Hiya Tony, I think pretty nearly everybody at OC wants to see the group develop into a more substantial organization. I think almost nobody is really crazy about Just Another Membership Organization with a Paywall. Nevertheless, I think everyone agrees that we are doing as much as we can do with what we have.
I myself am fond of the idea of a cooperative structure (co-op), where instead of membership fees people actually buy into the organization. I think it is the fairest way and also the most flexible internationally speaking -- that is what it was invented for after all. We can go much further, I agree. But not with our present resources. We are I think at the outside of what we can accomplish on the respources we presently have. And we have done a lot with what we have. But it is not a patch on what we could do, I agree with that 100% As for mentorship: we as Open Coworking know ...if not everybody, then quite a lot of people. And a lot of the people interested in mentorship come through our doI think with a very little interest and effort we coould facilitate mentor relationships as well as coaching and so on. I also see a number of initiatives launched and think, damn, I wish they had let me know, because so and so is also doing such and such, and they really should know about each other. On Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 11:49:07 PM UTC+2, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: > > Jeannine, I am grateful for your taking charge on this and sharing your > thoughts with the group! > > Ultimately, I think a lot of this comes down to what you and the other OC > leaders want to be spending your time and energy on. Does the development > of a more substantial organization sound exciting, or intimidating? > > The kind of unification Melissa talks about could help set up the movement > to remain healthy for a long time to come. I can imagine something that > plays a roughly equivalent role to the NAACP; a champion of a movement it > does not itself control. > > I could see OC carrying on in its current lightweight form, achieving some > of what you and Melissa have envisioned, but only as far as volunteer > resources can take it. > > I could also see OC raising money to hire people who could work to achieve > greater progress towards these goals and more. > > I'm personally interested in the latter, but fine with the former as well. > > I will say this: while the members of this movement have done well to find > each other and continue to maintain a strong sense of culture and > camaraderie, there are also a ton of people working in places that they > think are coworking spaces who have no idea any of us even exist. I think > there is a tremendous opportunity for the people who stand for the values > behind this movement to take a more prominent role in showing others what > is possible when you build not just a shared office facility but a truly > connected community of peers. > > Maybe it's the New Yorker in me, but I don't see anything you've mentioned > as being too ambitious. I think we could go much further. > > As to the specific things mentioned, I like seeing OC focusing on > platforms like this group, the blog, wiki, map, visa, etc. I have a harder > time envisioning how the mentorship efforts fit in. I see OC focusing on > maintaining things that empower people to create things and connect with > each other. > > I'm excited to see where it goes from here! > > Tony > > > > On Jul 2, 2015, at 1:38 PM, Alex Linsker <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > > > > Thanks for this exploration. As part of Open Coworking, I would value > regular check-ins and phone and in-person talk time on specific topics with > people who own and manage coworking businesses with similarities to mine. > I've been part of small groups (up to 14 people) that meet each week at the > same time, with similarities between our businesses and shared interest in > actionable learning. I'd like to be in a group with other coworking > owner-managers where: > > - the business is talked about transparently in a safe space > > - the business pays at least a living wage to at least one person > full-time > > - the values defined previously by Steve King and others on this group > for what is coworking are honored > > - the coworking places in the group have existed at least 1 year and the > people in the group are passionate about learning and building vision > somehow for their place and community. > > - we meet for at least 10 weeks, an hour each week, and participants are > on the calls at least 7 out of the 10 calls. > > - there could be a text to read or topics to discuss for each call, > where we share what we're working on and get support for, and relate with, > our goals. > > > > I would be open to facilitating that group and open to others > facilitating instead. It would need at least 6 people. > > > > Alex Linsker, Collective Agency business owner > > (503) 517-6900 office | (503) 369-9174 mobile > > 322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200 | Portland, Oregon 97209 > > > > -- > > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > > --- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Coworking" group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > an email to [email protected] <javascript:>. > > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
