Reflections On Burning Man

REFLECTIONS ON BURNING MAN Where community and possibility intersect

JANUARY 30, 2014

"Burning Man produces a concentra2on of the best aspects of humanity—generosity, inclusion, expression and crea2vity—quali2es which in our everyday lives are rare earth.” -‐ hBp://www.good.is/posts/burning-‐man-‐more-‐relevant-‐than-‐ever

Community

Possibility

1.  Radical Inclusion!

2. Gifting!

3. Decommodification!

4. Radical Self-reliance!

5. Radical Self-expression!

6. Communal Effort!

7. Civic Responsibility!

8. Leaving No Trace!

9. Participation!

10. Immediacy!

ten principles

RADICAL INCLUSION! Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for par2cipa2on in our community.

•  Welcome and invite the perspec2ves from other func2onal groups.

•  Seek it out new people to include. Leave poli2cs and red tape at the door.

How do we apply to our work?

. GIFTING! Burning Man is devoted to acts of giM giving. The value of a giM is uncondi2onal. GiMing does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.

•  What are the giMs you bring?

•  A giM can be in the form of mentoring others, standing up and leading when no one else wants to, giving your best effort/thought to solve a tough problem.


Decommodification! In order to preserve the spirit of giMing, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transac2ons, or adver2sing. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploita2on. We resist the subs2tu2on of consump2on for par2cipatory experience.

•  De-‐bullshiSng our environments.

•  Get rid of the barriers to forming ourselves into a community.

•  Don’t just recognize people with monetary rewards. Deliver praise and honor people for the giMs they bring.


Radical self-reliance! Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.

•  Leadership

•  Autonomy

•  Taking ini2a2ve


Radical self-expression!!Radical self-‐expression arises from the unique giMs of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collabora2ng group can determine its content. It is offered as a giM to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liber2es of the recipient.

•  Be crea2ve.

•  Honor and respect other’s differences and what they can bring to the conversa2on.


Communal Effort! Our community values crea2ve coopera2on and collabora2on. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communica2on that support such interac2on.

•  Teamwork, but in the form of a community.

•  Being responsible to each other.


Civic responsibility! We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibili2es to par2cipants. They must also assume responsibility for conduc2ng events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

•  Mentor in our professional and personal communi2es.

•  Give back.


Leaving No trace! Our community respects the environment. We are commiBed to leaving no physical trace of our ac2vi2es wherever we gather. We clean up aMer ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a beBer state than when we found them.

•  Reduce, reuse, recycle.

•  Leave our clients’ spaces nicer than we found it.

•  Leave a good trace (our work).


participation! Our community is commiBed to a radically par2cipatory ethic. We believe that transforma2ve change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal par2cipa2on. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through ac2ons that open the heart.

•  Welcome and encourage par2cipa2on from the periphery.

•  This is the most important ingredient for success.


immediacy! Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recogni2on of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, par2cipa2on in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can subs2tute for this experience.

•  Give immediate praise and construc2ve feedback.

•  Act on an idea to make it happen, versus lip service.

•  This is an important ingredient to discover what’s possible, versus problem solving.


STRUCTURE OF BELONGING

› Possibility!› Ownership!› Dissent!› Commitment!› Gifts!

5 conversations for the structure of belonging

Possibility! Possibility is not a goal, but a future condi2on that is currently beyond reach. Change our conversa2ons to what’s possible and not just problem solving.

Ownership! People are the most resourceful and crea2ve when they own something. Working together (co-‐owning), in a community environment, breeds accountability.

dissent!

Invi2ng dissent shows respect for all beliefs. Protect this dissent. Once people can safely dissent, they will fully join the community.

Commitment! This is a promise without the expecta2on of return. A true giM. No room for lip service – ac2ons speak louder than words.

Gifts! Focus on people’s giMs, not their deficiencies and weaknesses. Bring the giMs of others from the margins to the center.

WHAT KIND OF COMMUNITY DO YOU WANT?

› Possibility!

› Ownership!

› Dissent!

› Commitment!

› Gifts!

Principles for building a community

Radical Self-expression * Participation * Immediacy!

•  What is the crossroad where you find yourself are this stage of your work at your company?

•  What declara2on of possibility can you make that has the power to transform the community and inspire you?

•  What do we want to create together that would make the difference?

•  What can we create together that we cannot create alone?

Source: Community-‐ The Structure of Belonging, Peter Block

› Possibility!

› Ownership!

› Dissent!

› Commitment!

› Gifts!


Radical Self-expression * Civic responsibility * Participation !


•  How valuable an experience do you plan for this to be?

•  How much risk are you willing to take?

•  How par2cipa2ve do you plan to be?

•  To what extent are you invested in the well-‐being of the whole?

•  What is the story of your company that you hear yourself most oMen telling?

› Possibility!

› Ownership!

› Dissent!

› Commitment!

› Gifts!


Radical inclusion * radical self-expression * Participation !


•  What doubts or reserva2ons do you have?

•  What is the no, or refusal that you keep postponing?

•  What have you said yes to, that you no longer really mean?

•  What is a commitment or decision that you have changed your mind about?

•  What forgiveness are you holding?

•  What resentment do you hold that no one knows about?

› Possibility!

› Ownership!

› Dissent!

› Commitment!

› Gifts!


Gifting * communal effort * civic responsibility!


•  What promises am I willing to make?

•  What measures have meaning to me?

•  What price am I willing to pay?

•  What is the cost to others for me to keep my commitments, or to fail in my commitments?

•  What is the promise I'm willing to make that cons2tutes a risk or major shiM for me?

•  What is the promise I am postponing?

•  What is the promise or commitment I am unwilling to make?

› Possibility!

› Ownership!

› Dissent!

› Commitment!

› Gifts!


Gifting * decommodification * participation!


•  What giM have you received from another at your workplace?

•  What has someone in the group done today that has touched you or moved you or been of value to you?

•  What is the giM you currently hold in exile?

•  What is it about you that no one knows about?

•  What are you grateful for that has gone unspoken?

•  What is the posi2ve feedback you receive that s2ll surprises you?

•  What is the giM you have that you do not fully acknowledge?

“

” – Peter Block, Community: The Structure of Belonging

By Ian KluM -‐ Wikimedia Commons

“In this great expanse of emptiness, every person is a pencil or a paintbrush” – Tom Price, TEDxBlackRockCity 2011

By Ian KluM -‐ Wikimedia Commons

FIN

Design

Reflections On Burning Man