Hi Karen, There are a lot of great and diverse ideas here; for the moment I'm going to think on a big-picture level and try to provide a counterbalance which I hope will help define how best to proceed.
* Puts on Starfish hat * (This hat is really uncomfortable and pointy) Okay, so as many of us well know, the Coworking movement is a starfish organization, which is to say, it's a decentralized entity of people who share a belief in a central concept. Ori Brafman & Rod Becksrom's book, *The Starfish and the Spider*, does a fantastic job detailing why such organizations are so powerful. Perhaps my favorite chapter, though, is the one that describes how to *kill* a starfish. I don't have a copy of the book on me, but I'll try to get the gist of it here. One way that they described was "Turn the starfish into a spider." That is, centralize that which was once decentralized. The chapter detailed the story of a starfish movement that was wildly successful, and very innocently and with the best intentions established a central fund to help more people interested in the movement get on their feet. The problem? The central fund was a huge success. Millions of dollars poured in, and this fund ended up needing a huge staff of people to figure out who gets what amounts of money. The constituents were less empowered, and hierarchies formed, and the strengths and flexibilities that the organization once had were lost. * Takes off starfish hat * Okay, so that being said, does that mean we do nothing? No. But it means we act carefully and responsibly so as to ensure we maintain the accessibility and flexibility of the movement. So how to proceed? I'm not sure exactly, but I'm forming an idea. I think the ideal goal would be to establish an entity which **services** the Coworking movement, but is its own separate organization. This organization does have the ability to have a central structure and a bank account and so on, but does not have authority over the movement as a whole. So, perhaps, the Cowork Network would identify a particular segment of the Coworking movement that it chooses to service, and it could become a very successful entity that services that segment while still maintaining the movement on the whole. That's entirely doable, and I'm happy to help however I can in fleshing that out... because finding a way to help provide a lot of the resources you suggested would be fantastic. I think there will be many successful companies & organizations which will service the people who have adopted the concept of coworking, and now is a great time to start forming them. Karen, I think we're in for a really good discussion today, and hopefully by the end of it we'll have a much better idea of where to go next. Thanks for stirring it up! Best, Tony New Work City On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 6:52 AM, Karen Origlio <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Over the past few weeks I've met/emailed several group members to > discuss the idea of creating a non-profit organization to support > coworking space owners and members. > > The idea is to have an organization whose mission is to help spaces > start and sustain themselves, and link them together. Imagine a > knowledge base of information and resources for a space catalyst, or > collaborating with members in other locations via video conferencing > or finding the specific expertise you need for your latest project > through a member directory... Coworking will be an industry, not just > a movement. > > This organization can also assist the independent worker and > entrepreneurial spirit found in so many members...I'd love to connect > members with affordable and much-needed medical or disability > insurance... > > There seems to be some interest in this idea. What do YOU think? Good > idea? Let's discuss. > > If yes, I see two next steps: > > 1. Form a Board of Advisors to define the mission and vision of the > organization and contribute their expertise and knowledge. Not sure of > the time commitment needed - probably minimal - perhaps an hour > conference call in the next few weeks. > > 2. Define a list of projects for the Cowork Network and help identify > people to assist. > > Would love to hear your opinions pro or con, on list or off. > > Thanks, > Karen Origlio > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
