Creating successful networks
I've been studying more and less successful networks to identify what works well. These seem to be some of the characteristics:
- It meets the wants and desires of participants/members
- It attracts their energies - almost magnetically
- It's emergent – the structure follows the ways people want to interact with each other
- It's hosted – Someone (or some group) makes things happens, welcomes you, sorts out the location (real or virtual)
- The host also creates a brand or feel, to which participants respond
- There are meetings – specific, labelled, timed, purposeful interactions, with a practical agenda – to talk, learn, do
- Minimal bureaucracy (including cost) to serve these needs without obstructing or dominating them
- The structure must remain flexible, as needs evolve or change – eg size, external conditions, new purposes
To what extent do your networks match up?
What else are you doing that is working?
What could we do to make them work even better?
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