1. Welcome new dreamfish!
2. Lift off! Building our Tools
3. Cooperative Governance
4. Local Dreamfish Groups
5. Thanks Giving

1. Welcome new dreamfish!

Thanks to twenty three dreamfish contributing to service projects. Please welcome new members -  Manju Gupta, Joe Bogner, Yamini Shah, Joe Zonker Brockmeier, and Ariel Goodman.

Manju Gupta in the Bay Area is an experienced programmer, who is a jack of all code. With 25 years of experience, she is also a full-time programmer for a high-profile corporation in Silicon Valley. Manju has come to Dreamfish to help create work for the world’s emerging market entrepreneurs, particularly for women.

Joe Bogner in Ohio is our interim Lead Developer. Joe brings 13 years of experience, and is the Director of Technology for a B2B software company. Joe in his dreamfishing wants to help create meaningful work and income for financially-stressed individuals, coming to Dreamfish to look for good work.

Yamini Shah in Seattle is an independent project manager, who has experience managing a wide range of projects, large and small, across cultures. Yamini grew up in South America. Yamini would like to use her skills to create a flexible distributed project management environment, in which anyone, regardless of physical challenges, can succeed.

Joe “Zonker” Brockmeier in Florida is an experienced community manager, with communication expertise. Joe is currently the community manager of OpenSUSE, a prominent open source project, which spans across multiple countries. Joe is a facilitator for two of our interest groups – Development (Dev) and Marketing Communication group.

Ariel Goodman is our new community team coordinator and is a vibrant force. Ariel brings experience in interpersonal peer group facilitation and leadership development. Ariel is passionate about meaningful communication and connecting entrepreneurs to what they need to succeed.

Please join me in a big cheer for all!

2. Lift off! Building our tools

In the past few weeks, as new members have stepped forward to contribute in several of the key roles, we now are accelerating.

The first changes that you will see will be in the wiki to make day-to-day collaboration easier. Next, we will build a project directory that enables easy posting and searching of projects, and community networking.

Pete Kaminski, our community tech advisor, will lead Rel, an open source project. Built upon the principles that connection is fundamental to exchange of value, Rel will help people connect with each other on an ongoing basis. Dreamfish will use the software as the basis for the exchange of services and goods between dreamfish. Pete and Manju are pairing on coding of Rel v.0

3. Cooperative Governance

For the next five weeks, a task force will move forward steps in our transition towards a cooperative. While the experience of Dreamfish will be the same for most members, this structural work will empower more dreamfish to participate in governance, enable our Ten Up revenue model to work effectively to the benefit of all, and bring our structure into alignment with our mision and core values. Six dreamfish – Tahir Naim, a lawyer specializing in compensation, Laura Shaffer, O.D. manager, Paul Hamel and Gimena Pena, Pier 2 marketing consultants, Linda Crafts, Cumulus strategy consultant and Dreamfish board member, Maureen O’Malley, User Experience designer are serving on the taskforce.

We will give you report outs on the work as we go. If you would like to get involved, please let me know.

4. Launching local Dreamfish Groups

People join Dreamfish in a time of personal transition, and are often isolated, as they reach to create a new work life.  Local peer groups throughout the world give independents and entrepreneurs a safe place to discuss challenges and dreams and build meaningful connections that support individual growth.

The first group in Europe will start in Deggendorf in 2010. The first groups in the U.S. are in Northern California. Jennine Cohen, active travel consultant, and Ellen James, executive coach, are the coordinators for the Berkeley Marina Dreamfish group and the Sausalito Group, respectively. Kristy Graves and Marc Danguard are the first members in the Sausalito group, soon to kick off.

You can get involved in local groups by joining a group, spreading the word, or proposing to start a group in your area. Ariel Goodman is supporting the piloting of local Dreamfish groups in their launch, promotion and infrastructure. If you are interested to start a group, email Ariel at AGoodman[at]dreamfish.com

5. Thanks Giving!

While Thanksgiving is a Canadian and American holiday, I believe that our world hungers for healing acts of appreciation.  A day of giving thanks, pausing to reflect on all the bounty of good, is a good day to raise awareness for all there is to love.

I pause to give thanks for YOU, for all that you are and all that you do.

Tiffany

The purpose of this humanifesto is to rally our energy and creativity to bring forth a shared vision of a thriving world of work for everyone, everywhere.

1. We are co-entrepreneurs.

As independents and entrepreneurs, we can make a sustainable world of work by working together. We all bring value to the collaboration. Who are we? We are young, stretching wide. We are elders, contributing experience. We are professionals, learning out of the box skills. We are homeless, gaining confidence. We are investors and philanthropists, contributing to what matters. We are women gaining capital, moving families out of poverty, work in open source. We are men, finding meaningful work. We are people in recovery. We are making our world of work.

