Mon, Feb 26, 2007
The Blue Oxen Way
#
Back when ChrisDent and I started BlueOxenAssociates, we often
referred to something called the TheBlueOxenWay. It was something
that we both understood and recognized, but that we never actually
articulated. Over the years, I tried to rectify this, and I generated
pages and pages of notes (including three years worth of rambling blog posts)
in the process, to no avail. (LVU)
Recently, Chris
articulated his visions for "Wiki Everywhere," where he referenced
some of our early conversations. As I read it, I relived many of
these discussions, and suddenly, it all clicked for me. (LVV)
The essence of TheBlueOxenWay can be boiled down into three ideas,
each of which form the framework for our entire philosophy about
collaboration: (LVW)
The SquirmTest is a thought experiment for measuring the amount of
SharedUnderstanding in a group by observing the amount of squirming in
a room. SharedUnderstanding (which is not the same as "same
understanding") manifests itself in the formation of SharedLanguage.
SharedLanguage is a prerequisite for collaboration. (LW1)
Much of the messiness of the collaborative process can actually be
attributed to lack of SharedLanguage. Great collaborative design
accounts for this rather than wishing it away, which is how most of us
deal with it. (LW2)
SharedLanguage is TheRedThread that binds all of the crazy things I'm
involved with, from PatternLanguages to Wikis, from face-to-face
facilitation to organizational strategy. The SquirmTest is a
wonderful embodiment of SharedLanguage. (LW3)
If SharedLanguage is the tie that binds, then being LessDumb is the
state that we are all striving to reach. Why are we playing this game
in the first place? To be LessDumb, of course! As you go to bed
every night, if you can't look in the mirror and say, "Today, I became
LessDumb," then you're not doing your job. (LW5)
LessDumb is the negative framing of "augmentation," but it sounds a
heckuva lot better, and it embodies the same philosophy. Tools should
make people LessDumb. Processes should make people LessDumb. How do
we measure collaboration? One way is to see if we're LessDumb in the
process. (LW6)
That's obvious, you say? If it's so obvious, why do most tools and
processes make us MoreDumb rather than LessDumb? And why are we
so often willing to live with that? It may sound obvious, but are we
really paying enough attention to this? (LW7)
Bootstrapping (LW8)
With LessDumb and SharedLanguage (as embodied by the SquirmTest), we
have our target and the glue that keeps us together. Our process --
the way we get to our target -- is bootstrapping. Bootstrapping is
building on top of things that already exist, then building on top of
that. (The notion of bootstrapping is also the reason why we
called ourselves
BlueOxenAssociates.) (LW9)
The most vivid images of my best experiences collaborating have to do
with movement -- my actions resulting in other people's actions, which
result in even more actions, which inspire me to act further. This is
bootstrapping at its best. (LWA)
PurpleNumbers are ultimately about building ideas on top of
pre-existing ideas -- knowledge synthesis (i.e. becoming LessDumb) by
reusing existing ideas. Also known as bootstrapping. (LWB)
/blueoxen |
Posted at 5:49pm
EEK Speaks
A blog about collaboration, community-building, and the various
goings-on at Blue Oxen
Associates, with occasional digressions on food and other vital
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