This post is one in a series of posts that document pilot/prototype projects with the format 5 things that I wish someone had told me before I started in <5% of the time spent on the project. This post also provides some context around the project, since it was a cornerstone project for me in the second half of 2011.
In June 2011, Edward Harran and I embarkeded on a 6 month experiment. A deep dive collaboration across the Pacific Ocean. Eddie in Queensland. Kate in San Francisco. Part mastermind for our personal projects and consulting gigs, part virtual praxis of a future of work digital innovation lab for a globally distributed team and part incubator of ideas. We set off to explore.
Macroscope, coined by Eddie, reflects the "big picture" - multi/inter-disciplinary, systems perspective that we endeavored to sensemake in our lab. Mindful. Playful. Creative. Engaged. Curious. The aim was to make complex simple. To bring big together with narrow in the sacred space of creative possibility between. To transform the experience of chaos and mess into something sublime. Ultimately, we wanted to build a place to play with our creative potential and to hold a space that would allow the value of the spaces in between to emerge, unfold, expand... with a macroscope perspective to unleash the potential for social impact.... and we wanted to live mindfully and productively working in a digitally-mediated global context.
In 6 months, we cogenerated amazing ideas that continue to live in us- expressed from time to time in posts and projects. We honed a vision for Macroscope Labs* (mL) from future of work ideas, such as the world's first Center for the Emerging _____ and a research proposal to pilot and analyze the innovation value of an Ecosystem Diplomatic Corps (Ecosystem Diplomats explained)... to systems issues that we frame-worked* such as Macroscope Playhouse and Macroscope Compass... to finding a home base for our shared personal narratives as "context chameleons"* and knowmads.
Eddie brought the knowmads idea fully to life from concept to a brilliant presentation delivered at TEDxBrisbane. It was an epic achievement and an ideal culmination of our journey together in the Macroscope Labs experiment.
Macroscope, coined by Eddie, reflects the "big picture" - multi/inter-disciplinary, systems perspective that we endeavored to sensemake in our lab. Mindful. Playful. Creative. Engaged. Curious. The aim was to make complex simple. To bring big together with narrow in the sacred space of creative possibility between. To transform the experience of chaos and mess into something sublime. Ultimately, we wanted to build a place to play with our creative potential and to hold a space that would allow the value of the spaces in between to emerge, unfold, expand... with a macroscope perspective to unleash the potential for social impact.... and we wanted to live mindfully and productively working in a digitally-mediated global context.
In 6 months, we cogenerated amazing ideas that continue to live in us- expressed from time to time in posts and projects. We honed a vision for Macroscope Labs* (mL) from future of work ideas, such as the world's first Center for the Emerging _____ and a research proposal to pilot and analyze the innovation value of an Ecosystem Diplomatic Corps (Ecosystem Diplomats explained)... to systems issues that we frame-worked* such as Macroscope Playhouse and Macroscope Compass... to finding a home base for our shared personal narratives as "context chameleons"* and knowmads.
Eddie brought the knowmads idea fully to life from concept to a brilliant presentation delivered at TEDxBrisbane. It was an epic achievement and an ideal culmination of our journey together in the Macroscope Labs experiment.
5 Things it Might Help to Know Before You Launch an Experiment About the Future of Work
- No one will understand what you are doing. (They'll think you are nuts.) You may not understand what you are doing. (You may wonder if you are crazy) When it's over, no one, including yourself, will understand what you did or why it mattered. And yet, it is most important that you do it. Experiments are our learning way into the future. You will learn and the people you work/play with will learn. However, don't expect anyone in the current world of work to understand and/or to value your skills from an experiment about the future of work- now that is nuts!
- While the future is full of possibility, we still live in the present. A lot can happen with alternative, complementary and gift currencies/economies, yet one needs money to live in the present. TimeBank, for example, still needs about 30% of the value they generate in dollars in order to fund their own operations. Think about yourself as the TimeBank, make sure that you have enough to cover your basic survival needs in the present before embarking on the future. Future-focused projects take time to build traction and attract the kind of funding that they need to sustain themselves on an ongoing basis. Long enough for the present to catch up with that future horizon on which you are operating. As with any new business, there is a period of time until you have a steady cash flow; likely wise, with a new technology, one has to be adequately prepared to "cross the chasm," the period of time between when an small pocket of early adopters discover and endorse the product until it grows to a steady early market of mainstream users. Think of future-focused projects as both a new business and a new technology and prepare accordingly. Bring extra reserves to cross the chasm between you and the Oasis, it may be like crossing the Sahara.... and that's fun as long as you are prepared!
- If you know that you want to leave signposts for others, be sure to have a documentation strategy. If you want to make things beautiful, be sure to have a designer on your team. If you want to do things quick and dirty, know how to explain the vision simply and to scaffold the context accessibly, because people may not 'get' the messy version. If the goals that you have don't align with the skills that you have on the team, then shift the goals to play to the strengths of your team or get the skills. Alignment on this is mission critical. My hunch: skill set for the future worker will be radically different; people will need to know how to communicate simply and effectively in writing, code and drawing.
what you don't know, you learn rapidly, and eager to do what needs to be done for the project's success.
- Before you start and along the way, identify a means for you to demonstrate what you learned, what skills you developed, what learning you gained. When a job/role does not fit in the present, it is hard for people in the present to understand how to interpret what was undertaken. Some ideas on how to approach that are outlined in a 5*5 Systematic Approach to move from Idea to Pilot and from 5 years ago, I posted a seed {idea post} for the BeWell, WorkWell tool for soft skills development. More recently, a seed {idea post} for a learning journey tool, which would enable people to identify and demonstrate soft skill learning under emergent conditions.
- On the journey to the future, other people will emerge around you who seem to be doing the same thing. Celebrate that! Celebrate them! Team up. When possible an open knowledge framework enables you to engage more people and grow more rapidly. Share your learnings. If they don't want to play, then let it go and celebrate them anyway! It will take many people trying, many times in order for one team to break through the wall of the present. Be happy that you are one of those pushing the wall, and be confident that whether you are that one or not, your initiative contributes to launching a new direction. Those who rise quickly, do so by standing on the shoulders of those who came before. There are always those who came before. Find them and learn from them. Most 'lauded' inventors didn't actually invent what they are known for, they made an vital improvement that took the invention to a new level of market accessibility.
- Never underestimate the power of in person
*We had all of these domain names. My registrations glitched on the renew, and so they are released- all available. Go do something interesting and build on our ideas. Give us a shout out when you do so that we can amplify your work!
Thought contributors: With immense gratitude to and for Eddie Harran, my brilliant collaborator, awesome ideas instigator, cherished friend, mindful mate and hapatwin. Thanks to David Hood and the Gathering '11 energy for pulling Eddie and me to Melbourne where we sealed the deal on mL. Never underestimate the power of in person.
Thought contributors: With immense gratitude to and for Eddie Harran, my brilliant collaborator, awesome ideas instigator, cherished friend, mindful mate and hapatwin. Thanks to David Hood and the Gathering '11 energy for pulling Eddie and me to Melbourne where we sealed the deal on mL. Never underestimate the power of in person.
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