2. We are welcoming.

We are welcoming. You may speak Urdu, Spanish, English or Chinese. You may identify as a woman or a man, some blend of both, or neither. You may wear a baby sling, hijab, a kippah, a suit, leather, piercings, a pentacle, a political badge, a rainbow, a rosary, tattoos, or something we can only dream of. We welcome people who want to change the world, people who want to do business, people who want to keep in touch, people who want to make great art. We welcome Internet beginners.

3. We are diverse at our core.

We thrive with biodiversity here as we are part of the biodiversity of our planet. We believe accessibility for people with disabilities is a priority, not an afterthought. We think neurodiversity is a feature, not a bug. As we share the air with each other, our own breath reminds us that the self is common to both humanity and to the earth. We live our Diversity Statement.

4. We learn and grow through working together.

We mutually support our growth and development. As we work together, we develop socially, ethically and professionally. We believe that when we jam with our differences, not against, we innovate and transform. Wondrous results can come when people from different worlds and world-views move as an organizational jam. (More about Jamming )

5. We cultivate sustainability.

We actively make choices that mindfully supports the wellness of projects we work on, our coworkers, the earth and its creatures, our families and ourselves. We believe that embodiment is core to what is sustainable work. Listening to our body, we learn that we are collaborative systems, not silos.

6. We thrive on different kinds of Fishfood.

Everyone has different needs, and so wants different value. Sometimes, currency is what is needed. Sometimes, other kinds of value are sought — food, shelter, learning, accomplishment, or the satisfaction of putting money to work.

7. We practice being open.

We are as open and transparent in our work as possible to be highly collaborative and efficient with resources, and allow more people to benefit from the work created. We work out loud.

8. We practice extraordinary project management.

We want a healthy workplace throughout the whole cycle of work, from the early relationship-forming process through project management to project close outs. Project-based work can be an efficient flexible way to get work done and keep costs low.

9. We practice effective communication.

By giving each other feedback, we can become more aware and more effective at work. Our perspectives are often different from each other. We check our own assumptions out directly with the other person. We strive to own our own interpretations and feelings about the situation. If need be, we ask for help to facilitate.

10. We embrace creativity.

We believe that humans are creative and that nurturing creativity is essential. We support maximum freedom of creative expression, while respect to the whole of our work communities. We will never put a limit on creativity just because it makes someone uncomfortable.

11. We practice respect.

Each contribution to a work community is valuable. We respect people’s time, efforts, and expressions. Regardless of whether work is gifted or paid, we respect our coworkers. We show up and follow through when people rely on us. When we leave or disengage from the project, in whole or in part, we do so in a way that minimises disruption to the project.

12. We can flourish from working in a new way.

As we practice this collaborative way of work, millions of us can create meaningful value and move out of poverty. We want to:

• Create a livelihood for ourselves and others with project work and all the necessary tools to succeed.
• Increase the survival rate of micro-enterprises throughout the world.
• Create real value by actively creating a viable, collaborative economy.
• Reduce environmental footprint with lowering consumption, reusing, repurposing, recycling, working collaboratively, locally and virtually.

• Keep costs low through effective project management.
• Realize our dreams by working on projects that interest us, not the other way around.
• Learn valuable skills for the new world of work.
• Build a strong support network of dynamic, like-minded individuals to exchange ideas and collaborate.
• Grow both personally and professionally through collaboration.
• Share our wealth by mentoring and investing in other dreamfish.

As a practice of diversity, this text is a remix, with much thanks to Dreamwidth for allowing us to repurpose text in their Diversity Statement. This text is usable under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-SA license.

Dreamfish is possible, because of the participation of thousands of individuals, and a small number of dedicated dreamfishers and organizations that partnered with us. Many thanks to every person who has dreamfished over the last couple years to arrive at where we are now as a work cooperative. We pay special respect to Dreamfish contributors and partners who have given significantly from 2006-2009 to the mission.

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Trend to Micro for Millions

Many of us are looking for a new way to work. Many are on the margins, with 195 million unemployed worldwide. Millions have already discovered starting their own venture as a way forward. There are 21.5 million microenterprises (businesses with five or fewer employees), just in the United States. Microenterprises vary widely from consultants, web developers, and virtual assistants to philanthropists and investors.

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Micro-enterprise programs show results.

Several major studies on the effects on micro-enterprise on low-income and moderate-income individuals show that micro-enterprises assist to move individuals out of poverty.  A five year study of Aspen’s Self-employment Learning Project showed the following results:

• Increase in Income - The poor raised annual income by average of $10,507.

• 53% Out of poverty – Reliance on public assistance benefits declined significantly in dollars and number of recipients.

• 57% Business survival rate -  57% were in business after five years. This is favorable to small business’ 40% survival rate.

• Women powered – Most micro-enterprises are women. In this study, 78% were women entrepreneurs.

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The Dreamfish Way – Real. Relational. Resilient.

Building on best practices within micro-enterprise development, Open Source network economies, and pioneering organization development, Dreamfish is a way for independent workers and job providers to find work, hire, collaborate and pay.  As entrepreneurs, we learn as we practice a new way to work that sustains us, financially and personally. We also reduce our environmental footprint by working virtually and sharing resources. Here’s how we do it:

• Lower costs and higher effectiveness. Using free tools and a peer-to-peer open source model.

