"...is not the one that travels the globe rushing from one destination to the next at the furious pace its business demand, but the one that roams the roads of a city or the world open to the opportunities that serendipity will bring, architecting with each moment a fulfilling life devoted to creating value for the communities he touches, combining his skills with the resources available." 

via http://globalculture.net

"There is a simpler way to organize human endeavor. It requires a new way of being in the world. It requires being in the world without fear  Being in the world with play and creativity. Seeking after what's possible. Being willing to learn and be surprised.This simpler way to organize human endeavor requires a belief that the world is inherently orderly.

The world seeks organization.

It does not need us humans to organize it.

This simpler way summons forth what is best about us.
It asks us to understand human nature differently,
more optimistically. It identifies us as creative.
It acknowledges that we seek after meaning.
It does not separate play from the nature of being.

The world of a simpler way is a world we already know. We may not have seen it clearly,
but we have been living in it all our lives.
It is a world that is more welcoming,
more hospitable to our humanness.
Who we are and what is best about us
can more easily flourish.

The world of a simpler way has a natural
and spontaneous tendency toward organization.
It seeks order. Whatever chaos is present at the start,
when elements combine, systems of organization appear.

Life is attracted to order--
order gained through wandering explorations
into new relationships and new possibilities.
Life is creative. As it tinkers with discovery,
it creates more and more possibilities.

With so much freedom for discovery,
how can life be anything but playful?

Life is about invention, not survival.
We are here to create, not to defend.
Out beyond the shadows of darwinistic thought,
a wholly different world appears.
A world that delights in explorations.
A world that makes it up as it goes along.
A world that welcomes us into the exploration
as good partners.

Everything is in a constant process
of discovery and creating.
Everything is changing all the time:
individuals, systems, the environment,
the rules, the processes of evolution.
Even change changes.

Tinkering opens us up to what’s possible in the moment.
Analytic plans drive us only toward what we already know.

We believe that answers already exist
out there, independent of us.
We don’t need to experiment to find out what
works; we just need to find out the answer.
So we look to other organizations,
or to experts, or to reports.
We are dedicated detectives, tracking down solutions,
attempting to pin them on ourselves and our organizations.

What if we invested more time and
attention in our own experimentation?
We could focus our efforts on discovering
solutions that worked uniquely for us.
We could focus on what’s viable, rather than what’s right.

Playful and creative enterprises are messy and redundant.
Parallel systems are dedicated to finding what works,
not by careful stepwise analysis in the hands
of a few experts, but by large numbers of a population
messing about in the task of solution-creation.

Fuzzy, messy, continuously exploring systems
bent on discovering what works are far more
practical than our attempts at efficiency.
The system succeeds because it involves
many tinkerers focusing on figuring out what’s possible.
The solution is discovered through the doing,
by noticing “the shape things will take to come forth in.”

The more present we are as individuals and
organizations, the more choices we create.
As awareness increases, we can
engage with more possibilities.
We are no longer held prisoner by habits, unexamined
thoughts, or information we refuse to look at.

Yet we often tend to limit our expectations
of what’s possible by surrounding ourselves
with large amounts of information that tell us nothing new.
They don’t ask us to question
why we’re doing what we’re doing.
They don’t ask us to notice what learning is
available from all those things we decided not to measure.

In a creative organization, everyone in the
organization feels compelled to be alert,
seeking out new measures, new events to observe.
Our consciousness expands as we become willing
to question even our processes of observation.
Consciousness and creativity are inextricably
linked in this always discovering world.

Our first task is to see the world differently.
We need to observe processes that
we either ignored or cannot see.
To support natural processes of organization,
we must first change our beliefs.
We give up believing that we design the world into existence
and instead take up roles in support of its flourishing.

We work with what is available and
encourage forms to come forth.
We foster tinkering and discovery.
We help create connections.
We nourish with information.
We stay clear about what we want to accomplish.
We remember that people self-organize
and trust them to do so.
We work with organizing-as-process
rather than organizations-as-object.
We reframe our thinking about responsibilities.

In self-organizing systems structure emerges,
it’s not imposed. 
They spring from the process of doing the work.
The structures will be useful but temporary.
They can be expected to emerge and recede as needed.
It’s not the design that requires our attention
but rather the conditions that support
the emergence of necessary structures.

Organizations keep searching for ties that bind them
--new incentives, rewards, punishments.
But organizations could accomplish
so much more if they relied on the passion
evoked when we connect to others, purpose to purpose.

