A safe place to explore and have fun

When part of a network, it’s nice to know that members share a common purpose that you can identify with. It’s what binds you as a group and drives you to work together. It is fun to connect and collaborate with people, to create new insights and as a result be creative based on those insights and innovate.

Annoying are the people who seem to think that everything is there for them to break down and diss. There are simple ways to deal with this at least, the easiest being to block these negative elements (IP address, name, etc.). Fake identities, identity theft and the like are more difficult to combat.

We need selection criteria and membership thresholds for becoming part of a successful network. Invitation only! If it’s worth being a member, it is worth putting effort into becoming a member. For a network to be successful at innovation we need people from diverse disciplines to come together, so making a selection on profession or role will not do. We need to put in place criteria that help us select based on common purpose and shared value systems. We start with a small group that share this common purpose and value system and have them invite new members, these members than have to be evaluated by at least two other members (chosen at random?) before being allowed to join. After joining, members receive a certificate that is used to identify themselves to the network, but also includes characteristics which are used to authenticate them as being who the say they are.

I know some will not like this, for it puts limitations on spontaneous behaviour and collaboration. It will most certainly limit the exponential growth of many of the open networks created out there. Let’s face it, would you like to have your kids do their homework together with other kids who share their interests, or with unknowns who can potentially harm their mental or even physical well being? NO? Then why should it be any different for you?

Follow up on starting networks

How do we provide purpose and direction to a network? How do we create a context where people want to work together and learn together? We need a shared vision, a shared identity and themes around which we build our community and act consistently to the outside world.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Then why are so many networks failing? I have stated before that most are chaotic and lack focus. It’s mostly about having the most contacts, a game that will be won and then it’s over. We need more. We need context to put our relations and purpose into perspective.

As stated, we need a shared vision, a vision that is not necessarily obvious at the start, but will gain transparency and momentum while building on ideas. This is also the basis for creating an identity as a group, we identify with the vision and involve people based on common purpose, common ground and experience. Within our network, we focus our efforts based on themes we identify with as sub groups. A theme provides the basis for subjects, objects, or a combination of both to keep our eyes on the ball and work as a team. Another advantage is that groups or individuals outside our first tier network identify with our network based on such a theme. This makes it interesting for companies to create communities of customers and interact with them to improve their offerings.

To summarize, we need to connect through common purpose, base our identity on common ground and act in a shared context based on common objects and or subjects.

Reflected reflection

When we are part of a network and, as previously stated, see ourselves reflected in that network, what does that mean? Do we see our conceptions and misconceptions reflected and do we find common ground in the confirmation of our peers? Do we find reflection of who we are and do our peers challenge our conceptions and misconceptions? I am looking for confirmation on being a worthwhile individual and want to be challenged so I can learn and grow. I am under no illusion that I am unique in that respect and think all people are in their own way looking for respect and a group of people they can trust and learn with.

Everybody has his or her own balance of value drivers, and chooses his or her own networks based on this balance. I would like to make this reciprocal; being part of a group means to understand the nature of the group and strive to make it better, not just yourself. It’s about adding to the world; new ideas, concepts, etc.. This means that networks can not just absorb everyone, we have mechanisms to separate and exclude chaff, we have mechanisms to reward sharing and adding new ideas, we make people feel proud of what they are part of. It’s our job to make it worthwhile on a group level, without loosing identity or at the cost of a superiority complex. You are welcome to join, but be prepared to be challenged to stay part of us!

How are we to benefit from this financially? It is actually quite simple; we need money to live our lives as individuals, but the source of our money is the community we live in. So join the community and act with the community and create value for the community. Participate, it will most certainly reward you for it in the expression of our time’s value; money.

How are businesses going to benefit from this? An old greek saying is: “The gods listen to mortals who listen to gods”. I think it’s self evident.