> > That's an interesting approach. We are facing the same issue - it's hard > to come up with rules/policies without having some sort of > interaction/experience with coworkers.
Remember that rules and polices not only prevent the bad things you don't want to happen from happening - they also tend to prevent the good things that you want to happen from happening too because people operate differently in an environment where they don't feel like they are trusted to do the right thing. Trust is one of the most important assets you can build with and between your coworkers, and having a "rulebook" or a bunch of policies gets the relationship off on the foot where you express that you don't trust the coworkers. Instead, work on creating guidelines, and keep them simple: emphasize what you want people to do instead of what you don't want people to do. These ideas are defaults, too, not restrictions. People can fall back to a guideline easily if they aren't sure what's right, but don't feel limited or untrusted to do what they think is right. And of course, if and when something goes wrong, you have a guideline to fall back to and reference. You can always add more guidelines as needed. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Wed, Mar 21, 2012 at 10:58 AM, Natalie Chan <biwenata...@gmail.com>wrote: > Josh, > > That's an interesting approach. We are facing the same issue - it's hard > to come up with rules/policies without having some sort of > interaction/experience with coworkers. > > About the library idea - we are debating between having a tracking system > in computer or old-school librarian system. Still brain-storming! > > Natalie > > > On Wed, Mar 21, 2012 at 9:38 AM, Josh Clemence <joshcleme...@gmail.com>wrote: > >> Toni / Natalie, >> >> I appreciate it. Many updates coming. >> >> We went with the "Launch Fast and Iterate" mentality on this. That means >> we are still figuring out a lot of things by trial and error. I really >> wanted to learn from the community on how things should work and what the >> bounds are on things. We started out with no rules, no policies and no >> guidelines other that what was bound by your membership. Through the >> process of watching how people work and use the different resources, we are >> able to build a set of guidelines and rules that work the best with the >> community. >> >> So as with the library, we quickly learned that people could not randomly >> take them off the shelves, put them in their bag and take off. There is >> now the ability to request the book or read it while you are in the >> facility. >> >> I will followup with a post on how we launched, the costs, how it is ran >> etc, soon. Thank you again, for your comments! >> >> On Wed, Mar 21, 2012 at 7:52 AM, Natalie Chan <biwenata...@gmail.com>wrote: >> >>> Josh, >>> >>> Iceberg website looks super awesome! Loved the color palate. >>> >>> My partner and I are planning on opening a space too in Brooklyn and >>> have the same idea of having a library: how do you keep track on your books >>> when people borrow them? >>> >>> Any suggestion welcome! >>> >>> Thank you! >>> Natalie >>> >>> On Wed, Mar 21, 2012 at 12:08 AM, Josh Clemence >>> <joshcleme...@gmail.com>wrote: >>> >>>> 3,800SF is a great starting point. We opened our facility this past >>>> Wednesday and it is 5700SF and is almost too much to start with. We have >>>> luckily been able to already get 30 members, but when there are only a >>>> couple people in there, it seems very dead because the space is so large. >>>> Something to think about. >>>> >>>> Check out our webpage at: http://www.buildingicebergs.com (we are >>>> still finishing things up) >>>> >>>> >>>> On Tue, Mar 20, 2012 at 10:57 PM, OC Houston < >>>> t...@theofficeconnexion.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>> LOL! Thanks CJay. My husband did a double take when he saw the picture >>>>> with his name next to it. I can only imagine the look on his face if >>>>> my name were first. haha! >>>>> >>>>> The spot we've been watching for almost two years is ready to move in. >>>>> However, our vision for the coworking space is already growing and >>>>> we're wondering if we need to check out larger spaces. There's only >>>>> 900 sq ft of available additional space. We want to eventually add a >>>>> start-up hub and The OC Junior for our youth entrepreneurship program. >>>>> Someone else mentioned child care at their center. That's an idea but >>>>> more like the service provided at a fitness center. I wouldn't want a >>>>> full-service child care facility. The