Collaboration

This is my favorite: what are the barriers to international collaboration and open innovation? What kinds of tools would Zaadz need to allow change agents to incubate and grow ventures that change the world? What are the benefits and limitations of Basecamp? Lez collaborate, innovate, permeate, and delegate…

Re: Collaboration

I like accountibility.  What's that like in the online space?  It seems that activity can get so frenetic, but there's a story I hear often.  ” I worked all day long, andI worked hard!  I was here, and there, and … everywhere between!  But when I looked at the end of the day, nothing was done!  It seemed like I had nothign to show for it!”

Staying focused on computer work is difficult.  A lot of people spend 30 seconds here and there, but it really takes some time to get something done of quality online.  Or in the real world!  I think accountibility is the best tool and remedy for this.  The most powerful feature of Basecamp is the task list and the little bar by it…you know…the one that says “this person is responsible for this task.”  I use that to help me stay focused and on track; having a check in with my team so I can talk about successes, failures, and ask for help, that's key, too, and Basecamp doesn't do that! 

Re: Collaboration

Alex, no doubt you touch a basic point! Responsibility, accountability are keys.

And what amount of free attention, energy. money and other forms of intention and energy and committment is everybody willing to invest and able to invest?

Again….interesting posts and insights here:

http://www.evolutionarynexus.org

Cheers,

Albert

Re: Collaboration

Defining and choosing “what to collaborate on” is the challenge.  This ties into the concerns Alex already raised about slicing attention into thinner and thinner pieces and getting nothing done at the end of the day.  And Albert's concern about what level of attention and energy people are able and willing to commit to.  There is a natural and necessary process of winnowing that does not take place nearly enough.  For this to be an evolutionary process, it must be a little more Darwinian.  What functionality exists to reinforce the evolutionary benefit of (transcend and exclude).  For example, how many pods do each of you belong to, but hardly ever have time to contribute to?  There is a natural tension between a social networking site (even of people committed to changing the world) and a site or platform designed to build the resonance to make that happen.

The structure of typical discussion threads tend to expand horizontally very quickly.  The more targeted a discussion the more easily it can be projectized.  The challenge of starting broad conversations and progressively funneling them into laser-focused threads is difficult to manage in any current system, we might need some brilliant tech support here.  :-)

 Changing the world requires a platform for action that allows each of us to experience an increasing, cumulative resonance of attention, not just with a common vision –> projectized, but with tools that support the resonance effect itself.  It should draw me in and allow me to be more productive, more focused… (surveys, structured value hierarchy etc.)  There should be some attraction model that draws me toward the projects which I have the most affinity with and passion for.  Then if you multiply that by the millions that Brian wants to bring into Zaadz, then you would have a resonance effect like that number marching across the Golden Gate Bridge - but hopefully with a more positive metaphorical outcome.  

Re: Collaboration

Great questions, Sam. I spoke with George Por, Otto Scharmer and many others about it the last 2 years.

See also:

 http://www.evolutionarynexus.org

Will come back later to thse questions,

Albert

Re: Collaboration

Here the basic article :

What is evolutionary Nexus?

http://www.evolutionarynexus.org/node/12

Albert

Re: Collaboration

Defining and choosing “what to collaborate on” is the challenge.  This ties into the concerns already raised about slicing attention into thinner and thinner pieces and getting nothing done at the end of the day.  There is a natural and necessary process of winnowing that does not take place nearly enough.  What functionality exists to reinforce the evolutionary benefit of (transcend and exclude).  For example, how many pods do each of you belong to, but hardly ever have time to contribute to? 

The structure of typical discussion threads tend to expand horizontally very quickly.  The more targeted a discussion the more easily it can be projectized.  The challenge of starting broad conversations and progressively funneling them into laser-focused threads is difficult to manage in any current system, we might need some brilliant tech support here.  :-)

 Changing the world requires a platform for action that allows each of us to experience a cumulative resonance of attention, not just with a common vision –> projectized, but with tools that support the resonance effect itself.  It should draw me in and allow me to be more productive, more focused. Then if you multiply that by the millions that Brian wants to bring into Zaadz, then you would have a resonance effect like that number marching across the Golden Gate Bridge - but hopefully with a more positive metaphorical outcome.  

Re: Collaboration

Forgive my ramblings if I head off in a horizontal direction myself. I agree with Jim that the myriad of approaches, techniques, pods, and very importantly, other online forums continues to spread us even thinner., I believe the biggest obstacle to pulling more of us together is just the many avenues to building conscious community. There are so many discussions I would like to participate in, but the fact is I spend a lot of time out in the world doing the work I think I'm in this life to do. I nurture people and families, cook and feed people, and teach them how to do the same for themselves in sustainable ways. I am all about building community, I'm very social so I put people together that have common visions or interests, and I believe I raise consciousness by spreading the love, having compassion, and trying to make people more aware of just the moment they are in.

Granted, I live in Portland, Oregon, and also a very progressive, community-minded part of Portland. I feel that I am in a fantastic place for building community, and teaching things like sustainability and compassionate communication. I am very focused on doing and teaching these things as part of the sustainable life I'm developing. So how does this fit into the larger picture I often ask myself. Am I supposed to teach people in other places that are not as far along how to do what I do here? And if that is so, what is the right method of doing that, leading people to a blog, participating in online discussions? I have a very full life already, much of which is doing the work we are all talking about. How much time should I devote to helping this vision grow on a more global scale, which I am totally interested in doing?

So two questions come to mind, first, what is a good balance between doing the actual work we are all talking about, and talking about doing that work? I have participated in many online discussions, usually with people too far away to actually meet in person, and have always wondered if any of us took anything away from the discussion that we put into actual practice. Sadly, I know from discussions with people that many of us spend lots of time online discussing and don't seem to have time to do something like volunteer in our communities.

The second question is where do you spend your time online to be most effective? I am or have been an active participant in several online communities, and most seem to be effective at what they do. I have met good people and participated in good efforts from all these communites, but I can't possibly be active in all of them as much as I'd like to. So where do I spend my time to be most effective, and touch others that will be inspired to go do their own good work? Yes I know Zaadz is the easy answer, but I am in other groups that have manifested good things so that is not such an easy answer for me.

I understand that leveraging technology is an important tool in bringing people together. I support the efforts such as Web 2.0 from my limited understanding of what it's all about. But technology doesn't usually reach out and touch someone, that takes people. I am building community every day by being out in the world and seizing the moments I have to interact with others in a positive way. All that takes is a phone and/or email. And if the people involved in developing technology to serve this purpose have a vision of how this will all work and not be just another portal that people are too busy to support, then I applaud you and would like to learn what your vision is. I am also not against technology or computers in any way. I was a project manager and developer for a software company in a former life, but the message I learned over and over is that it is the content that matters mostly, more than the machine or the software.

So what I want to know is what will we all talk about when we connect with each other? I have been asked to participate in a state wide Sangha (or Zangha as it is connected with Zaadz). I'm all for it, I would love to meet other people who are doing some conscious community building and learn from them. But as I'm connected with other groups that gather for particular reasons, community service, art and performance, spiritual growth, I wonder if these Zangha gatherings have a particular focus. Is it more than just another discussion, albeit a face to face one? Will we accomplish something concrete that day, or develop definite plans to do something concrete? I'm just wondering how to make this an effective gathering next spring, and not yet another discussion about enlightenment techniques, and much motivating each other without something with tangible results coming out of it.

Thanks for listening.

Peace and Blessings,
Robyn