Until the system forms, we have very limited
knowledge of what might emerge.
The only way to know a system is to play with it.
Instead of defining what’s right for a system
and then struggling to impose it,
we learn to say, “Let’s see.”

-A Simpler Way, Margaret J. Wheatley

I recently wrote a two part series on the importance of incubating community and why Oslo needs more than just a co-working space. Emphasizing the importance of people over place, I discussed the human-centered process Oslo has seen emerging from mapping different co-working initiatives online and meeting offline. So far, the ‘Oslo Space Collective’ group on facebook has reached roughly 200 members- mostly local residents. 

Many, but not all initiatives, took the participants of our most recent meeting on a collective journey. Describing their dreams for such a space, the current stage their initiative is in and what is needed to make their vision become a reality. 

Among them were a powerpoint on a working vision for an entrepreneurial hub focusing on the next generation of start ups, to a film of an interview one of the presenters, Merete Grimeland, had with the former head of the Young Foundation Geoff Mulgan, on using hubs, incubators, and coworking to create the right conditions for systemic change, as well as a designer hoping to bring a fab lab hybrid incorporating a material library, social space, and workshop studio for prototype construction. The 'flash community' we had managed to create together that evening, where people were able to showcase talents, passion, and exchange valuable feedback on the ideas that were bounced off them, left me with an adrenaline rush. Although I was in a lesser state of confusion than the previous meeting, it was still there to a certain degree. It was at the end of the three hour gathering when participants had finished listening to the various presentations that I realized I was not alone in this feeling. Some questions I heard voiced at that point were: 

“So, what’s the plan?” and “How do we wrap this up?” Essentially, people were and still are looking for answers to this chaotic process we’ve entered into. As one girl mentioned when opening the evening circling up with a brief ‘check-in’ to introduce ourselves, “Being here reminds me of my time at KaosPilots.” [A business program for sustainability and social innovation] It’s a great feeling to be back in such a collaborative space and [as we are in such a convergent, chaotic point] it reminds me to trust the process.” It was a great reminder to me at the point as well. 

Although I did not present, as I am not completely sure what form such an initiative on my side will take I did read a passage to the group. I think it summed up where we currently were quite well. Taken from a blog I am quite inspired by, the post is on storytelling. It talks about the power of myth. A gentleman by the name of Jonah Sachs from a social branding and storytelling studio... 

“defines ‘myth’ as the combination of Explanation + Meaning + Story. Historically, myths are the vehicles of culture. They provide a context and framework for the world, hopefully imparting wisdom, insight and guidance as to how we should live our lives. (i.e. – myth of Genesis). But sometimes, society falls in a myth gap.

Like now.

Another way of saying this is that the cultural narrative is broken.

Most of us are acutely aware of this current state of affairs, especially in the broader context of systemic change. We see that our institutions (education, finance, politics, economy) are not equipped to serve us any longer, and we’re clawing around for a story (or stories) to describe the “new way of doing things” that can be agreed upon by society so we can move forward.

People are disillusioned and lacking trust, and a new story infused with simplicity, aesthetics, beauty and grace will go far. I think many of us are looking for something resonant to believe in and stand behind, something that is in alignment with our deep desires, passions, values and principles.”

                                                    -Emergent by Design

People often ask me what Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation mean. After coming from a year-long learning program around those very topics, I still find my definitions troubling. The fact of the matter is that the form Social Innovations take on may look different in each country. 

Finding similarities and what is working across borders in this field is the key to creating the systemic change needed to make our systems more resilient and thrive in the future. This is what social entrepreneurship and such innovations are all about. It’s the emergence of a pattern. The beginning of a new value system putting the passion (and compassion) of people first. As Sach’s puts it, it’s the reparation a broken cultural narrative, a closing of the ‘myth gap.’ In the long term, it’s only just the beginning of new human capital development, where technology is creating the means to enable and empower new forms of organization, leadership, and governance. So, where do we begin? How does this mapped need for more co-working in Oslo relate to the broader needs of individuals and society as a whole? How can we grow a local ecosystem of individuals working to takle such societal issues facing Oslo and the world at large? What do these individuals need in order to rewrite this 'broken cultural narrative'? Here's a video from that begins to explore those questions: 

As a facilitator and designer of learning experiences for innovation communities in various cities around the world, I believe the answer lies in a role that the Hub model (or similar concept) would serve Oslo well. Taking part in a global network is crucial to bring such scale to local impact and share best practices for new business designs. This is where the element of ‘community management’, focused on developing partnerships and collaborations on both a local and global level can bring ideas not just out into the city, but into the world at large. This is where co-working becomes community. It’s a certain spice for building such relationships that sustain people way past project or product. It’s a skill that will become a must in the rapidly evolving 21st Century business environment. For me, a community is a place you can go to for help. Where it's safe enough to say ask, but also safe enough to say no. I'd like to move away from the "let's collaborate" mentality, to "these are my needs and fears. Can you help me?" This approach to the process is where I hope to see 'Oslo Space Collective' heading. 

