Finding ways to develop and support collaborative action in your organization

Gift the “Open Source” spirit to your next collaboration

Open Source is both a way of working together and a state-of-mind.  Typically associated with an approach to software development, it’s also a philosophy, and something I think aligns with a spirit of generosity and authentic collaboration, even if your project is not focused on software development.

The Open Source spirit

Brian Behlendorf is a true pioneer of the open source, non-proprietary, approach.  He is founder of Collabnet, building on his work as co-founder and key contributor to the Apache Web Server Project, an open source project that developed the Apache server, the most popular web server on the Internet.  In this illuminating 2006 interview (the first 5 minutes are all you need to watch), Behlendorf provides insight into open source collaboration.

Can’t see the video?  Click here.

What really clicked with me in this interview, about the open source collaboration approach, were these 3 elements:

1. Sincere respect that each participant, in the Apache collaborative, had for each other’s ideas; recognition that passion and motivation are finite resources, and need to be cherished
2. Adoption of a modular, interface design approach that allowed each participant the possibility to create solutions independent of the collaborative, and if deemed worthy by the collaborative as a whole, incorporated into the joint, collaborative solution (those of you at ease in computer speak will of course connect with this API, Application Programming Interface, approach)
3. Adoption of the “right to fork” rule; a rule that allows each participant in the collaborative to divert, go their own way (i.e., leave the collaborative), and leave with a complete copy of the product design in their hands!

Successful open source projects are about people working together on common platforms to solve common problems.  Information is shared openly and freely.  Open source projects believe in the  golden rule, and how easy it can be to work together when people have common goals and share common values.

Applying an open source spirit to your project

How can you apply the (above) open source software approach in your own project worlds?  How can you structure your project such that:

• Collaborative relationships reign
• Participant stakeholders can contribute to the overall project goals, in their own unique way
• Participants feel safe to pursue their own path, without censure, if interests diverge

What others are thinking and doing

A couple of recent books I read weave open source collaboration into the bigger picture.

In FREE: The Future of a Radical Price, Chris Anderson talks about Brazil, where “the prime directive of the federal Institute for Information Technology is to promote the adoption of free (open source) software throughout the government and ultimately the nation.  Ministries and schools are migrating their offices to open source systems. And within the government’s  “digital inclusion” programs – aimed at bringing computer to the 80 percent of Brazilians who have none – Linux (an open source solution) is the rule.”  FREE is essential reading if you want to understand how Google can provide applications for free, the shift taking place from “scarcity” to “abundance” thinking…

In science fiction writer Cory Doctorow’s Makers, a future America is presented; a paradox of decaying society alongside the boundless optimism of an open source/hacker culture— all leading to a fascinating  re-imagining of the near future.

Some important initiatives would never happen without an open source approach, as I summarize in this post about my Philippines work experience in 2008/09, 27 ways Filipinos create successful, collaborative e-Governance projects

What’s in your Open Source future?

Feeling creative, innovative?  What opportunity do you see as ripe for incorporating the collaborative elements of an open source approach?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.

The Market on Millstream: A community-oriented hub for food producers and consumers

Increasingly, I find myself thinking about food security, and the people and businesses who support local farmers and food producers.  The Market on Millstream is one such business.

In late 2009, The Market on Millstream, a local grocery store where I live, was named Canadian Independent Grocer of the Year, in the medium surface category, by The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG).  Recipients of the award were judged on retailing excellence and innovation, store team performance, customer service, space usage, food quality and cleanliness.

The Market on Millstream (The Market)  is co-owned/operated by Christine and Darryl Hein.  It is a branch of the Market on Yates, a downtown Victoria grocery store, founded by Ernie Skinner’s (who was previously co-founder of the popular Thrifty’s Foods chain).  I spent some time recently chatting with Darryl about his store.

The store opened three years ago, in Langford’s big box zone, a suburban community.  Although located in a suburban setting, it really is a neighbourhood grocer, family-oriented; serving the local, growing West Shore population.

