The beat goes on …
My friend Ed Morrison who directed the economic development team here at CWRU was yesterday canned and the program hijacked by university officials. With Ed’s leadership, the program fostered self-organizing civic efforts aimed at higher levels of community dialogue, connectivity, and innovation - the prime drivers of surprise.
It reminds me of one of the themes of “Accidental Conversations”, that the purpose of the formal organization is to prevent surprise. That’s why there the talk is all about predictability through conformity and control.
And that’s exactly why we look to the edges of ecosystems for signs of new life because that’s precisely where they tend to emerge, and thrive.
June 28th, 2005 22:53
The purpose of a formal organization is to prevent surprise… hmmm… really? I certainly hope that’s not why I’m building my business. That statement doesn’t apply to us at Phoenix because we certainly are not a formal organization! Just ask Steve Goldberg or Jeff Hess, or anyone else involved with Phoenix. The deceased Phoenix angel investor and famously successful entrepreneur Burt Morgan always said that there are two types of CEOs: the ones who build the organizations and the ones who maintain them. Preventing surprises sounds mortally boring.
June 29th, 2005 06:11
In every organization there are always two dimensions - the formal and the informal. The formal side provides consistencies and predictabilities (Non-surprises) for customers and staff; the informal is where sponteneity and creativity and agility (surprises) occur. Phoenix has always been, I think, a great example of a community where the informal thrives and drives much of the freshness of the brand. If Phoenix was in charge, Ed Morrison would be very much in business.
June 29th, 2005 10:16
Wow, Sarah. You’ve certainly been on my radar screen in recent weeks, since I’ve been hearing about and reading about you via my two good pals, Jeff and Steve. But I never knew you also had a connection with Burt Morgan, easily one of the most interesting, most entrepreneurial people I ever met (in a lifetime happily filled with meeting several hundred of these types). Now I think I’m finally beginning to understand how Phoenix came to be so radically innovative. I’ll be watching your progress with even closer interest now. Good luck.