Brock { Abroad }

I’m fascinated with the field of social innovation. I am full of questions regarding what can often be a fuzzy, in-the-clouds concept. What is social innovation? What is happening in our world that has created such a movement behind this term? When and why do you call something “social” or something “innovative?” Who can we look to as exemplary social innovators? How does this term get put into action and what are some examples of social innovation happening in the field? How can you come to your own conclusions regarding these questions and find your place within it all? I suggest you take a look at this travel guide from the Kaos Pilot team 13:

This is from one of the most amazing days of my life. Taken in Stockholm, it says: “Ideas to change the world:”

You may recognize one contribution…

Another great day at Knowmads, hosting a World Cafe for idea generation on our Picnic proposal in the morning:

and, in the afternoon, dreaming up…

I think both are very much connected to the photo from above as well as the theme for this year’s Picnic event:

“The world around us is changing fast, and not all the changes are positive. We’re facing the biggest natural, social and economic challenges our world has ever seen. We’ve addressed some of these issues in the past, but the days of just talking are over. It’s time to take action.

We’re focusing on Life, Cities, Media and Design — areas that provide real opportunities to make a difference. PICNIC ’10 brings you a platform to create new solutions for a better world.

For more information on the event, click on the picture above, or check out the blog of Marcel Kampman of happykamping. Both creative director of the festival as well as ambassador of Knowmads, his website is definitely worth a peek. Thanks again to all the great guests Knowmads was able to welcome home on this exciting day!

During the first morning of the Kennisland Social Innovation Safari, Kwela Sabine Hermanns, a personal role model of mine and also an ambassador for Knowmads, asked us all a very valuable question. She asked us:
What does social innovation mean for you?

It was an incredibly valid question. Every day in my very sheltered environment, although a school for the world, words like social innovation, sustainability, co-creation, presencing, and many others fly out of our mouths that would make most people outside the program, or at least outside social change circles, say… “what in the world…?”
Christina Jordan, another personal hero, is collaborating with many others to solve that very question. What (in the world) does social innovation mean? Co-organizer of the Cosi10, Christina is working to connect socially innovative initiatives around the world over a three month time span. In a “simple face-to-face unconference event,” they hope to create a networking and learning process that allows people to collaborate and share impact strategies, skill development resources, and even develop revenue models to build thrivable social innovations.

Still, the question remains. What constitutes a social innovation? From my extensive research on the subject, I like this answer best. Taken from the guys over at Social Velocity, they state that social innovation is…
“…a whole group of big, ambitious, new ideas and models for solving social problems. Social innovation is about changing institutions, organizations, approaches, systems in fundamental ways so that we can fix the many problems facing us. It includes things like:

• Creating new financial vehicles where nonprofit and for profit organizations that are working to solve social problems can have ready access to all kinds of funding (seed funding, growth capital, debt, etc.)
• Removing the hurdles placed in front of organizations working to solve social problems (accounting standards, IRS regulations, etc.)
• Restructuring philanthropy to be more effective at supporting real change
• Revamping government so that it can support, rather than thwart, change leaders
• Reforming nonprofit organizations to break out of the starvation cycle and become more effective at creating social impact

And that’s just the beginning.
Social innovation is big. It’s bold. It is a movement of people and organizations from all three sectors (public, private, nonprofit) who are taking a completely different approach, who are turning the status quo on its head, who are building new systems, who are asking hard questions, who are creating a new way forward.”

Finally, attempting to answer the question I first addressed, in one word, social innovation means for me connecting. It means a better connection to self and in turn a better connection to the world around you. It entails understanding that everything is connected to everything else and searching for the required passion to connect work to play.

The Knowmadic Learning Lab, in collaboration with the Hub Summer School initiative on the Knowmads platform, is my attempt to strengthen the power of connection, to be part of the social innovation movement, and to connect to you, wherever you are. We hope to see you on at the end of this month for a great day of playing with our passions at the Knowmadic Learning Lab!

There is a website I really like called Marc and Angel Hack Life: Practical Tips for Productive Living. In an article entitled How to Achieve Your Goals, one tip they recommend is having a support group of like-minded people who share similar goals as you that you meet with once a week to help each other self-reflect, gauge progress, and create an overall positive energy. This is what I see Knowmads as. Although I’m not incredibly clear on a definitive list of shared goals, it’s great to be in a group that shares similar values, principles, and a drive to live the life we love by “combining passion, business, and playful learning.”

As I’ve been preparing for a workshop in conjunction with the Hub Amsterdam for their Summer Learning Festival, I’ve spent my past few weeks developing some tools that may be utilized in our workshop. Together with my mastermind partners in crime Naomi, Oscar, Fran, and Manu, we’ve used each other to create more self-awareness in each other. Whether we were making lists of what we want to have, be, or do, interviewing each other, creating questions without worrying so much about the answers, or writing a love letter to ourselves, I have cherished this recent Sunday ritual. So, I’d like to dedicate this post to these people, who pick me up after long weeks. I love you all.

