Hi Alex, 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.)
> We've been public about our growth numbers, most recently > integrating them into a new quarterly "Town Hall" meeting format. > We share membership numbers, and goals. The most valuable part of > the Town Hall has been a section of the format that asks attendees > for 2 things that they love about IndyHall, and 2 things that they'd > like to help change about IndyHall. Great idea! > 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? > have some new "project leads" stepping up from within the community. Can you mention some "projects" and how you establish project leads? > 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?" > 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. > There's no fancy technologies. We tried something like > UserVoice.com, but found that it was just a lot more effective on > our scale to remove all barriers between members and our > leadership...with the goal of our members *becoming* leaders in the > community. We're always looking for, and trying, new ways to involve > people, with events, formats, projects, and more. 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? > I think I'll give the same advice I give to startups that ask about > "how to get press": be bold. Find ways to add value, and do it in > bold ways. If you're doing good things for your city, and you keep > doing good things for your city, and you continue to make sure that > they're visible, you will get noticed. 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?" > 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? > 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. > When Geoff and I started working on the earliest stages of IndyHall > as a community concept, he was telling me about his founding of his > local civic association with the goal of improving the neighborhood > he lived in. The value of working to improve your surroundings is > immense, and that became the beating heart of our mission: to make > Philadelphia a better place to make a living doing what you love. > That's a great mission to check ideas against, and partnerships, and > opportunities. People identify with it, and it's crystal clear why > you're there. 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? Again, can you elaborate? > It's also important to define why you're interested in being noticed > by the city. Is it for recognition? Press? Funding? Public > resources? What else? Good point. I'll really have to think about that one. > 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? > 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)? > And the best part about our solution is that it doesn't rely on the > city for support. Heh. Same here. We've decided "rather than wait on them doing the right thing, we'll do the right thing without them." > We keep doing what we're doing, with or without them. We've had > similar discussions with other organizations that are big and slow- > moving, and our mentality has always been, "look...we're working > towards the same thing, and that's great. but we're not going to > wait around. we're going to keep doing what we're doing, and when > you're ready to get on board, or see an opportunity to get involved > in a way that you're comfortable...we'll still be here and you're > more than welcome to join us". Great positioning, I like it. > In the spirit of disclosure, it helps that Geoff has been involved > with civic organizations. Quite a bit. He's been on transition and > branding committees with the mayor's office. He's sat on panels and > boards with leaders from many, many significant communities. He's > not directly involved with the city, but having people involved with > your community that have a a track record with city officials helps. > Again, if this is a part of your goal, be on the lookout for those > people, and give them an opportunity to contribute by bringing their > network to the table. Interesting. I have been involved in the startup and entrepreneur community running Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs (1800+ members in 3 years) but have not gotten involved with the city yet. I guess that part should have been obvious to me, and I also guess I can see how we need to align it with our goals and mission. Funny how things are so obvious once someone points them out to you. :-) Thanks again, and thanks in advance. -Mike Schinkel Ignition Alley Atlanta Coworking http://ignitionalley.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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