Loosely coherent networks...

I continue to be fascinated by the notion that our organisations are 'getting beyond people'. All my adult life the core asset of an organisation was its people. Sure people are still important yet, it is information or more precisely conversations about ideas and actions that is the new lifeblood of an organisation. Why? Because we have begun to move on from people-based processes. We have essentially turned the notion of our C20th organisational form and function inside out with a mixture of automated processes and consumer self-service. We have outsourced the core activities of the traditional organisation to computers or customers. As a direct result our organisations have become 'loosely coherent networks' rather than bounded entities. These networks stretch equally well around the globe as around the block. They are elastic in ways that traditional organisations never could become. The key to understanding these networks is to understand their revenue models. If you understand how these networked entities make or derive (ie taxes or charitable contributions, etc) their revenue then I believe you will better understand why and how they make the types of collective decisions they do.

One day it all clicked for me - I suddenly seemed to understand this new organisational form. It all happened because I stumbled upon the notion of 'Chattering Clusters'. It just made sense to me that people are chattering all around the place with 'delight' about their vast arrays of Spring flowers or with 'a driving passion' for some new ideas or ways to succeed with a project at work.

Then I noticed that there was more to this network - much more. To get beyond the general chattering the 'early adopters' form Clans which tend to promote change in a broad sense. Senator Barack Obama is running for the White House because he has a Chattering Clan following for his simple storyline of 'change we can believe in". Once a Clan is up and chattering the focus will often shift from the broad canvass to a much more specific 'framework for action' or to 'a prototype for change'. This is a networked or distributed activity and so the key to cohesion and success is trust. Within Clans the trust levels are not too high because they are built 'to flip' not built 'to last'. For a network to be built to last you need deeper levels of trust to be present.

As trust levels build within a Clan so a shared purpose (or even a shared set of values, ideologies, ideals, mores, etc) becomes evident and so the more dedicated members tend to form into Tribes... Tribes are more likely to have some face-to-face contact or regularly scheduled meetings. By meetings I mean a formal or informal device to support a conversation. Chattering Clans and Tribes have 'meetings' on Twitter, Facebook, Skype, etc to chatter about all manner of things. Clans chatter about change, fads, fashion, trends, etc. whereas Tribes chatter about a purpose driven project. Same technological platforms host very different conversations for Clans and Tribes.

Does your workplace work as a 'loosely coherent network'? If not why not? What would you have to do to make it so?

The magic of conversation.....

What conversations did you hold with people today? Are they the same as yesterday? Was there a new twist to them? Did someone take a conversation to a new level, in a new or unexpected direction, or was it simply business as usual? What did you do inside those conversations to spark innovative ideas, change, or difference? What can you do tomorrow to bring a new set of conversations into your life at home and at work?

Every conversation has a beginning, a middle, and an end. All your conversations are orchestrated within your head - that is where they begin, progress or stall, and find resolution. If you are an ideologue then you will struggle to find too much magic within the conversations on Web 3.0. If you can suspend your ideologies and join into the spirit of Web 3.0 conversations then you will find a new world of ideas, images, themes, and realities come flooding into your open-minded head. Once you find your 'open-minded head' you are ready to experience the magic of conversation within the Chattering Clusters, Clans and Tribes on the world wide web.

A globe of clusters....

The Chattering Clusters have taught me that we both over simplify and over complicate our C21st notions of business and social cohesion. They have taught me that the C21st is an interesting mix of old and new. Old ways of being and culture. New technologies as the platform for those old habits and behaviours.

How we view this mix depends so much on the words, images, stories, and concepts we run inside our heads. What runs inside your head is, in part, a consequence of the Chattering Clusters you join. You join clusters online today to converse with businesses, colleagues, family, and friends. When you go online with Twitter, Facebook, eBay, Amazon, Skype, etc. you construct your C21st framework for action inside your head. On Twitter you have short conversations about what you and your friends are doing right now. Twitter provides you with a Chattering Cluster that spans the globe. You are on Facebook with virtual friends who form your Chattering Clan – this cluster has 150+ people in it and as it expands it covers more and more of the globe. You do business on eBay with a Chattering Tribe of locals and a Chattering Clan of global contacts – this network grows at the local and the global levels as trust builds between you and your buyers. You use Amazon to provide you with a platform (an EC2 cloud of computing capability) so you can expand your business offerings around your Chattering Clans and Tribes (not by self promotion but through friendly conversations about what it is you do). Members of your Clans and Tribes trust you and therefore trust your products and services. You stay in touch – you get active feedback on what C21st consumers want and need – because you chat obsessively on Skype to everyone.

We live and work within a globe of clusters.