The Idea Hive

Our Nine Planetary Boundaries

david — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:29:10 +0000

It is clear that the global poor are going to be disproportionately affected by the growing spate of environmental catastrophes in the 21st century, such as the terrible and historic flooding in Pakistan. If we want to preserve and increase global well-being, we need to take responsibility for the systemic causes of these environmental issues, which originate — for the most part — in the consumer societies of Europe and the USA. Climate change is only one of the issues that is causing, and will continue to cause, an increase in human misery unless we take coherent action to change things. Johan Rockstrom of the Stockholm Resilience Center talks here about his work on the 9 planetary boundaries that his team has identified which, if permanently crossed, will lead to catastrophe. These include such issues as biodiversity loss, and freshwater usage, as well as more familiar ones such as atmospheric carbon. We have already crossed several of these boundaries. It is time to take action to bring us back into alignment with reality. This is the core paradigm shift we will be exploring at SOCAP this year, in the Transformative Innovation in International Development track, which I am curating, along with the help of my friends at Collective Invention.

Becoming Part of Global Mind

david — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:50:25 +0000

photo credit: MikeBlogs

The mind is like a richly woven tapestry in which the colors are distilled from the experiences of the senses, and the design drawn from the convolutions of the intellect. Carson McCullers

To deal with the global challenges we are facing as a species, we need to choose to become part of global mind.

What does this mean?

Imagine yourself as a neuron. You are connected to many other neurons. You are continuously receiving information from many different directions, deciding which information to pay attention to, and which not. You are constantly synthesizing this flow of information into some form of meaning — a best understanding of the current situation — and then you share that best understanding with your friends. If neuron Bob is telling me that he thinks we don’t need to worry about global warming, and yet neuron Sarah is telling me that global warming is causing the flooding in Pakistan, then how do I make sense of that, what is the story I tell to others as a result?

What ends up happening, over time, is that each neuron starts to pay more attention to those connections whose information helps make most sense of the world, and pay less attention to those connections whose information increases confusion.

This creates a network that is an integrated, living mirror of the reality that it is experiencing. It is a system that is in a continual process of refining its model of the world, so that its experience of reality makes more sense. This is because it is only from seeing a world that makes some kind of sense, that you can begin to take more effective action.

The function of your brain it to make sense of your world; the function of your social network is to make sense of your collective world, whose complexity requires far more than a single human brain to understand.

By learning from the stories of others, we can paint a better shared picture to achieve a clearer understanding of the world.

From this understanding arises an equation that describes the potential for a social network to leave a dent in the universe:

O x C x D x A x P = Better Future

O: the openness with which each node deals with information of all kind: its active willingness to learn — (multiplied by)

C: the amount of creative energy each node puts into the network: its willingness to synthesize & share (multiplied by)

D: the cognitive diversity of the network, so that we can collectively see things from the widest range of deeply informed viewpoints possible (multiplied by)

A: the degree of access to resource networks (multiplied by)

P: its shared focus around a common purpose to create a better future for all

This is the formula for how to to be part of global mind.

Choose to act as if you are one of the neurons, to help create a better future.

Coalition Of The Willing from coalitionfilm on Vimeo.

The Subtle Art of Provoking Serendipity

david — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:16:47 +0000

photo credit: Jillian Rose Taylor

You don’t reach Serendib by plotting a course for it. You have to set out in good faith for elsewhere and lose your bearings … serendipitously.
- John Barth, The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor

A teacher of ours at the GreenMBA, Julianne Maurseth, likes to say, “People gather and things happen.”

And what is the most wonderful thing that can happen when people gather? That would be serendipity.

Serendipity is the emergence of desirable novelty from a chance encounter, the discovery of something wonderful, unknown and unpredictable. It is the act of unexpected cross-pollination, the seed of something new.

Much of lasting value comes into being serendipitously. How many of the most amazing things that have happened to you have happened because of an overheard word, an accidental encounter, a connection made by a friend? Serendipity is the antithesis of control.