• Empowered. There is no middle man in our exchange. Nobody looks over our shoulder.

• Collaborative economy. Two fish swim better than one.

• Learning model, based on how adult entrepreneurs learn and grow – through peer coaching, and groups for job seekers.

• Woman-friendly. We appeal to women, who are underserved. Most micro-entrepreneurs are women. Yet, women have little access to capital. Only 5% of VC funding goes to women, and most entrepreneurial brands target men.

• Sustainable. We make SROI – Social Return on Investment - come to life.

• Growthful – Success is personal.  Confidence, balance and happiness are measures of success.

• We can scale our model to support good work for millions. Dreamfish can grow big, well.

Sustainable work for us all is within our reach. We have proven approaches. Our tools are available. The timing is right. Together, we can create sustainable work for all of us. If you want to support the Dreamfish Way, please get involved.

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Go heart to Dreamfish.

For Kevin, it is up to the entrepreneur to bring the right kind of investors to the table who are going to value what the organization creates in the world. Likewise, it is up to the investor to be aware of what gives them meaning in their life. As an investor, what do you value and how does money relate to that value?

The social capital market is investing much in the development of metrics for social and environmental value. Sara Olsen and Brett Galimidi have generously created an open source social metrics model. Acumen Fund and other Micro-finance institutions have even promoted a World Metrics Day to generate awareness. Kevin Jones offers a qualitative position in that value is like a work of art. When you break it into parts, it is no longer art. I agree with Kevin. Metrics are useful, but they are tricky and seductive. Developing qualitative ways to define value, in addition to quantitative, creates a more human generative form of economics.

You can join in this conversation at the upcoming Social Capital Markets conference in September 2009, where investors have a chance to examine what is meaning and value in developing a portfolio. Enjoy Kevin’s evocative take on social capital in this video.

Humans think of value in terms of the relationship between subject and object. Therefore, my sense is there is a correlation between our own level of human development, at any given moment which influences our perception of value – whether it is exchanged, lived or created. When adults feel more mature, the relationship between self and other is qualitatively different than one is feel less mature.The big challenge is that it is easy for anyone to regress in a tough moment, such as when being laid off or being criticized.

So, our creating a nurturing environment that support all of us in our human development would help to cultivate a new perception of value. Instead of perceiving value as a commodity, we can learn together to experience value as connected to each other, our community and the earth.

Thanks to the other dreamfishers in this conversation…

• Doug Paxton, a consultant on Values Technology
• Paul Loper, somatic group facilitation maven
• Peter Kaminski, community tech maven
• Marguerite Manteau-Ross, co-founder of Terraqualo
• Teddy Zmrhal, faculty, Presidio School of Management

Film credits: Johannes Klose, film and editing; Paul Loper, assistant editing

Video credits:
Johannes Klose, film and editing
Paul Loper, assistant editing

As humans, we are embodied and embedded in the environment. But, with our world being so fragmented and alienating, it is easy to forget our own nature. Being able to access this systems know-how in our work is important for an organization that wants to support sustainability. So, we use the arts in our strategic planning processes.

The methodology, Chormmunity (choreography community) was developed by Paul Loper, a thought leader in process arts, and a founding dreamfisher.

To develop this piece, we first each created drawings, and then explored relationships between our drawings to see more about our community. Then, taking our design thinking into motion, each person developed movement phrase to represent the drawing.

Then, using the individual movement phrases, the group then choreographed a dance. The dance continues to move in each of us.

And, now, thanks to the filmmaking of Johannes Klose, we see a new dance with this video.

Now is the time for an organizational revolution. This revolution is not about fight, but about light. This revolution is about collaborative creation of value. This economic “crisis” emerges within a larger cultural movement over the last thirty years, in which our understanding of reality has been moving from patterns of control to interaction.

As part of this cultural shift, our understanding of value has been transforming. However, now, based on our current data, we can reframe what is value. We can claim that real value is meaning, health, justice, community, learning, and a vibrant world.

This is a time of possibility to change how we organize as a global society. Organizations have been shaped as Institutions on a set of underlying assumptions, including the idea that money equals value and secondly, that value is exchanged, not created. Real value creation is a relational creative process. Real value creation involves people making choices each moment about what really matters.

This movement is not new. New forms of organization are emerging. The social enterprise is a new category. The B Corporation is a new legal movement. The social capital market is a new market for money. Open Source is a new model. Dreamfish is also an example of a new form of organization – a work network for micro-entrepreneurs worldwide to work and make a life, generating real value.

Umair Haque, in this presentation, eloquently describes the “Institutional Revolution” we are in…

Umair Haque @ Daytona Sessions vol. 2 – Constructive Capitalism from Daytona Sessions

A revolution is a time to choose. Now is the best time to choose how to organize value creation in our lives. What we really value.