> Great responses all! I do have some additional questions; the sensing vs. > intuitive component of my intellect is kicking in and I'm needing some > examples to get it. (Sorry in advance for asking so many questions.) > > OK, let's see if we can tune the dials a bit
> We intentionally frame the 2nd part to give them the opportunity to > volunteer, and be a part of the improvement they want to see. Our last Town > Hall (last week) left us with pretty clear goals for the next couple of > months, and have some new "project leads" stepping up from within the > community. > > > Can you elaborate on what you do and/or how you frame it to give them the > opportunity to volunteer? > > Having people involved in the space from the get-go sets this example. We signed a lease on a Tuesday, and sent out an e-mail that day asking people to show up on Saturday with rollers to start painting. The following week, a desk-building party. Turning tasks into social events sounds sneaky, but it's worked really well at helping people identify with a sense of ownership. They're more than paying members, they have an emotional attachment to the space because they've contributed to its existence. They're proud of it. The beauty of this is that it's the first shove in a cycle of creating more of this mentality. The people with that sense of attachment lead by example, and new members that join see that activity and the reward (public thanks and recognition is the simplest reward), and the cycle continues. Tying needs to special interests helps, too. One of the topics at the Town Hall was regarding the installation of Bike storage. Someone who actually rides his bike every day has a vested interest in seeing that happen. I gave him the contact info of our landlord to see if they're interested in supporting the idea before we do it ourselves. He gets to run with it and not only fulfill his own self interest in having a bike rack, but now he's a hero for the other bikers. have some new "project leads" stepping up from within the community. Can you mention some "projects" and how you establish project leads? > > The bike rack project is one example. Designing and installing sound baffles to cut down on echo is another. I think the #1 way we've established project leads was to pair peoples' interests and areas of expertise, with their own self-interests, with the greater benefit of the community. It takes some massaging sometimes, but more often than not, the opportunities present themselves as the diversity of the community and its' needs grows. > The hardest part of community involvement is going beyond being > transparent. Leading by example (and finding others within the community to > lead by example) and show that "if you want to do something here, you can!". > > > > Can you give examples of "Leading by example?" > > Monkey see, monkey do. :) Before some members started collaborating out in the open, people more or less kept to their own projects, socializing but less on the idea exchange. Once a few members started showing that it wasn't only safe, but beneficial to work out in the open, share ideas, and find partners...collaboration and teams started to form MUCH more often. > > The only time we dodge a suggestion is if it conflicts with our core > values, and at that point we get to explain those core values and help the > person re-model their suggestion in such a way that it fits better. > > > How do you define your "core values?" On your website you have: > > > By putting a community's best interests first, we've created a work > environment focused on openness, collaboration, community, sustainability, > and accessibility. > > > How do you define the "community's best interests?" And which "community?" > In Atlanta we have the broader community which is far too broad to have > consistent interests beyond lack of crime, etc. > > > Core values aren't shared 100% across the board. There's no requirements that you need to identify with any, or all, of those things in order to be a member of IndyHall. What we believe is that the greatest value from involvement is when some, or all, of those values are considered. There are also lots of people outside of the paying membership that identify with those values. They tend to be the ones that we align best with as an organization. Tend. :) How to define the community's best interests is tough, but what it means in this case is that it was the community and not any one individual's best interests. Does that help? How do you deal with ensuring that people can communicate with not only you > but all the other members, and in a way that is not overbearing? For > example, neither me nor my partner are at the space every day 9-5 so many of > our Occasional members can go weeks without seeing us. > > > We have just set up a Google Group for discussion amongst members but I > feel that will quickly become unbearable for some if there is too much inane > discussion, and not everyone will actually join the group. > > > We've thought about using Yammer but not everyone wants to run yet another > client. > > > We've thought about using a hashtag like #ia on Twitter and also having > large screen on the wall of each of our two areas that scrolls the #ia > screen so people didn't have to always be paying attention to Twitter but > big screens cost $$$. > > > Any other ideas? > > We use Basecamp in the same way that