As we enter a break from Knowmads and I tackle the Social Innovation Safari, travel to Sweden for a Vipassana Medition Retreat, and visit a special someone in Oslo, I sit writing this on a Sunday. It’s my first Sunday in a month without my “mastermind group.” As I was thinking about them and surfing one of my favorite life-hacking sites, I found a new Sunday ritual to keep me going: 20 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Sunday.

Finally, if you are in the Amsterdam area between the 25-28 of August and would like to more about our Knowmadic Learning Lab, check out the previous link, and stay tuned for a new blog dedicated to living, learning, and loving. As for now, check out my fellow Knowmadic friend Naomi’s blog called just that. I love the learnings she shares.

Keep Calm and Carry On, everybody.

Upon entering our headquarters, there is a sort of ‘buzzing’ happening. This is the description I was given by a recent visitor, at least, and I find it quite accurate. I prefer to call our home a beehive, actually; because much like bees, we are a busy and dynamic group of cross-pollinating individuals. Last month, there was an exceptionally exciting energy in the air as we awaited our first presentation from KLM, the second client we have taken on so far.“Welcome Home!” I remember telling the three men dressed in business suits and ornately pointed patent leather shoes. As they walked into Headquarters, I remember thinking: “Why are you here and what do you hope to get from us?” I think they were wondering the same thing when they first walked in. Since then, I think we’ve all come a long way from understanding what sets us apart and how to work with a variety of unique individuals.

From business suits to sneakers, the professional experience working with KLM has allowed many of us to experience what working in a corporation is really like.

I also believe that KLM has been able to better see what working with Knowmads is like, as well.What makes Knowmads special, in my opinion is that the very experience is transformative. We “work” on transforming the very definition of work.We attempt to blur the lines through our mission of “combining passion,business,and playful learning.” I believe we are able to do this because we remember that education does not stop once you enter the work-force. As a matter of fact, it should be fun, encouraged, and continue.This type of passionate and playful mentality of life-learning is the reason why I believe such a variety of people show up at our doors to work with us. Read the rest of this entry »

Building on a previous post, 21st Century Leadership, leadership styles in the past, present, and future are explained by Pieter Spinder at Knowmads.

When it comes down to traditional leadership, bureaucratic and autocratic leadership styles come to mind. Involving hierarchy, power retention within “manager-style” positions, all decision-making is given on a vertical style of bureaucratic leadership where only the highest positions are involved. Staff, within organizations and corporations, do not consult staff and are typically not given the opportunity to provide input. Without explanation, they are expected to obey orders. Usually, they do so without ever given a second thought. This is typically due to a structured set of rewards and punishments that are involved if they fail or succeed. In other words, if they obey or disobey.

Autocratic leaders are especially reliant on these threats and punishments to influence their staff, which they don’t trust or listen to for input, anyway. Bureaucratic style is a bit more managed “by the book,” so to speak. Everything is done according to procedure or policy. If not covered by the book, it’s passed on to the hands of a higher level without further regard. It’s this behavior that places a police officer as simply a rule-enforcer instead of a leader, for example.

What are some qualities of other present leadership styles that are valuable and what are the leadership styles of the future? Some valuable qualities that can help make a group of people collaborate more creatively involve just that type of attitude. These qualities get everyone more involved, they create a community dialogue and discussion. They are an easy entrance to expanding your network in order to open up to a wider audience, within a differently structured format, involving like-minded educators of a similar skill level. Here are the styles of the today and tomorrow we explored:

Transformational Leadership

Make change happen in self, others, groups, and organizations. Charisma is a special leadership style commonly associated with transformational leadership; extremely powerful, extremely hard to teach.

Transactional Leadership

Emphasizes on getting things done within the umbrella of the status quo, which is directly in opposition of transformational leadership. Using a “by the book” approach, this leader works within the rules and is commonly seen in large, bureaucratic organizations.

Creative Leadership

Ability to uniquely inspire people, generating shared innovative responses and solutions to complex and readily-changing situations.

street art, Tel-Aviv

Corrective Leadership

Empowers staff to facilitate collaborative behavior and creates a synergism by working with and through other people instead of bowing to authoritarianism.

Change Leadership

Endorses alteration, is beyond thinking about individuals and individual organizations, and single problems with single solutions. Rethinks systems to introduce change on parts of the whole and their relationship to one another.

Intelligence Leadership

Is able to navigate the future by embracing ambiguity and reframing problems as opportunities. Takes a proactive stance in taking their organizations into uncharted territory.

Multicultural Leadership

Fosters team and individual effectiveness, drives for innovation by leveraging multicultural differences. Teams are able to work more effectively in the atmosphere of understanding and mutual respect.

Pedagogical Leadership

A video from 21st Century Pedagogy attempts to answer the question: How do we involve new technologies to meet the changing needs of students in the 21st Century classroom?

The literature from the presentation reads:

Technology will never replace teachers. However, teachers who know how to use technology effectively to help their students connect and collaborate together online will replace those who do not.

There is a paradigm shift from leader/teacher centered “orientation” to an interactive, connective organizational system using more democratic learning with a more dynamic communicative approach. This is seen as an alternative to instructional leadership by enabling the learning and intellectual growth of those led. Read the rest of this entry »