Blog Post 5/12/2010

At the Ohio Public Media camp I had an interesting conversation about the purpose of collaboration. I was speaking with an educator who is interested in using more collaboration tools (things like wiki’s or google docs) as a way of getting more out of her students in their group projects. While discussing the merits of different tools we came to a point where we realized that collaboration does not, in itself, mean working together for a larger goal – or at least it isn’t being taught (or interpreted) that way in many cases.

Consider how people come into a collaboration. First, there is the idealized way; people see an opportunity to create something new that can only be done with help from each other and so they come together to create this greater thing – giving of themselves what they can with that singular goal in sight. 

The other way is the market based collaborative effort.

This market based effort is more about trading one thing (skill, money, goods) for another to create something that couldn’t have been done by one person. This is still collaboration but the end result for those involved is usually less about what they are creating and more about that creation giving them each individually something in return (fame, fortune, a good grade).

The difference is subtle but I think important. When you are considering collaborative efforts are you looking to create a better community or are you looking to exploit the project to expand your revenue stream?

Blog Post 2/12/2010

Let’s say you want to figure out what to do on the weekend. If you don’t already have a set of options to choose from you will probably look up your friend, you know the one, that friend that just seems to always know where to find some action. They’ll likely end up linking you up with several other friends and before you know it you’re out having a ball.

Every network has a hub and that can mean either a person or a place. Hubs aren’t usually the coolest person or place that you know, instead hubs are (almost by definition) the most connected and often the most inviting people or places.

In order to be a hub you have to be open to accepting diverse connections. You have to see how those individual connections interweave like connecting social dots. A hub is almost always a generalist of sorts; the hub doesn’t get too bogged down in details because the hub is always looking for opportunities to connect those dots that will produce the important details.

By making these connections the hub can create it’s own power of influence. Some people and places are all about being specialists; that is how they earn their social power. An office building specializes in providing office space and derives its power from the perception that it is about serious business. A nuclear scientist derives their social power from the perception that they know a great deal about nuclear processes. But do those things have to be specialists to succeed? Do they actually have to rely on those skills to have influence and create brilliant new possibilities?

No. Of course not. What if that nuclear scientist is the one who knows how to network two other, more brilliant scientists together (maybe they aren’t even both in the same field); and perhaps that nuclear scientist knows of investors who want to bring the resulting brilliant idea to market.

Power of influence is only limited by the sphere of connections we open ourselves up to. So what role fits for you? Are you a hub or a specialist; or, are you finding a way to be both?

Blog Post 1/25/2010

I’ve talked in the past about how online digital media provides everyone with the opportunity to promote themselves and their passion in a way that we could never have imagined before the existance of the internet. This concept brings forward a lot of questions however. Consider this video (give it a watch before finishing up the article).

Espresso, Intelligentsia from Department of the 4th Dimension on Vimeo.

The video is really two stories and two opportunities. Depending on your interest you will surely pick out one of the two as being the obvious one, but they are both equally on the nose in my opinion.

The skill of the filmaker is in full view in this piece. Clean editing, good use of color splashed in with the black and white and a crisp message. The film’s star is clear and concise and there are no wasted words nor frames in this short film.

How about the subject of the film, both the idea of how to make the perfect espresso as well as the showcasing of such a knowledgeble barista? Given the opportunity to purchase an espresso from this barista versus another why wouldn’t you choose him? His attention to detail is amazing.

Look around in your daily life and find those people who take their job, something that might generally seem mundane, and elevate it to an art form. This pride in every detail is really something special – it is exactly what makes them stand out.

Consider how you might find something that is comfortable, a career path or otherwise, and turn it into your celebrated art. Then, think about how you might let the rest of the world in to celebrate with you. Are you ready to open those doors?

Blog Post 1/15/2010

I’ve had the unfortunate experience of being in a position where the management provided no guidance but actively stifled attempts by the workers to, themselves, implement innovative changes. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Worse, have you also survived such an organization?

During a staff meeting the administration proclaimed, “This is not a democracy, it is a dictatorship!”

That is all well and good. Clearly a single decision point allows for decisions to be made very quickly. Unfortunately, in the world we work in there are few decisions that can be made thoughtfully and wisely by one single person. Proclaiming yourself a dictator has strong connotations toward the fact that you will not be looking for help in making decisions or coming up with ideas.

What is most important in these scenarios is the declaration statement itself. You see, at the point you feel the need to declare your dictatorship – your supreme power over all decisions – you have already lost the ship.

Positive Leadership

Some leaders are much more comfortable taking the responsibility of decision making upon themselves, even in the best of times. This is effective in certain scenarios, and when done  from a stance of mutual respect can weather most storms.

To be a truly effective leader one must surround themselves with staff and advisers who are creative and motivated. Instead of fearing these peers they empower them. Instead of disregarding their ideas they develop a pool of solutions which can then be selected from. Even though the decision ultimately rests with that one administrator, that “dictator”, they will not be perceived as such because they have created a field of mutual respect.

In the most progressive of cases (the style that I teach), the leader will not be a dictator at all because they will use consensus to arrive at the solution. Instead of making an educated decision they can truly know that the wisdom of the group has spoken and delivered the solution to them.

I am Dictator – Hear Me ROAR

Sadly, when management roars out, “This is not a democracy, it is a dictatorship!” there is a reason that the organization shuts down around them. That is because the statement is only made when the leadership has decided it has a lowered (or zero) value for the staff. It does not trust the staff and, rightly so, the staff may be responding with a reduced trust of the leaders. Where staff has come forward with ideas to right the ship the leadership choose instead to run-aground out of fear that by changing course they show weakness.

Ultimately however this power struggle is already over and the leaders have already lost control. If the staff stays with them after not having their voices heard then the staff will know that they are not valued and will in turn work down to that level of diminished value. Whenever possible, the staff will leave and soon your organization will be competing with your past employees – some of whom will gladly exploit your fresh weaknesses.