The Market has good proximity to local fruit and vegetable producers, and gives priority to local producers; both to support the local community, and to limit the carbon footprint.  Local products include honey, cheese, poultry, eggs, fruits…

Local producers bring their produce to store, and assuming price & quality are worked out, The Market retails the produce.  Longer-term business relationships between the store and local producers are linked to customer demand.

In response to customer interests, The Market also imports produce, especially at times of year where local produce is in low supply or unavailable.

In the workplace

Darryl is most proud of the relationships that have developed; evidenced by:

• Staff satisfaction; The Market has very low staff turnover, even by CFIG standards
• Customer support and loyalty; staff happiness = customer happiness

Every day Darryl touches base, in-person, with each staff person working that day.   Recognition is important.  (note: appreciation may be the most significant human psychological need!)

Myself, I felt a good vibe in the store.  Just before leaving, I picked up a few perishables.  Sara, who was handling my checkout, was pleasant and relaxed throughout – even though checkout volume was high at the time.  I certainly felt welcomed and appreciated as a customer.

Business adaptation

The Market has about 100 staff, deals with 200+ vendors, and stocks approximately 50 new items each week.  Staying current in the marketplace is a challenge.  Darryl visits other independent grocers, attends conventions (e.g., CFIG in Toronto), connects and networks, as part of the larger independent grocer community, learning together.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see how The Market adapts to changing business conditions and customer interests.   To what extent can The Market continue to innovate, satisfy a triple bottom line (people, planet, profit), and strengthen its’ position as the heartbeat of the local community?

Check-out

Neighbourhood grocers like The Market are in a unique position.  They bridge the interests of customers, farmers/food producers, and local community values.  The importance of this type of  relationship I touched on, in a previous post, here.

My sense is Darryl and Christine will continue to be a vital cog in the local community, and your friendly neighbourhood grocer.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.

Shipped: Collaborative Maxims – Principles for working together in an organization

A few weeks back, I passed my 1-year anniversary as a blogger.  Knowing how important it is (so Seth Godin says in Linchpin) to “ship”, to “execute”, I thought I’d do some  (humble) shipping of my own.

Yesterday, I published an e-book…

“Collaborative Maxims: Principles for working together in an organization”

You can view/download a copy here. It’s free.  Share it wildly!

Inspiration for this e-book comes from all the interesting people (yes, including you!), organizations, ideas, and stories I’ve been pleasantly exposed to during the past year.  The e-book also draws heavily on my work as a mediator, helping people and organizations build consensus and move forward… together.  These days, I tend to observe just about everything through the lens of mediation.

My e-book is of course about collaboration.

Collaboration is about people working together.  A maxim is a general truth, fundamental principle, or rule of conduct. (Merriam-Webster definition).

My e-book gives (18) maxims for good collaboration.  The real success stories of our time are about good collaboration: businesses, sports teams, political campaigns, causes…   

I group the maxims into two broad categories; relationships and leadership.

Use the maxims in this e-book as a guide, to good collaboration, and what it means to think and act collaboratively.  Use these maxims in your organizations of choice.  Believe and follow these maxims regularly, and you’ll nurture your collaborative habits.

I hope you get some enjoyment, insight, and/or positive vibe on reading this e-book.  If this book resonates with you, I’d love to hear why.  Drop a comment on this post or send me an e-mail.  And, please share this e-book with others.  Thanks for the consideration all around.

Now, about the shipping business.   I sure hope it get’s easier with practice.  That’s another story though!

Two books on workplace creativity and collaboration to help jumpstart your organization

I recently finished a couple of excellent books about workplace collaboration, authored by people immersed in creativity and the arts. Amen!  I found these two books complement each other nicely.

The Collaborative Habit

The first book is The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together.  It’s written by Twyla Tharp, a leading and innovative American dance choreographer, since the 1960s!