you've used a google group, and even in that case, you end up with some people paying more attention than others. A lot of our members are on Twitter, and we broadcast a lot of messages/updates that way, but it's not 100%. We have a bi-weekly newsletter that we distribute with Newsberry. We have a Campfire chat room that gets used in waves. Geoff is a big proponent of Campfire but I haven't seen adoption pick up enough to make it consistently used. E-mailing me, while old and funky, is tried and true :) I've seen Ning groups born and die. I've seen Facebook groups born and die. There's a very real problem, especially as you grow, with keeping communication moving when members (and owners/catalysts) are not in the space every day. It's something we continue to try, and I'm always interested in new ideas. The only thing that's CONSISTENTLY kept people in touch was events...not tools. Introducing regular ritual events help. One of our newest is a regular group lunch, every Friday. It's focused on new members meeting people, but not exclusive to it at all. > As a startup entrepreneur, I have lived "bold" many times in my past so I > definitely get that. But what I don't yet get are specific examples of what > bold looks like related to promoting a coworking space. Can you give some > examples of what you guys did that has been "bold?" > > I think that the act of opening a coworking space in the public fashion we've been talking about, itself, is bold. That's a really good question, though. I'd need to come back for some more specific examples. > Make your organization a leader in your local industry. > > > We have many different industries in Atlanta. Which local industry did you > guys choose to be the leader in, and how? > > Our focus was initially on independents and mobile/remote workers, which was easy, because I was (am) one. We're actually NOT focused on startups, but we are focused on business in Philadelphia. I think by showing that there was an alternative way, not just place, but WAY of working...we garnered interest from the general business community in Philadelphia (and elsewhere). Make improving your city a part of your goal. A part of your mantra. A part > of your reason for existing. > > > What kind of things are you doing to improve Philly? I guess I'm looking > for constraints. Members filling potholes would improve the community but > probably isn't the best choice we could make for improvement. > > Improving the visibility of a quickly growing industry is economically valuable. Our biggest goal, and so far success, has been changing the perception of Philadelphia from both the inside and the outside. Internally, it's a morale booster, which translates into more people doing things (developing groups, projects, businesses, etc). Externally, its a marketing tool on behalf of the city. The fact that people outside of Philadelphia know what's going on here, where 2 years ago, people IN Philadelphia barely knew what We've been focused on building a "community center" for creative, technical, > and startup-focused individuals with a goal of helping them get to know each > other, become resources for one another, and ultimately grow business for > one another. Sounds though like that's not what you mean. Sound like you > are referring to something "greater" than that? > > No, I think you nailed it. We've used the term clubhouse. But it's interchangeable with community center. What's "greater" than that is the fundamental shift of mentality that comes as a result. People consider what they are capable of differently when that clubhouse and support network exists. That mind-shift was what we really wanted. Space along the way is an extremely valuable bi-product of the process. > Desks and collaboration are NOT a part of our core mantra, surprisingly to > some. You're not going to get the attention of the city by putting a bunch > of desks in a room. > > > We've made a point it's not the desks, but we have focused on the value of > collaboration. Sounds like you don't see that as having much value? > > I may have mis-spoken here. Collaboration is extremely valuable, and as I've mentioned, is part of the mind-shift we've experienced. I'll eat my words and say "my bad". Collaboration, though, is tough to impose. It's environmental, but it's also organic. I think space is a step towards opportunities for collaboration (acceleration of serendipity, if you will). I think we focused more on togetherness than collaboration (until we formed IndyHall Labs, which IS in fact about aiding collaboration), but collaboration came as a more organic bi-product. You ARE going to get the attention of the city by gathering minds, achieving > goals, proving a track record, improving a local industry, and as I said at > the beginning, being bold at every turn. > > > Examples? What kind of goals? How have you improved (a) local > industry(s)? > > I've got a bunch of examples through here so far that I think help draw this picture better. Again, I can come back with more specific examples if needed. WHEW! That was fun. As a sidenote, I'd love to turn this dialogue into something a bit more readable so it can be republished. If anyone's interested in taking that on, I'd be happy to proofread for context and start sharing it around. -Alex --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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