Values

Those things which we value, the things we ultimately care most about. The principles, beliefs and accepted standards that guide how we go about building community. Just as important as what is in this list is what is missing.

People. At its heart, community building is about putting people first, which means allowing ourselves to be personal, genuine, authentic and fallible and creating a safe place for all caring community members to do the same. All who care are automatically members of our caring communities and all are welcome. We don’t pick winners, and we can’t predict who will be successful innovators.

Action. We strongly believe in both experimentation and engagement. The former means finding the future by trying out new things and listening to what those results tell us about the world, about our partners, about our assumptions. The latter means walking the talk; care is often talked about but then left undone. We think care should be carried into the world at every opportunity. Both of these beliefs lead us to value action.

Persistence. We know first hand that community building, innovation and system transformation can be extremely hard. We don’t expect to get it right the first time or even the 10th time, but we do expect from ourselves and welcome others to keep showing up, keep building and trying again.

Reflection. It’s also often the case, however, that our culture is too quick to say, “That sounds like a good idea. Let’s go try it” before quality reflection has been made. Great ideas are usually also born as mere babies, needing care and attention to develop. We believe that time, quiet, diverse input, and varieties of experience can all help us find the future we’re looking for.

Possibility. True to the historical, pioneering roots of our culture, we believe that the future holds even greater possibility than we can imagine. But imagine it we must. We believe that the dominant modus operandi of identifying problems and then searching for their solutions is outdated and incomplete. There are problems and we should find solutions. But the fullest future will present itself if we press into possibilities.

Transparency. Our work is to create an open network for all caring community members. Transparency of relationships, resources and opportunities are key to engaging and welcoming all people into the fold. As such transparency is useful in building community because it opens possibility and facilitates action and promotes respectful and caring relationships.

Partnership, Collaboration and Co-Creation. To create an infrastructure of relationships and resources to get more things done, produce all events, programs, and special features with a set of partners who actively care about the issue at hand. This goes hand in hand with our belief in community. We don’t think that individuals will ever have the complete answers, but communities can. As such we must work in partnership and co-create both as a matter of practicality, but also as a matter of faith.

Resource Density. Replicated efforts in the community can add up to a stronger network and more knowledge and opportunity in the community. Working with the sound byte “collaboration is the new competition,” we refuse to participate in turf wars and do not support the building of fiefdoms. Instead, we admit that none of us has all the knowledge, experience and answers to alone to best serve the entire community and believe there is value in different people and groups trying concepts their way. Our aim is to help these groups be better themselves, collaborate with each other and build a social fabric among community members that supports interdependent relationships.

Fresh Process. There’s an old adage about continuing to do the same thing will yield the same results. While some of the work of community building is age-old, it is important for us to develop and bring a fresh take to our models, formats, events, ideas and ways of operating that inspire sense of new possibility. To do this, we put work into the details, paying special attention to hospitality and design and bringing together people and ideas in ways that don’t normally happen.

Not: Power.

Not: Money.

Readings & Links that Shape Our Value Set

  • The Awesomeness Manifesto
  • Bill Strickland
  • Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness (2004)
  • M. Scott Peck, The Different Drum (1987)
  • McKnight, John and Peter Block, The Abundant Community (2010)
  • C. Otto Scharmer, Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges (2009)