As Isaac Asimov said: ‘The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!” but “That’s funny.”‘

Serendipity is fundamental to how the universe works.

So how do you best generate serendipity? How do you create an ecosystem of innovation, a culture of creativity? How do you nurture the conditions for it to occur?

Gather requisite diversity.
- Seek originality in each person, as that amplifies the creative potential of the network. Find the positive deviants.
- Bring people together with shared values, focus, and high cognitive diversity.
- Add novelty–people who don’t already know each other–into the system.
- Find people who are actively seeking serendipity, as that will amplify the serendipitous nature of the network. Such people will have large active networks.
  - Serendipity occurs when you go looking for it. The more connected you are to the more different things, the more serendipity will emerge. Knowing 100 people leads to a different order of serendipity than knowing 10 people.
  - Serendipity occurs when you recognize it – it is present all the time, if you are looking for it.
Nurture a sharing, evolutionary culture.
- Set a generative field by modeling the culture as one that values openness, collaboration, social, playfulness, the future, communication, exploration, learning, diversity and creativity.
- As in improv, the key to nurturing the emergence of the collective flow is to dance with it, play with it, and seek joy with it.
- Seek coherence not synchronization.
Weave the network together.
- Move the culture from: attention -> awareness -> caring -> engagement.
- Help people gain familiarity and trust in the network.
- Encourage parallel communication to flow.
- Once the network gains coherence, a meta neural network begins to emerge, a field of serendipitous possibility.
Issue a provocation.
- Set the system into dynamic motion.
- Ask the right question to stimulate the collective evolutionary potential of the network to unfold.
- Light the spark, that illuminates the whole to itself.

So though you may not know which way you need to go to reach Serendib, or even where it is, there is a way to greatly increase the possibility of reaching that destination, wherever it may be.

You will be surprised at what unfolds!

(#appreciation for inspiration, including, but not limited to @NurtureGirl, @VenessaMiemis, @RossDawson, @kevince, Napier Collyns, @RaineBjorendahl, @InnovationWatch, Bob Horn, @graham_iff, Maureen O’Hara, Roshanda Cummings, @jhagel, @CreatvEmergence, and @curtisogden)

Being a Network

david — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:13:37 +0000

I was reading Living Networks by Ross Dawson, and I found that table 6-1 – Action Steps to Building Network Presence shows how thinking like a network really helps an organization to be more effective. The bullet points below all came from this list, but I felt inspired to rearrange them slightly so that I could gain a deeper understanding of how they all fit together.

Networks are incredibly rich in information, but often the important signals are flooded by very high levels of noise. Your organization can become more effective by applying an understanding of how information flows through networks, the behaviors that emerge as a result, and how best to access the relevant parts of the flow so that you aren’t overwhelmed by the noise. You can reach people more easily, you can understand what the rest of the world is thinking, you can be more creative, and you can make better decisions.

For me it comes down to three activities: Listening. Thinking. Speaking.

Listening: Adapt to the shifting environment by being conscious of the stories that the network is telling. From this you can better understand how to respond.

Monitor customer communities
Get faster, richer feedback… and use it
Involve customers in innovation
Use input for customization

Thinking: Improve distributed decision making and creativity by being conscious of your internal flows of information.

Identify and empower network hubs
Nurture communities of specialists
Create adaptive systems
Develop a collaborative culture
Foster external networks

Speaking: Grow your tribe. Spread your memes more effectively to those who are interested by being conscious of the stories that you tell. Aim for virality.

Design for propagation
Foster network effects
Create interaction
Choose fertile territory

To read more of what Ross has to say on this subject you can download the whole book at Living Networks.

Two Pathways to the Future

david — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:44:11 +0000

It strikes me that the footsteps of human behavior primarily follow two well-worn paths, which are beautifully illustrated in this mural (which can be found at Capp & 24th St in San Francisco). Here is a short Prezi telling the story of those two paths. To get the full effect it is best viewed full screen.

