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LEG 1: Circles
LEG 1: Circles
That’s the thing about circles: once you join, you’re an equal. It’s then up to you to contribute to the best of your ability.
whether we realize it or not, are members of a decentralized circle of one kind or another.
when circles take on more than fourteen or so members, the bond breaks down.
Circles gain freedom and flexibility when they go virtual, but there’s a reason thousands of people travel all the way to the Nevada desert for a week once a year.
Because circles don’t have hierarchy and structure, it’s hard to maintain rules within them; no one really has the power to enforce them. But circles aren’t lawless. Instead of rules, they depend on norms.
As the norms of a circle develop, and as members spend more time together, something fascinating happens: they begin to trust one another.
Members assume the best of each other, and generally that’s what they get in return.
They are also motivated to contribute to the best of their abilities.
In open organizations, a catalyst is the person who initiates a circle and then fades away into the background.
We see the same pattern with every decentralized organization: a catalyst gets a decentralized organization going and then cedes control to the members.
In letting go of the leadership role, the catalyst transfers ownership and responsibility to the circle.
Once the catalyst leaves, however, his or her presence is still felt. The catalyst is an inspirational figure who spurs others to action. Circles don’t form on their own. Put a bunch of people in the same room together, and they might talk about the weather in random groups of twos and threes. Add a catalyst, and soon they’ll be sitting around in a circle discussing their shared love of skiing or antique lampshades. A catalyst develops an idea, shares it with others, and leads by example.
A catalyst is like the architect of a house: he’s essential to the long-term structural integrity, but he doesn’t move in. In fact, when the catalyst stays around too long and becomes absorbed in his creation, the whole structure becomes more centralized.
LEG 3: Ideology
Ideology is the glue that holds decentralized organizations together.
LEG 4: The Preexisting Network
Put together a close-knit community with shared values and add a belief that everyone’s equal, and what do you get? Decentralization.
Almost every decentralized organization that has made it big was launched from a preexisting platform.
But centralized organizations aren’t good platforms. For one thing, if orders come from above, the membership might follow, but they won’t be inspired to give it their all. Second, leaders in top-down organizations want to control what’s happening, thereby limiting creativity. Third, and most important, centralized organizations aren’t set up to launch decentralized movements. Without circles, there isn’t the infrastructure for people to get involved and take ownership of an idea.
Decentralized networks, however, provide circles and an empowered membership and typically have a higher tolerance for innovation.
Typically, it takes the special skills of a catalyst like Sharp to enter a network.
A champion is relentless in promoting a new idea. Catalysts are charismatic, but champions take it to the next level.
Champions are inherently hyperactive. Like catalysts, they operate well in nonhierarchical environments, but they tend to be more like salesmen than organizers or connectors.
The leaders of the decentralized movement never bothered securing recognition for themselves, and failing to understand the power of a starfish organization, people credited the success of the movement to a politician.
As a catalyst, it’s all about letting go and trusting the community.
Jimmy makes it work because he empowers people and gets out of the way. This theme emerged with every catalyst we met.
To further facilitate trust and bonding, Deborah focused on ideology. She’d refuse to talk to organizations about concrete strategy and nuts and bolts. She’d tell them, “I’m not going to talk about programs or budgets. I’m not going to talk about any of that right now.” Instead, she asked the groups about “what keeps you up at night, what brings joy—tears of joy in your eyes. And I’ll share that with you as well. I want to understand you as a person.” A catalyst’s most important relationships are based on trust and understanding. Deborah “just knew that values were a stronger binding force
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Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu, “a leader is best when people barely know that he exists; not so good when people obey and acclaim him; worst when they despise him.”
“The thing I do when I meet someone is make a map: you went to school at Berkeley, so…you must know so-and-so. I always make that map every time I meet somebody.” It takes a specialist like Auren to not only map people but use the map to make strategic introductions between the right individuals. He described a typical scenario:
The Catalyst’s Tools
Genuine Interest in Others To a catalyst, people are like walking novels.
Loose Connections Most of us have interesting personal conversations with a select group of our closest friends. But a catalyst is able to have these kinds of interactions with thousands—in fact, they thrive on meeting new people every day.
Knowing so many people allows a catalyst to make connections between individuals who would otherwise never meet.
Mapping
Catalysts think of who they know, who those people know, how they all relate to one another, and how they fit into a huge mental map.
Catalysts don’t just know more people; they also spend time thinking about how each person fits within their network.
Desire to Help When we first started talking to catalysts, we were honestly surprised by how much each of them wanted to help.
Wanting to help is the fuel that drives a catalyst’s ability to connect people.
Passion
The catalyst provides the drumbeat for a decentralized organization. Because it can’t draw upon command-and-control to motivate participants, it needs a strong and ongoing ideology to keep them going. The catalyst starts the organization and then takes on the role of constant cheerleader. But the catalyst must walk a fine line. If Josh cheered too much, the movement would become “The Josh Sage Show.”
Meet People Where They Are
When people feel heard, when they feel understood and supported, they are more likely to change.
You don’t follow a catalyst because you have to—you follow a catalyst because he understands you.
Emotional Intelligence
To a catalyst, emotional connections come first. Once there’s an emotional connection, then and only then is it time to brainstorm and talk strategy.
The catalyst weaves emotional connections into the very fabric of the organization.
Trust
With a flattened hierarchy, you never know what people are going to do. You can’t control the outcomes, and you can’t really reproach a member if he becomes errant. All you can control is whether people have personal relationships with each other based on trust.
