whole is divided into power, knowledge, and responsibility haves and have-nots. Best and worst of all, networks do not "play by the rules" because they are intrinsically too fluid and self-organizing for that. And because of that, they tend to be far more incubatorial than traditionally designed organizations and social structures when it comes to innovation and resiliency.So are they simply random fields of chaos? Hardly. The more we intentionally...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 3:24 PM
Why is that we've arrived at the place where so many of people consider the term "dysfunctional non-profit board" as a redundancy? Especially when so many non-profits are struggling to survive and their communities value them more than ever. From a group design perspective, board dysfunction is both an unnecessary and talent-wasteful practice to continue.One of the most common indicators of really poor board design is when boards "look forward to the new board president,� incorrectly thinking that a change in leadership could possibly compensate for poor board design.Following the design principle that "things always perform the way they're designed to perform,� the only way for a board to perform better is to better design the structure and functionality of the board. Then, when a board is...
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