Two Pathways to the Future on Prezi

Kleiwerks International Haiti CoLaboratory

david — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:23:34 +0000

Over the last few days I’ve been helping a friend, Janell Kapoor of Kleiwerks International, tell the story of the high leverage work they are doing in Haiti to help it move onto a pathway to a more sustainable future.

Seeing the potential of a more thrivable future, and telling stories to help lead us there, is one of the key skills needed as we move into the second decade of the 21st century.

Kleiwerks International Haiti CoLaboratory

View more presentations from David Hodgson.

and here is a great video about the work that Janell did in Thailand

Good Cop/Bad Cop: NGOs Ride Herd and Keep Corporations Honest

nancy — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:40:54 +0000

The emotional appeal of an animal's face helps NGOs reframe an issue.

In a remarkable victory for two nonprofits, the caring consumer and endangered orangutans, Nestle announced recently that it will no longer buy palm oil from companies that contribute to the destruction of rainforests. The nonprofit Forest Trust confirmed that it will work with Nestle to help the corporation rid its products of unsustainably-produced palm oil, paper and lumber products by vetting and monitoring the corporate giant’s supply chain of vendors. The agreement comes after a gruesome but effective public education campaign by Greenpeace caused public outcry and pressure on Nestle.

Vigilance by the non-governmental sector is key in this case as elsewhere. NGOs play an essential role, acting as advisers, educators and critics of government and business. With varying, sometimes questionable or even dangerous tactics, NGOs nevertheless serve as the conscience of society. If they’re doing their job, NGOs are asking the tough questions, keeping others honest, and occasionally grabbing people by the shoulders and shaking hard.

Some NGOs, such as Greenpeace, play the bad cop, risking necks and raising hackles with their dramatic campaigns. Other NGOs play the role of peacekeepers: trust, but verify. The Nestle announcement comes after a campaign by Greenpeace that highlighted the irresponsibility of the corporation’s sourcing. This edgy ad, which went viral, shows a bored office worker what he is really consuming when he bites into a KitKat made from irresponsibly sourced palm oil:

Gross? Yeah. Effective? Oh yeah! The announcement by Nestle comes just two months after this ad’s release; Nestle tried to remove the video from circulation, but it went viral, and public outcry ensued.

A simple boycott of KitKats or other products would be ineffective in this situation, since palm oil is ubiquitous in everything from chocolate to cosmetics to some biofuels. The strategy of putting pressure on the producer to in turn pressure its supply chain seems to be working in this case, and should be a model for future action.

Following Greenpeace’s poking, The Forest Trust moved in to provide assistance. It will work with Nestle and its suppliers to ensure that palm oil is sourced sustainably; Greenpeace will also monitor implementation and compliance. Greenpeace Senior Campaign Advisor Andy Tait noted that this could and should be a positive message to palm oil producers: “if you don’t stop deforestation and protect peatlands, your days of supplying to global brands such as Nestle are over. This is a very positive step forward by Nestle, but delivery is critical, and we will be monitoring progress carefully.”

The Forest Trust comes to the table with the skills and experience to verify that Nestle will keep its promises; the two entities will work together to ensure that Nestle acquires palm oil only from companies that comply with local laws, protect high-value conservation areas, and “Support the free prior and informed consent of indigenous and local communities to activities on their customary lands where plantations are developed.” These guidelines will be communicated to all its global suppliers, who will also be audited, and will exclude those who breach the guidelines.

Despite the examples of global financial collapse and environmental disasters, much is still written these days about how business is the most efficient and effective delivery system for goods and services, even to those at the base of pyramid. The”bottom billion” of the planet may be viewed as potential entrepreneurs and consumers, but nonetheless they–and the ecosystems on which we all depend– still need the assistance and vigilance of mission-driven organizations with a focus beyond profit.