In addition to offering insight into what makes for a good collaboration – there is a certain wow factor to the book.  Tharp has collaborated with numerous well-known personalities in the arts communities; e.g., Jerome Robbins (film director West Side Story), Gregory Hines (dancer), musicians Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, and Elvis Costello, and she openly shares her experiences.   Her collaboration with Costello (who scored the music for one of her recent productions) was particularly insightful.

Tharp defines collaboration as “people working together – sometimes by choice, sometimes not. When something goes wrong, bring in the collaborator – someone who works with others to solve a problem.”

Here’s a few of the nuggets of advice Tharp explores in her book:

• Collaboration begins as a point of view.
• Before you begin any collaboration, you must ask: am I up to this? Do I have the physical stamina, the core strength?
• If you want a successful first meeting, preparation pays. Get everything on your side before you say hello.
• You’ll get people on board when you ask them what they love.
• The sooner you establish a routine, the more smoothly your collaboration will advance.
• You need a challenging partner. In a good collaboration, differences between partners mean that one plus one will always equal more than two.
• A great partnership is a lab where change happens every day.
• Creativity is heavy lifting – it’s a grimy job.
• Collaborative projects offer tutorials in reality. And that tutorial always presents the unexpected.
• Don’t get involved with your collaborator’s problems.
• Collaboration can be internal – an act of listening to others and then having a silent, private conversation with yourself.
• A collaboration may not be what it appears (chance, uncredited collaborators are often key to success…)
• The more you ask, the more you get back. The more you challenge an audience, the more challenging you can be to yourself.
• The ultimate best result of any collaboration is learning to look through your collaborator’s eye.
• In the end, all collaborations are love stories.

Orchestrating Collaboration at Work

The second book is Orchestrating Collaboration at Work,   originally published in 2003 by Linda Naiman and Arthur VanGundy (now deceased).

Naiman is a Vancouver-based business coach, instructor, blogger, artist, and pioneer in arts-based learning.

If you’re a facilitator and/or sometime looking for some creative exercises to ramp up your organization’s collaboration quotient, this book will interest you.

Naiman’s book is a collection of 70 exercises to spark creativity and collaboration.   The exercises were provided by 40 different people.   A large number were designed by Naiman herself.  Most of the exercises are oriented to small groups; e.g., actual work teams.

The exercises make use of a range of art forms: dance, collage, mixed media, improvisation, theatre, drawing, music, painting, poetry, storytelling, abstraction, graphic design…  “Using a wide range of disciplines in the arts can help people see their problems and opportunities differently, and tap into their human potential, which every organization is founded on.”

Each exercise is described in terms of: objectives, uses (applications in an organization), art form, time required (most are 1-2 hours), materials, handouts, equipment, procedure (steps), and post-exercise discussion guidelines.

Objectives include: improving intra-group communication, developing symbolic metaphoric expression, and fostering creative responses under pressure.  Uses include: warm-up for brainstorming sessions, fast thinking, and community building.

I wish I’d come across this book a couple of decades ago!  I’ve done lots of facilitation over the years, and even though I have artistic leanings and even a few tendencies, I hardly every used creative facilitation as espoused in this book.

Sure, many of the exercises in this book would take us out of our current comfort zone, yet they speak to something most of us lose as we age – openness to new things, willingness to work with different media…

I never thought of using poetry, a “limerick your learning” exercise, where participants, working in groups of 3-5 people, develop limericks as a way to promote team collaboration, and to help people anchor what they learned.

Piecing together a collage, creating stories together… this book presents many wonderful exercises that are now on my radar!

Bring on the arts…

“Gregory Bateson, a seminal thinker in psychiatry, anthropology, and systems theory said that if you juxtapose two forms of description, such as art and science or art and business, that ‘double description’ affords you an unexpected bonus of insight akin to the perception of ‘depth’ in binocular vision – a surprise effect not predictable from working with either of the ‘descriptions’ alone. We all know that when we focus on something with just one eye, we merely a monocular view.  We are unable to perceive depth. Depth ‘appears’ when use both our eyes at once….”  (quoting John Comino in Orchestrating Collaboration at Work).

