A view days ago Lydia dented me to an interesting video on TED. (If you don't know TED it's worth having a look. The clips there are much better than the regular TV program.)
It's a talk from David Logan on tribal leadership.
According to Logan the difference between tribes (or communities) are their cultures. Build on the culture communities can reach different states. He suggest 5 tribal states:
State 1: Life Sucks
That's the culture of gangs and in prisons. Life is horrible and you just try to survive.
State 2: My Life Sucks
Life isn't so bad. But mine! If I had other possibilities I would have fun.
State 3: I'm Great (and you're not!)
That's the culture in most companies and other "tribes". These people keep telling you their own success stories.
State 4: We're Great
Tribes in this state focus on the WE, not the I. The spirit glues those communities together. They produce excellence and are having fun. A view brilliant companies and many FLOSS communities have reached that level.
State 5: Life Is Great
Tribes in state 5 are those who change the world. They focus on values.
According to David Logan's research 2% are in state 1, 25% in state 2 and the majority (48%) is in state 3. Only 22% are in state 4 and 2% in state 5.
David Logan introduces two assumptions:
1. You can only understand someone who is at the same state (plus minus one).
2. The way as people see the world so they behave.
You might have been wondering what that has to do with KDE? Here it comes: KDE (as a brilliant community) has definitly reached state 4. How can we move from 4 to 5?
Eric Raymond discribes the attitude of FLOSS hackers: "The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved." This discribes exactely the attitude: Life Is Great!
What is your attitude?
When you are looking for fascinating problems: Grab one! ...at http://bugs.kde.org
The four questions I am asking myself are:
How do I see the world? At what state are the people around me? How do I communicate with others? How do we change that amazing world?