A version of this post appeared originally on Care2.com

The Case for Examining Organizational Resilience

kas — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:16:20 +0000

photo credit: rachel_thecat

I was scheduled to fly to Amsterdam this past Tuesday — as you can imagine, that didn’t happen. As I wait out the next few days before my new departure and rearrange my schedule on the other end of the Atlantic, my thoughts turn to that one little volcano, waking up after 200 years, and the economic firestorm it has caused around the world. And that has me pondering…

Does your organization’s strategic plan include what do to in case of a volcano? Perhaps those who live and work in such places as the Big Island of Hawaii or Iceland do – but to 99.9% of all other businesses that may have seemed like a ridiculous question a week ago.

What are the potential “volcanoes” for your organization? By “volcanoes” I am referring to those events that may seem highly unlikely, but would inflict great impact on your ability to operate if they occurred. [Author Nassim Nicholas Taleb refers to these events as “black swans”]

Think of the companies in Europe right now that can only muster an “oh shit” approach to the last few days under the debilitating ash cloud. Should government bailouts be the default answer to organizations that #fail during a crisis? I for one, sift through the news to find the stories of flexibility and ingenuity that have come from this latest crisis (example: Cisco Systems’ videoconferencing suites that can offset international travel or the British Navy sending three warships to go pick up their citizens from Europe’s mainland).

At The Idea Hive we teach our clients several techniques for testing organizational resilience. One such process examines an organization’s products and services against a vast range of potential futures. An internal client team is recruited to brainstorm a wide range of potential futures to test against the company’s products and services. This is where one person’s top of the head thought of a volcano in Iceland and another person’s mention from the inside back page of the morning paper hold equal value for testing resilience. In the end, it’s how the product or service interacts with a range of these potential future events that informs the long-term viability and flexibility of what a company offers.

Another process utilizes a 3-D modeling technique called Kinesthetic Modeling (KM). This technique helps a client to embody a complex issue; debrief from multiple perspectives; and then translate those findings into organizational knowledge.

For example: A client may choose to model their supply chain, and during the course of modeling we probe its structural integrity (by adding, subtracting and shifting elements) to uncover patterns associated with its resilience. Imagine while working the model you are asked to describe, “what happens when …? Is there anything missing?”

Strategic plans should not be shoved in the bottom draw of a C-level executives office. On the contrary, finding opportunities and discovering potential vulnerabilities for one’s core offerings should be a living part of the daily organization. After all, isn’t having a learning organization the best defense in an ever-changing world?

If you are interested in learning more about building resilience into your organization’s DNA, feel free to contact Kas Neteler at kas@theideahive.com.

Beyond push-ups: Resilience as a test of fitness

nancy — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:50:58 +0000

For individuals, organizations, and society, the only certainty is change. Once that is accepted, we can turn to developing ways of mitigating the effects of the change, of embracing and dancing with whatever presents itself next. Once we shift to accept that change is a constant, we can embrace opportunity and mitigate negative effects by cultivating resilience.

Click to enlarge

The attached graphic (created on an iPhone while riding the BART train…because doesn’t true resilience mean embracing the possibilities of each and every moment?) points out the parallels between physical fitness and organizational fitness. A truly toned athlete is a remarkable combination of flexibility, strength and endurance. These qualities need to balance for optimal physical performance – if the gymnast’s back is too flexible, she risks weakness and injury; if a dancer’s muscles are too heavily developed, her flexibility suffers…and so on. Likewise, if an organization is too flexible, it risks losing its way, being pulled hither and yon by the prevailing wind; if too focused on “strength,” then stiffness can set in, creating inertia. Even too much focus on long-term endurance can lead to missed forks in the immediate path.

The Idea Hive is co-hosting Design 4 Resilience on April 10 at the The Hub Berkeley, a coworking and event space for social enterprise. D4R is a full-day exploration of resilience as a strategy for thriving in an uncertain world, and a call to action to prepare for the crises and opportunities unfolding today. Inspiring morning speakers and an Open Space learning in the afternoon promise to flex and strengthen attendees’ resilience and design muscles. Interested? Register for D4Resilience. Additional hosts include: FAS.research, Sociate.com, The Hub Bay Area, SOCAP10, and Shareable.net.