What’s your favourite creative method or exercise for getting people to work better together, to collaborating?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.

Curling: Bringing a touch of community to the 2010 Winter Olympics

“Curling may be the perfect Canadian game” said Stuart McLean.  I heard him say that yesterday, on his weekly, nationally-syndicated CBC Radio show the Vinyl Cafe. And how appropriate is it that this community-oriented game is given a high profile, as an official athletic event, in the corporate-influenced 2010 Winter Olympics, which start this Friday in my neighbour city, Vancouver!

With his warm sense of humour, and ability to connect with common things, Stuart paints a story of why curling is a sport of the people:

• Curling fosters fellowship
• Open to, and played by, anybody; young, old, female, male,
• Every game begins and ends with handshake
• There is no referee (at least at local level); a “gentleman’s game” (and “ladies game”)
  
• More than any other sport, it is about community; sport at its’ best (no free agents!)
• You get to yell; who doesn’t like to yell, and how great is it to be able to yell “hurry hard” in public!
• The winning team traditionally buys the losing team a drink
• Any community, no matter how small, can achieve success; any club team can aspire to a zone, provincial, national, or world championship
• Community-based, community-supported
• You play it on ice – hey, this is Canada!

I’ve curled a few times; mostly years ago when I lived in colder Canadian climes. It’s true – anybody can do it, and the best part is the fellowship!

And less we think curling is just a sport for Canucks, here’s a 5 minute video of the US Olympic men’s curling team; it highlights the anybody can do this feel of curling, along with an explanation of the basic rudiments of the game.  (if you’re having trouble viewing the video, click here)

Here’s the 2010 Olympics curling schedule. Go community go!

What’s your favourite Winter Olympic “community” sport?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.

photo credit: bensonkua

Ten Thousand Villages: Working with Haitian artisans – past, present & future!

Ten Thousand Villages is the oldest and largest Fair Trade organization in North America.

Through a network of 50 stores in Canada and 150 stores in the United States, Ten Thousand Villages sells artisan-crafted personal accessories, home décor and gift items, from around the globe.

Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans, otherwise unemployed or underemployed, and provides them with sustainable income through Fair Trade. This income helps pay for food, education, health care and housing.  Thousands of volunteers work with Ten Thousand Villages, in their home communities.

Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit program of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), the relief and development agency of Mennonite churches in North America.

Ten Thousand Villages and Haiti

Since 1972, Ten Thousand Villages has exported crafts from individual Haitian artisans, co-operatives, groups and family businesses.

I live close to a Ten Thousand Villages store, here in Victoria, and often make purchases (mostly Fair Trade coffee) at that store.  Recently, I chatted with Maria Lyons, store manager, about the situation in Haiti, and how people can help.  Maria told me the best way to help artisans right now is to sell their products.  Maria says “Ten Thousand Villages is also in the Philippines, and when the typhoon struck the Philippines (this fall), our artisans told us the best way to help them was to place more orders and to sell more product, which ensures future work.”

So, to advocate for Haitian artisans and North American consumerism, I put together this short 3 minute video. Supplementing Maria’s guided tour of Haitian products, sold in her/my local Ten Thousand Villages store, are a few photos of Haitian artisans, along with some music of the region. (photos & music courtesy Ten Thousand Villages) If you can’t see the video,  click here.

The importance of long-term relationships

When disaster struck Haiti three weeks ago, Ten Thousand Villages was quick to respond; working through the Mennonite Central Committee, $100k was raised, with a further $1million to be committed, over the next few years, for Haitian relief.

The quick response reflected the relationship between Ten Thousand Villages and Haitian artisans, a relationship dating back almost four decades.

Four times a year, Ten Thousand Villages purchases artisan goods from the Comite Artisanal Haitien, a non-profit marketing cooperative in Haiti, representing more than 800 Haitain artisans, in 170 different workshops.  In the past, the money earned by these artisans is not just supplemental income, it is often the sole source of support for the artisans, and their families.  And now? Well, you can imagine the need!

