I know you're addressing Alex Linsker, but I wanted to share that I'm going through this in a big way right now. With Indy Hall moving in the next 4-5 months and we have a LOT of members heavily involved in the decision making, though our ownership structure is a simple LLC and we don't have a formal voting process. Right now we are going through some very tactical space design decisions for the new spot, and it's been AMAZING.
It's been especially interesting to notice the similarities and differences between the people who have been members for a while and members who are brand new. In some cases, brand new members see things from a fresh perspective and have done a great job of reminding longtime members of things they might take for granted. One of our metrics for success is actually "time to contribution" - essentially how long from joining does it take a member to find their thing to add to the mix and make the community better. For a lot of people, participating in a public decision is a gateway drug for leading something of their own. Faster isn't necessarily better than slower, it's just something we pay attention to. The way I see this, it allows us to have any member, even if they just walked in the door today, to feel like a "founding member" even if it's in a small way. That level of buy in doesn't depend on formal ownership - instead it depends on our leadership style that actively notices what people what to do and back them up/celebrate them. The payoff can end up being multifaceted; in some cases it helps people's business, their confidence, their creativity, their network, etc. and for us the short and long term benefits range from people telling their stories and helping more people learn about us, to increasing member lifetime, to simply perpetuating the effect of members knowing that their participation is valued and valuable. -Alex (Hillman) On Wednesday, March 30, 2016, Trevor Twining <[email protected]> wrote: > Alex, this is fascinating. I want to make sure I understand: are you > saying that anyone can walk in off the street and have no financial stake > in your organization, but still participate in making decisions? > > > Trevor Twining > [email protected] <javascript:;> > 416-201-2254 > twitter/skype/linkedin: trevortwining > > > On Mar 29, 2016, at 8:38 , Alex Linsker <[email protected] > <javascript:;>> wrote: > > > > This is a great thread. I'm interested in talking with everyone who has > a co-op or workplace democracy and is interested in sharing more best > practices. > > > > Collective Agency started very similarly, out of Jellies, then we did > presales. Members have not wanted to be a legal co-op and have not wanted a > board, and voting rights are without needing buy-in, like voting in a city > or village. We went too far in the direction of members-only, and lost some > serendipity, but instantly got that back recently at open events. We are a > workplace democracy, and have been described as a "hybrid model" between > being a workers coop and a buyers/members coop. We are a member > organization of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives; sister companies > in Portland include Equal Exchange, People's Food Coop, and CityBikes. We > were a member of WorldBlu and won awards in 2013. > > > > Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon > http://collectiveagency.co > > > > -- > > 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] <javascript:;>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- ------------------ The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself. Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast -- 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.