current space plus the 900 sf >>>>> would run us $4,750/month at the current rate for 3,800 sf. There's >>>>> another space nearby that's 13,480 sf that would be $5,500/month. It >>>>> seems like a no-brainer but we have to consider the location. The >>>>> space I LOVE is in a much better location. We may go take a look at >>>>> the larger space to see if it's worth considering. >>>>> >>>>> As far as the website, I got "inspiration" from others. But, I will >>>>> keep working on it until it's an original. ;-) I guess I should work >>>>> on the Community Members page. It's not in the menu so I actually >>>>> forgot about it. LOL! Also, we were actually "scheduling a meeting" to >>>>> work on our sponsor package tomorrow when I saw your message. It's >>>>> only 11:00 pm so I wouldn't be surprised if it were done by 3:00 AM. >>>>> That's tomorrow, right? >>>>> >>>>> Thanks again! Congratulations on your upcoming opening. >>>>> >>>>> Toni >>>>> >>>>> On Mar 20, 10:31 pm, Cheryl Jaycox <cheryl.cajservi...@gmail.com> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> > Toni, >>>>> > I am impressed by your website and your insightfulness into >>>>> coworking. I >>>>> > too am new to the industry, in the pre-opening/construction stage, >>>>> with >>>>> > launch in May...we will begin a soft launch in April. I have been >>>>> following >>>>> > your input through the group, and must say "you got it >>>>> going,girl!!!" Keep >>>>> > up the excitement I can feel the energy here in St. Louis! I love >>>>> how you >>>>> > just kinda simplified things and I also like the way you asked for >>>>> > sponsors, I too am going to incorporate that into my site which is >>>>> still >>>>> > under construction mainly due to content on my part. You have >>>>> inspired me! >>>>> > >>>>> > To your undoubtful success! >>>>> > CJay >>>>> > >>>>> > On Tue, Mar 20, 2012 at 1:29 PM, OC Houston < >>>>> t...@theofficeconnexion.com>wrote: >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > > I am using Google sites for the first time to build a company >>>>> website. >>>>> > > Well, the first time I tried years ago I became frustrated very >>>>> > > quickly and went to something else. This time it seems as if Google >>>>> > > Sites is a lot better for my purpose (coworking) than the other >>>>> > > website service I use. I would appreciate a few eyes to give me >>>>> advice >>>>> > > on what I have or should have or COULD have to make it better. >>>>> > > Currently, it might mimic other sites but my alter ego (Anal Annie) >>>>> > > will have revised the site 100 times before we start advertising >>>>> it. >>>>> > > Thanks in advance! >>>>> > >>>>> > >www.theofficeconnexion.com >>>>> > >>>>> > > Toni Hogan >>>>> > >>>>> > > -- >>>>> > > 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 >>>>> > > coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> > > For more options, visit this group at >>>>> > >http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>>>> > >>>>> > -- >>>>> > Cheryl Jaycox >>>>> > Community Manager >>>>> > Micro Office Suites & Business Center >>>>> > The HIVE@44,Business Coworking Community >>>>> > Phone: 636-405-3130 >>>>> > Cell: 314-800-4305 >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> 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 >>>>> coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Best, >>>> >>>> Josh Clemence >>>> Northwest Arkansas Entrepreneurship Alliance, President >>>> 479.225.3502 >>>> Twitter: @joshclemence <http://www.twitter.com/joshclemence> >>>> <http://www.twitter.com/joshclemence>Facebook: >>>> josh.clemence<http://www.facebook.com/josh.clemence> >>>> http://www.joshclemence.com >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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 >>>> coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> 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 >>> coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Best, >> >> Josh Clemence >> Northwest Arkansas Entrepreneurship Alliance, President >> 479.225.3502 >> Twitter: @joshclemence <http://www.twitter.com/joshclemence> >> <http://www.twitter.com/joshclemence>Facebook: >> josh.clemence<http://www.facebook.com/josh.clemence> >> http://www.joshclemence.com >> >> >> >> -- >> 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 >> coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >> > > -- > 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 > coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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