In this video clip, Maria talks about upporting Haiti after the media leaves, the value of long-term relationships and sustainable practices… (if you can’t see this video, click here)

Know and do more?

Want to know more about the link between sustainability and Fair Trade or just plain Fair Trade?  Check out my post about Level Ground Trading: Linking sustainability to long-term relationships.  It includes a summary of Fair Trade practice, along with the relevant links.

Want to support Haitian artisans?  Purchase some fairly traded Haitian artwork from Ten Thousand Villages store.  Your purchase ensures future orders of Haitian artisan product will be made (artisans are paid up-front, in full, for their goods), giving the artisans the incentive, and future income, they’ll need, going forward.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.

West Coast Wave Collaboration Project: An innovative cross-sector partnership

I live on an island (Vancouver Island) surrounded by ocean.  Oceans make up over 70% of the Earth’s surface.  Our proximity to this abundant resource is obvious.  The energy-giving capacity of that resource is less clear. To better understand what that capacity is, the West Coast Wave Collaboration Project (WCWCP) kicked-off in June 2009.  This project has been in the news recently and I wanted to learn more.  So, I visited with Brad Buckham, mechanical engineer, instructor in the University of Victoria – Institute for Integrated Energy Systems, and lead investigator on the project.

This two-year project, co-funded by the Government of Canada, will use wind, wave and tidal data collected from a single fixed buoy, located offshore near Ucluelet, on Vancouver Island’s west coast.

“The WCWCP will develop modeling expertise, advance the development of wave energy projects in BC, and provide critical information to wave energy device developers. Data-gathering and model development during the project will assist planning and project developers in the wave energy industry, channel wave energy research at universities, and help guide policy and program development by government and regulators.”

The partners and their contributions to the project

This project demonstrates how people and organizations can work together, to collaborate, to address big challenges – e.g., our collective needs for renewable energy.

Here’s a list of the project partners and their key areas of contribution:

Natural Resources Canada (federal government)	Funds and Support
University of Victoria	Technical management, modelling expertise, instrumentation, insurance, storage, overhead
BC Hydro (utility)	Financial support
Fred Olsen Marine Renewables (private developer)	Contribution of permitted site for use during program and funds towards operations
AXYS Technologies (monitoring device provider)	Technical, operations, custom buoy, deployment services, materials
Natural Power (consultant)	Permitting, operational/deployment support, stakeholder engagement, modelling
Triton Consultants (consultant)	Funding, In-house software, technical and supervisory services
District of Ucluelet (local municipality)	Harbour Master and Public Works support; closest major land community
Ucluth Development Corporation & Ucluelet First Nation (First Nations)	Buoy monitoring by fisherman, logo, artwork,  website posting
Black Rock Resort (tourism)	IT, communications, onsite support

This type of collaborative doesn’t happen over night.  A number of the partners already had relationships with each other, through their involvement in the Ocean Renewable Energy Group (OREG) – an organization that “aligns industry, academia and government to ensure that Canada is a leader in providing ocean energy solutions to a world market.”

University of Victoria’s role

The University of Victoria plays a coordinating role in the WCWCP.  In addition to securing federal government funding, the University is also uniquely positioned in other ways.  In this short 2-minute video clip, Brad Buckham touches on some of those ways:  (click here if you can’t see the video)

In summary, involvement of the University is important because it:

• Is a relatively neutral partner, well positioned to mediate stakeholder interests
• Offers promise of future leverage; e.g., with any follow-on project/work opportunities
• Contributes young, energetic, inventive minds to the project, who also represent potential, post-project, intellectual capital that might be available (e.g., employment) to the community
• Is willing to do some of the “dirty, time consuming” work; this helps keep up the project momentum
• Delivers good documentation/research work = publicity opportunity for partners involved

What makes WCWCP an innovative collaboration?