See you there?

Help Wanted in a Tough Business: Must be Collaborative and Kind

vanessa — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:54:55 +0000

Sara Livingston is guest blogger for The Idea Hive. She is an Associate Professor in the Television Department of Columbia College, Chicago and is the Director of the Television Arts Learning Community. Sara holds the title of Distinguished Teacher, and had been the recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award. She is a nationally exhibited video artist as well as a media activist who consults with organizations on using media as a tool for social change. Her work has helped numerous cultural and civic organizations use social media to achieve their institutional goals and make vital improvements in their communities.

In a business known for it’s toughness, what do Hollywood Studio Executives look for in a new hire? Heart!

I teach Television Arts at Columbia College in Chicago and was invited to take part in a three-day seminar for educators sponsored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. This yearly event chooses 20 educators from around the country and offers them access to industry leaders on the cutting edge of creative development.

The conference, we felt, offered us peek behind the curtain and might reveal the secrets of medium’s new direction. We would then bring those secrets back to our schools.

I expected to learn about the impact of technology, the changes in the commercial and financial models, and the problem of the eroding viewership…and I did. But their projections, figures and innovations did not impress me as much as the answer to a simple question posed to a panel of studio executives: “In these times of turbulence in the industry, what are the most important skills you look for when hiring new employees?”

This is the crucial question for educators, since we are charged with the task of preparing the next generation of media professionals. The answer would have significant impact on our advising process, our curriculum design, and could even influence our hardware and software purchases. I waited for the answer, ready to transcribe all the words of wisdom the panel might offer. Every one of them said essentially the same thing.

We want someone who’s a good collaborator, good team players.
We need people who can leave their egos at the door and work for the project not for themselves.
People who are kind—not just to the producer but also to the crew.
I will hire someone I want to have lunch with…someone who has a life, a sense of humor, is a good conversationalist, who is well read, who keeps up with current events.

What a surprise! Not a word about technical skills, writing ability, or creative problem solving. When pressed about these things they said that everybody who shows up at their door has talent, skills, and creativity–so how to choose among the best? Who knew the thing they wanted the most was collaboration and kindness—and from an industry that Hunter S. Thompson describes as:

“The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason.”

This answer should have been completely obvious. The Television business, like many other businesses, is one that demands collaboration and cooperation. The industry runs on teamwork because producing a good product is virtually impossible to do alone. Have you ever seen the credits on a TV show with over 100 “collaborators?” The executives evidently understood something essential about their business.

I took this information back to my colleagues and we began to put together an experimental program in which collaboration was the central focus. We don’t skimp on the skills and creativity; those are a given and are still present. What we changed was the behavior that was rewarded. The assignments are impossible to do alone, so anyone who goes solo will have a deficient product. Some quizzes are taken with a partner to reinforce the belief that combined knowledge is powerful and efficient.

All homework projects depend on negotiated collaboration among student teams and are based on the “writer’s room” concept. The writer’s room is a model in which a script is read aloud and the whole team (rather than just the teacher) evaluates and contributes notes for improvement. This practice not only yields better scripts but it helps people practice giving constructive criticism in an atmosphere of team solidarity.

We called this experiment the Television Arts Learning Community. It is unique in the country and has been flourishing for five years. The first cohort of students graduated last year and many are working in Hollywood for the industry that requested professionals just like them.

I’ll be writing about the joys and challenges of creative collaboration and transformation over the next few weeks and invite you to comment about your experiences here on the Idea Hive Website.

For more information about the Learning Community, The Television Department of Columbia College Chicago, or our Semester in LA you may contact me at slivingston@colum.edu

Sara Livingston
Associate Professor, School of Media Arts
Columbia College , Chicag0