May 2011, Newsletter, Kiwi Scrum

Kiwi Scrum has 2359 members. Adding about one new member a day. We can do better than that.

The May LinkedIn hint:

Connections: I normally encourage the members of Kiwi Scrum to grow the number of their Linked in connections. For most of you that's still the right advice. Work really hard to get your first 30 connections. People close to you and your own activities for preference . Then use the Kiwi Scrum Open Networkers to add about 70 new well connected people. After that relax a little. Depending on what you do, your network will develop as it needs to.

Relationships: Much more important in the long run is the way you develop relationships with your connections. LinkedIn allows you to maintain a discussion with your connections that is personal and doesn't advertise what you are saying to the world.

The Useful Common:

On the useful common this month I've been able to rediscover Asset Based Community Development. Ten years ago I was very interested in this process. Essentially ABCD is about the building of relationships too. Every community has resources that lie unused because nobody knows how to integrate those resources into what needs to be done. This is unused human capital mostly. Every community is full of it, we just don't understand where it is or how to use it. That's a social challenge, not an economic one.

Engage with other people and Groups:

I've mentioned before a forum we created in Christchurch called the Canterbury Public Issues Forum. This is a project that should be extended to every New Zealand city. It's a powerful tool for putting important issues in front of a small but influential group of people. To do that in your city you need a small group helpers, and a little advice from me.

Our little forum has become twenty five Neighbours Forums that stretch across Christchurch and are helping in the earthquake recovery. We you do useful things you can't tell where it might lead.

Find a Community of Practice

Our ability to learn doesn't depend on schools or on books or films. We learn best from people like us who we respect. That's why one of the most valuable things you can do is to find a professional community of practice you can join. You will probably have to search for the right group, but they exist, and the best ones will connect you to your future.

Volunteers

Another lesson we're learning from the earthquake is the importance of taking power over your own future choices. Volunteers are restoring Christchurch from the inside and making it functional again. There's plenty of reason not to volunteer. People in Christchurch are tired and dispirited. It's easy to give up control over your own direction and hide in a hole somewhere. That's not an option likely to serve your best interests.

The Value of Engagement

At a community meeting today one of the key topics was “how to liberate the energy of local communities at street level?” One of our earthquake recovery groups CanCERN, has been actively promoting the development of Street Groups since the first earthquake in September, 2010. This is an idea we need to extend, not only across Christchurch, but across New Zealand.