[see part 1 for more context]

What I appreciate about the design world is their ability to collaborate, cross-pollinate ideas, and work from an interdisciplinary perspective. This is what I imagine for such a space in Oslo. My experience designing such experiences have kept these principles in mind. They have embodied not just the local community, but also the global community as a whole. Both the Service Design Jam and Sustainability Jam were locally organized events held in sync with other cities around the globe developing and collaborating on ideas around a common theme. 

These events are perfect examples for how I see collaboration within the Oslo entrepreneurship community. Sustainable (globally connected), action-oriented, and focused on incubating people, often in early stage innovation. While they are on the edge. Before they have a team or even a developed business plan. When all they have is perhaps just an idea and the possibilty to act on it locally and rapidly test and scale it globally. This approach is truly sustainable and is the kind of thinking and way of doing that I believe can lead the systemic change I wish to create in the world. Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself.

Naming the fledgling group Hub Oslo was no coincidence. As a member of such a community in Amsterdam (aptly named ‘Hub Amsterdam) which is a member of the global brand platform, I found such an international vision to be of great value. I found it to align with my own vision of creating new ways of living, learning, and doing business. I found it to be a pioneering and brave way forward- an entrance to the unknown. A new renaissance, if you will. Although it’s long, I’d like to share the words of Silje Grastveit, founder of Norway’s only Hub and alumni of KaosPilots, a program who shares the same DNA as the ‘tribe’ I belong[ed] to at Knowmads, who shares her motivation for joining this global, collective movement. Her words deeply resonate with me. 

“Coming back to Bergen after years abroad being used to participating in environments of collaborative actions for social innovation, sharing bold ideas and having a fast speed realizing them, I found no such community in Bergen, and that was the very beginning of the vision to start the Hub here in my own home city.

During the first and second year we had tens of events gathering people around the idea, and people joined enthusiastically claiming that this was something they had been missing. There is still a long way to go when it comes to awareness of other ways of doing things - the systems are still made for more traditional business models, so social entrepreneurs tend to fall in between chairs and boxes - to me that is a huge trigger as well - to work on systemic change for a more sustainable future development.

In the last 9 months we have been attracting over 25 nationalities along with a multitude of professions, which tells us something about the cultural differences and the need of an open place where creativity can flourish across backgrounds and professions. I believe that the vision and mission of realizing more sustainable ideas for the future will not only be better, but also depend on the realization of other co-working spaces being connected to a global movement for change like the Hub provides along with the very useful experience, network and knowledge to make a real impact.”

As Bill Clinton once said, “Nearly every problem has been solved by someone, somewhere.” The frustration is that “we can’t seem to replicate [those solutions] anywhere else.” What I believe is the added value of joining a global network of innovators in the hub network is the ability to participate in a network of people sharing best practices, failures, and learning on a global scale. And this is a unique value proposition I don’t believe many else can say they offer. And an increasingly valuable one at that in the globalized and mobile society we live in today. Perhaps I’m slightly ahead of my time, and market for that matter, when it comes to what the basic needs of what a member of this space wants, or even needs. However, as the old adage goes, if Ford had made what his customers asked for, they would have ended up with faster horses. 

What makes a Hub unique for a member to take part in is not the affordable flexible work space. It’s not the sustainable and well-designed space to bring clients to and rent out for events. It’s not even the great events that the space creates. It is however, the people, the community, that the space hosts such events for. This is what I believe separates the average co-working space from the Hub model. It’s a curated group of people working towards a bigger vision, aiming to push humanity forward, albeit on individual projects and businesses. These are people that, despite the differences, come to the space not just to work, but to work together, to share ideas, and enter the space with an open mind full of potential and possibilities for collaboration. These aren’t the kind of people that keep to their own desks, head firmly down, working on their own initiatives. At least not all the time.

So, the question for me lies not in how to incubate the next big start-up, but instead, how to incubate people. How do we get them from idea to impact? How do we avoid the bureaucracy (I hear) often exists in public incubators? How do we incubate people who tirelessly work on building well developed (but often untested) business plans to even be considered for funding from large innovation bureaus? These organizations are missing the point. And they're missing crucial early-stage innovation to boot. 