Consistent with innovation best practices I surveyed (e.g., see my post 39 Insights into the makeup of innovative teams: From the 2009 IdeaConnection interviews), the WCWCP is innovative because of its’:

• Membership; diverse team, sectors, expertise, contributions
• Structure: partner autonomy within the boundaries of a University/ federal agreement; diverse membership within a relatively small, action-oriented core team
• Motivation; each partner bringing their gifts to the project; individual and collective learning
• Thinking;
  • address the big question (what are the waves actually doing?)
  • broad-bandwidth (fitting a little peg – WCWCP – into the bigger picture of national and international data banks)
  • integrate with, add to, existing building blocks (using freeware, where possible, to maximize accessibility)
  • long-term growth and sustainability
  • reduce the gap (between knowledge of seas and capacity to innovate…)
  • a sense of urgency (to move the file forward);
  • Involve local communities (municipal, business, First Nations)
  • Continuous public outreach and engagement (related to WCWCP)
• Funding; project funding (<200k, direct & InKind) is low compared with the degree of collaboration between the partners (high); less $ = more collaboration?!

Find out more

To learn more about the WCWCP, its’ genesis, objectives, cool maps and photos related to the project… click here to see a PDF of a presentation made about the WCWCP, at the OREG Victoria Symposium, October 19, 2009.

Question for the reader

What aspect of this project speaks most, to you, about collaboration and/or innovation?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.



Be a better mediator: 5 jazz learning techniques worth investing in

Jazz is America’s music.  It roots are in America.   Two things I always liked about jazz.  One; the swing rhythm, identifiable in the music of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and many others, always gave me a high.  Two; jazz has long been associated with social justice. That sold it for me!

Earlier in my adult life, I worked hard trying to better myself through jazz.  I never got to be much of a player; too impatient, and never fully mastered the fundamentals.  Yet, I learned something from my jazz experience, and now I’m seeing opportunities to adapt those experiences, in my work as a mediator.

Jazz has its’ traditions. Here’s 5 ways people have traditionally learnt the craft of jazz playing, and how they can be adapted to the mediation world (or other facilitative roles):

1. Respect the family tree

Today’s jazz evolved from earlier traditions; from slaves singing work songs in the fields, to the New Orleans of Louis Armstrong, through the swing and bebop eras of big bands and Charlie Parker, and up to today’s many variants.  (see it all chronicled in Ken Burns’ amazing PBS documentary series/DVD, Jazz).  The legacy of jazz is acknowledged and appreciated, in conversation, and practice.

Mediator training: Appreciate and learn the roots of mediation as a craft.   Viewing and discussing the Mediate.com video library should be required of any mediation training program.  Make experiential learning of the different mediation styles a foundational training component.

2. Transcribe recordings

Listening and transcribing musical performances to memory and/or paper, and replicating on your own instrument, is a time honoured jazz tradition, demanding listening, patience, and perseverance.

Mediator training: In the age of social media, there is many opportunities to record (e.g., video, podcast) mediation in ways that improve the learning experience, and lead to insight.  John Gottman became an international expert on human relationships through his longitudinal, nuanced, audio/video analysis of married couples.  Why can’t mediators leverage today’s tools to transcribe, analyze real-life mediations? (assuming any confidentiality concerns can be addressed)  What about becoming your own Chief Listening Officer.

3. Learn in all 12 keys

Jazz practitioners learn songs and musical structures in all 12 keys, as a way to gain familiarity with their chosen instrument, and to fully internalize the music.

Mediator training: Learn all the mediation styles; transformational, healing (e.g., victim and offender), problem solving (most common)…   Get exposed to spectrum of mediation; in-person, through online channels, attending workshops, master classes, conferences, reading books…  Then, adapt and internalize that which makes sense to you.

4. Learn patterns

A basic jazz improvisatory skill is learning musical patterns, and judiciously applying those patterns in your playing.  The Blues were the foundation.  Swing, behop, post-bop, contemporary… followed.  Musical patterns carry over.  Learning the patterns expands the contexts in which one can participate and perform.  In a similar vein, snippets of songs, musical “quotes”, are fodder for the improviser.

