Seven Principles of Cultivating Communities of Practice

An older article / book review from HBR, but it seems quite timely as I am doing work on the subject right now.

By Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder

"In Silicon Valley, a community of circuit designers meets for a lively debate about the merits of two different designs developed by one of the participants. Huddling together over the circuit diagrams, they analyze possible faults, discuss issues of efficiency, propose alternatives, tease out each other's assumptions, and make the case for their view.

In Boston, a group of social workers who staff a help line meet to discuss knotty client problems, express sympathy as they discuss difficulties, probe to understand each other's feelings, and gently offer suggestions. Their meetings are often deeply challenging and sometimes highly emotional. The fact-driven, sometimes argumentative, meetings of the Silicon Valley circuit designers are extremely different from the compassionate meetings of the social workers in Boston.

But despite their differences, the circuit designers' and social workers' communities are both vibrant and full of life. Their energy is palpable ....................

.................... From our experience we have derived seven principles:

• Design for evolution.
• Open a dialogue between inside and outside perspectives.
• Invite different levels of participation.
• Develop both public and private community spaces.
• Focus on value.
• Combine familiarity and excitement.
• Create a rhythm for the community."

Read the rest of the article ...

Technorati social networks tag