Recently, I was browsing the Facebook group of a global network of innovators I am part of called Sandbox. Their motto? “Some organizations incubate companies - we incubate people.” I came across a post by a fellow Sandboxer looking to start a ‘Hub’ somewhere in Africa. The response from Michel Bachmann, managing director of Hub Global as well as co-founder of Hub Zurich, perhaps sums it up best: “The Hub is more about incubating a vibrant community of changemakers rather than simply offering a co-working space.”

The bottom line? The answer lies in people. Even before the world changing products and services they are developing come to light. This is what a well incubated community is all about. This is what Oslo, and the world, needs more of.

Living in Oslo for the past eight months exploring the social innovation space, the local design community, and more recently the Norwegian tech start up scene, I kept hearing the same story. After encountering tens of people mention they were interested or already initiating a co-working space in their respected sector, I wondered: were these people talking to each other? Where was the cross-sector collaboration? Of course, I did my best to connect certain people to each other after hearing their story. However, looking at it from a more meta perspective, I wondered if anyone had really mapped out and attempted to connect what was happening city-wide around these initiatives.

After recently facilitating the Oslo (Global) Sustainability Jam, I met with one of the organizers of Startup Weekend Norway (the tech scene’s equivalent to a Design Jam) I was told yet again, that this was also a need being explored in the Norwegian tech world. You could say that this encounter was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Not wanting to leave our meeting without some clear point of action, I wondered: what could this crazy, curious, American connector do about all this hearsay?! Naturally, I turned to Facebook. 

After creating a group explaining my own predicament and giving some background to the group’s creation, I added the 20 or so local connections I had formed around this topic, and waited. I didn’t have to wait long. Within 24 hours, they group of 20 became 120 and two weeks later, it sits at a steady 160 and still climbing. Around 90% of the members of the group are Oslo residents and around 70% of those residents are expats.  

[On a quick aside, an interesting observation on expat influence in Norwegian innovation can be found in this blog post (in Norwegian) by fellow co- organizer of the Jams, Ingvild Sundby.] 

Since creating the Facebook group, the name has morphed from Hub Oslo (inspired by the global brand, The Hub) to Oslo Space Collective. Why the change of name? Frankly, I think it has to do more with what I believe is a shared, although dare I say, watered-down and (much like the process so far) confused version of what even I failed to recognize as a vision for what I believe not just Oslo, but the world needs more of.  

Initially, I imagined playing the role of the curious connector. Who was doing what, with who, and at which stage of development were they in? How could these different initiatives collaborate? At best, I thought at least a few different synergies could be created. What I’ve really found, and with myself in particular, is that most initiatives have a (fairly) strong vision of what they are looking to create all with slightly different goals. I count myself amongst them because I too have found a certain vision I feel the need to stand behind. I can no longer claim to be the neutral ‘curious connector’ I wished to be. And my goal and motivation around this topic is the creation of more than just another glorified co-working space that stays, more or less, on the local level.

Mapping the different Oslo initiatives became relatively easy once the right people were added to the mix. Within a week, it was confirmed that at least eight different initiatives in Oslo, all in different stages, existed around the topic of co-working. The next logical step, of course, was bringing the online group together, offline. Our first gathering brought a slew of interesting perspectives and some of the faces behind the different initiatives. Although not all initiatives were represented, unfortunately. 

The dialogue was fantastically facilitated by Adrian Paulsen, a local designer, who gave a brief introduction to his needs as a potential member of such a space. Emphasizing community, he discussed the importance of finding potential collaborators with not just fellow designers, but also freelancers and entrepreneurs from other disciplines, in the space he hopes to share. Of course, design tends to be a very collaborative discipline. The entire mapping/exploration/learning process has taken on a very design-oriented approach. 

My personal experience since leaving that first encounter with the faces behind the amazing online energy around the idea? Exhausted. While the first meeting of the group was incredibly successful and the facilitation expertly executed, I had to vent my frustrations to Adrian. More than just frustration, these feelings consisted of confusion and downright impatience with the process. Of course, that was to be expected. You could even say confusion is a necessary byproduct of the process- especially making said confusion explicit. However, I had to ask myself, was the majority of the confusion coming from the group process? Perhaps, I wondered, the real confusion was within my own motivations and intentions behind creating the group. 

[stay tuned for part 2]