Mediator training: Knowledge banks, question banks, rules of thumb, and other best practices can serve as repositories of patterns, of what works in a mediation.  Identifying, recording, and applying patterns, to the appropriate mediation context, is a skill worth developing, individually and collectively.

5. Take a chance

Improvisation is a learned skill.  In traditional jazz, becoming a good improviser involves first getting the fundamentals (melodies, rhythms, scales, harmonies, structures…) internalized, and then “letting go”, risking, and creating something new, comforted in the knowledge that the aim of learning is to integrate thinking and doing, that it’s safe to fail, and structure + creativity = innovation.  Jazz is very much an experiential craft, learning by doing.

Mediator training: Mediation is more art than science (in my humble opinion). There has been a lot of good work done in teaching creativity and improvisatory skills to mediators (as I wrote in Yes, and…).  Yet, recent books I’ve read, authored by artists in business, such as Orchestrating Collaboration at Work or The Collaborative Habit, or after discovering the diverse ways teams and leaders can be innovative (documented in my posts  here and here), I know we’ve only scratched the surface potential of mediator creativity training and risk taking.

What’s your experience and insight?

Which of these jazz-type techniques were you exposed to in your mediation training?  If you’re a trainer now, which of these techniques do you use?  Other thoughts on all this?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.

photo credit: erinc salor

A framework for values-based Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR)

What would a values-based Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) framework look like, in an organization?

Recently I listened in on a conversation between 3 well-known mediators/bloggers, Amanda Bucklow, Tammy Lenski, and Diane Levin on the topic of values-based fees in the mediation and ADR world.  I’ve also being part of some recent conversations in my local Values-Based Business Network, an association developing and promoting a sustainable business culture.

All this got me thinking about the values I encourage in organizations, related to dispute resolution.

ADR vs. ADR

ADR stands for Appropriate Dispute Resolution.  It is also used as an acronym for Alternative Dispute Resolution.  The “alternative” part refers to alternatives to the court (e.g., litigation and adjudication by a government-appointed judge) as a way to resolve disputes.  In some ways I prefer the “alternative” definition – because it focuses on out-of-court options.  In other ways, I prefer the “appropriate” because alternatives are tomorrow’s status quo, and referring to them as “alternative” only delays the inevitable.

ADR Framework

Here’s the basic ADR framework I have in mind for an organization:

Basic ADR options would include:

• Self-assess; a party assesses and remediates their dispute, themselves
• Direct negotiations; parties communicate directly with each, towards resolving their dispute
• Facilitated negotiation; a neutral 3^rd party (e.g., mediator) assists conflicted parties to confer with the goal of resolving differences between them, in a manner that leaves the outcome in the hands of the parties.
• 3^rd Party rules; a neutral 3^rd party (e.g., arbitrator) listens to conflicted parties and makes a decision regarding issues of dispute between them
• Crowd wisdom; a jury (e.g., eBay Community Court), consisting of qualified members of the business community in which the dispute relates, listens to conflicted parties and make a decision regarding issues of dispute between them

Generally; self-assess, direct negotiations, and facilitated negotiations options offer more (for the parties) control over the process, are less formal, more interest-based, lower cost, more confidential, voluntary, and allow for decisions to be made by the parties themselves.

The framework would be established, and run, either face-to-face and/or online.

The Values

Here’s my starting line for values, and that would drive how the ADR framework is deployed:

• Resolve the dispute using the appropriate dispute resolution method
• Work to resolving disputes without the assistance of a 3^rd party
• Work to minimize 3^rd party intervention in the dispute (if 3^rd party is required)
• Look to assign “learning agents” for the parties in dispute; agents who assist disputants with self-assessment (thinking of my previous post)
• Seek to involve disputants in the ADR process as much as possible, including the process design
• Strive to include an educational component in all disputes; teach disputants how to fish; i.e., learn about ADR, and apply it to their world(s)
• Do no harm; disputants should be no worse off for having participated in the ADR process
• Undertake all ADR-related activities in a spirit of collaboration and innovation (structure + creativity).

