I’m sat in Ottawa, looking out over the city, towards the Parliament building. It’s been a great week in Canada, working with emerging and established leaders in all branches of the Government. A key focus has been how we establish the Dynamic Tension between formal and social systems.

 

Exclusive Communities

Earlier this week I traveled by train, bus, and car to visit a friend who lives out in one of the more remote communities. She runs a book club at her church. When she started it three years ago, there were nine members, but now a few have passed away and six remain. She said something that struck me as wise: she felt that it was hard for new people to join the community as the culture within it was so strong. So in May she will stop the group, and reconstitute a new book club in September so that everyone comes in and feels equal.

Highly coherent communities can become exclusive, not because they are bad, but precisely because their strong internal culture is so successful.

 

United

Speaking of community: tech firms unite to fight against the Trump travel ban: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38808715

I think what we are seeing play out is fascinating: new forms of power, the rise of the TransNationals, primary alignment of individuals with communities defined by shared interest instead of geography. The shifts we see in democracy, communications ecosystems, political power, and dissent, are all emergent from the newly connected and empowered Social Age.

But it plays both ways: social authority, granted to us by the community, can be taken away just as easily. It’s a more fluid and adaptive form of power.

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38798158

 

Social Leadership 100 Illustrations

Now that crowdfunding is complete, I’m #WorkingOutLoud, illustrating the practical activity book. I’ve shared the first few images already, with a strong focus on this next week.

 

What I’m thinking about

I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of organisations themselves: we built them, the hierarchies, the power gradients, the infrastructure. None of it is natural or permanent. As the new ecosystem of the Social Age changes the foundations, we really must rebuild, to be more relevant, adaptive, fair.

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