And I hope that the Chief Mediation Officer will approve of all this!

Weigh in…

Your turn…  What do you think of this framework and values?  Where does your compass point on values-based ADR?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.

Rakunks, Hybrid Jobs, Learning Agents, and other speculations on the future

Just finished reading Margaret Atwood’s new book The Year of the Flood, what Atwood describes as “speculative fiction”.  She is one of my favourite writers, a Booker Prize winner, and still writing incredible stories at the age of 70!

Most of the Flood story takes place in the dystopic near future, in which there aren’t too many humans, or  flora and fauna for that matter, excepting some disturbing genetic animal splices like the rakunk (raccoon/skunk) and the liobamb (lion/lamb, drawing on biblical references). The corporations have taken over, and life is “total crap”.  A small religious group calling themselves God’s Gardeners grow their own food in secret gardens on rooftops, and warn that a Waterless Flood (pandemic) is coming. Guess what?   They’re right.

All a bit depressing, yet Atwood writes with such passion, insight, and yes, humour, that the reader feels drawn in, to ponder their own future.  Before getting into those ponderings, here’s an excellent short (7 minutes) PBS video interview, that nicely profiles Atwood, her wit, and the Flood.  The interviewer is Jeffrey Brown, and takes place in Atwood’s home in Toronto.

If you can’t see the video, or to read the interview transcript, click here.

Future roles in the organization?

Inspired by the rakunk and other genetically engineered marvels, I’ve dreamed up a few roles that I think would well serve the future organization; one that values systems thinking, collaborative communities, and a more positive future (than the Flood):

• Indigenator; An indigenous person; a senior executive whose responsibility is to embed ancient wisdom in the organization
• Bioteller; biological storyteller; someone whose role is tap into, and communicate, the organization’s health, from a systems (i.e., organization as a living system) perspective
• Arts Resource Manager; someone whose performance is measured by the extent that the arts (e.g., music, literature, theatre…) are resourced and embedded into organizational culture
• Social Netha; standing for Social Network Health Advisor; these people ensure employee’s are functioning to their social/emotional capacities
• SCA; a Sustainable Community Auditor (certified of course!); this position pays homage to Wendell Berry’s  17 Rules for a Sustainable Community; I envision each employee, as a condition of their employment, making regular, positive, contributions to the broader community

Learning Agents

And who will help us learn those future jobs?  The KnowledgeWorks Foundation, in Ohio, in partnership with the Institute of the Future in Palo Alto, speculate who in their 2020 Forecast: Creating the Future of Learning.

In their Forecast, they see creation emerging as a powerful force. “Creators will transform many sectors of the world – the body, organizations, institutions, society, the economy and knowledge. The forecast envisions a world where bottom-up, collaborative, innovative capabilities give us the means to re-create nearly everything.”

And helping with our task to create are Learning Agents; examples of which are:

• Learning fitness instructors. They will help learners build and strengthen the basic cognitive, emotional, and social abilities essential to learning, using simulations, biofeedback, and hands-on activities to reduce stress, hone mental capabilities, and learn brain-friendly nutrition.
• Community intelligence cartographers. They will tap the collective intelligence of their local communities. They will leverage social networking strategies to develop swarms and smart mobs in order to identify emerging learning opportunities in the community, organize community members, and locate community resources.

I like the fitness instructor one because it sounds like it could get kind of interesting!  And, as for the community cartographer, a couple of years ago, I participated in a mapping of my own neighbourhood, found it rewarding on many fronts (not the least of which is getting to know your neighbours better), and highly recommend the exercise to others.

Other Agent roles envisioned are: personal education advisor, education sousveor, social capital platform developer, learning partner, learning journey mentor, and assessment designer.

I wonder if Learning Agents is what Seth Godin had in mind when he posted this?

More crosses, hybrids, splices…?

What hybrids do you see on the horizon; of cultures, of species, work-related…?  Have some fun.  I’d love to hear your speculations.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or  subscribing to my blog. Thanks, Ben.

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