LLGA | Cities Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 – Parallel Session A: Civic Engagement, Community Development, Inclusion and Sharing

LLGA | Cities Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 – Parallel Session A: Civic Engagement, Community Development, Inclusion and Sharing.

Open Space on China is About to Start!

Some good old friends gathered online to test software for Open Space on China. Oranges, Snowfall, and Open Space itself… perfect topics to discuss while spending 2.5 hours with folks connecting from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Oxford, and the SF Bay Area:)

 

NewsBlast Editorial Board

(For more information see Entrepreneurship Division NewsBlast, November 2012)

Fedor Practitioner	Thiago Non-Traditional Academic	Muthu Traditional Academic

Starting with the November 2012 issue, ENT NewsBlast is edited by three co-editors who represent three groups of members: traditional academics, nontraditional academics, and practitioners.

The ENT NewsBlast comes out every two months. For each NewsBlast issue, one of us acts as Editor-In-Chief and two others contribute with materials and/or creative ideas. The schedule is as follows:

NewsBlast Issue	Editor-In-Chief
November 2012	Fedor
January 2013	Thiago
March 2013	Muthu
May 2013	Fedor
July 2013	Thiago
September 2013	Muthu

We are a dynamic and open-minded team dedicated to giving voice to every group of members that has a message for the broader ENT community. We already have a bunch of ideas, but what we would really love to see is your ideas superseding ours and pushing the Division and its every member forward to greater success.

We very much look forward to your emails with questions, comments and wonderful new ideas!

---

NewsBlast Co-Editor:
The Voice of Practitioners

Fedor Ovchinnikov
Entrepreneur and Negotiation Consultant
Founding Member of the CIC Consulting Network
San Francisco Bay Area, United States

E-mail:  f.ovchinnikov@ism-cp.com

“As an entrepreneur, I have developed enormous respect and appreciation for academic research, thanks to executive education programs I attended at Stanford GSB and Chicago Booth. I know from my own experience that academia can make a huge positive impact on the business world. That is why I am so honored to be part of the Academy of Management, and especially to serve for the Communications Committee of the Entrepreneurship Division.

 As a NewsBlast co-editor, I am passionate about empowering all my fellow members with freedom to co-create the future of the Division by bringing together all the voices that seek to be heard and making them resonate for the ENT community.”

 Although you may Contact Fedor for any reason, he can be most helpful with inquiries related to…

 1) Publishing your materials in the NewsBlast in May or November 2013.

2) Discussing any issues related to members engagement.

3) Discussing any issues related to practitioner (executive) members of the division. 

---

NewsBlast Co-Editor:
The Voice of Non-Traditional Academics

Thiago de Carvalho
Entrepreneur and Educator
Business Plan Competition Coordinator at Insper (Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa)

São Paulo, Brazil

E-mail:  thiagoc@al.insper.edu.br

“I hope the ENT division will become a place where we can learn and teach how to better grow entrepreneurship scholars that teach entrepreneurs. Why are we creating ENT scholars, traditional or non-traditional? What are they supposed to do with their accumulated knowledge?  In my point of view, a major challenge is to understand teachers and founders and provide them with specific training so that they can achieve a superior level and make a huge difference.

 As a NewsBlast co-editor, I will focus my efforts on understanding the needs of scholars and entrepreneurs in order to develop methodologies that can be useful for both groups. I believe that entrepreneurship scholars (traditional or non-traditional) need to break down barriers in order to learn from each other. They also need to learn from the real actors: the entrepreneurs.”

 Although you may Contact Thiago for any reason, he can be most helpful with inquiries related to…

 1) Publishing your materials in the NewsBlast in January or July 2013.

2) Reporting an ENT officers update to be included on the division’s website.

3) Discussing any issues related to nontraditional academics. 

---

NewsBlast Co-Editor:
The Voice of Traditional Academics

Lasandahasi Ranmuthumalie de Silva (Muthu)
Doctoral Researcher at Manchester Business School
Manchester, United Kingdom

E-mail:  Lasandahsi.desilva@postgrad.mbs.ac.uk

“As an early career ‘traditional academic’, my main expectation from the ENT division is to receive an opportunity to interact with both academics and practitioners, which I could use as a vehicle to make a contribution to knowledge creation.

 Tom’s story made me realize the importance of producing research that would have direct impact on practitioners. As a researcher, I have a tendency to appreciate and, as a result, engage in theoretically oriented research. Tom’s story further confirmed that, if we want to make a significant contribution to the world, we should try to collaborate with practitioners to understand their needs, which should at least partly shape the focus of our research. 

 As a NewsBlast co-editor, I am dedicated to facilitating effective discourse between traditional academics, non-traditional academics, and practitioners in order to understand how collaborations between all three parties could be mutually beneficial.”

 Although you may Contact Muthu for any reason, she can be most helpful with inquiries related to…

 1) Publishing your materials in the NewsBlast in March or September 2013.

2) Publishing a call for papers/proposals in any NewsBlast issue.

3) Discussing any issues related to traditional academics. 

(For more information see Entrepreneurship Division NewsBlast, November 2012)

Discussion on Practice-Oriented Award

(For more information see Entrepreneurship Division NewsBlast, November 2012)

Since Tom Walter shared his story with the ENT community in September, there have been conversations going on about the possibility to establish a practice-oriented paper award. In addition, based on the recommendation of a recent task force, the Awards Committee is currently considering whether the Division should have an award of this nature. Daniel Forbes, Chair of the Awards Committee, has indicated that the Committee is open to input about such an award from any interested Division members. Fedor Ovchinnikov is starting an online discussion group in the coming weeks to make it easier for members to exchange views and share their input with the Awards Committee. Fedor will summarize this input and share it with the Awards Committee by the end of December.

Key questions Fedor would like to pose to the discussion group include:

1) To what extent do members see value in such an award?

2) What kinds of publications would/wouldn’t be eligible?

3) What would a nomination/selection process look like, e.g. would it include a mix of researchers & practitioners, etc.?

Also here is inspiration from the OB Division, which has such an award.

ENT Members who would like to take part in the discussion can contact Fedor Ovchinnikov in order to be added to the mailing list.

(For more information see Entrepreneurship Division NewsBlast, November 2012)

Academy of Management Member Interviews

(For more information see Entrepreneurship Division NewsBlast, November 2012)

Sincere thanks to Thomas J. Walter and Francisco Vázquez who welcomed our efforts to reveal synergies between academic and practitioner members as well as agreed to share their thoughts on their membership experience with the ENT Community

We invite you to share your answers by sending them to Fedor or by requesting a Skype conversation with him (Skype ID: fedor_ovchinnikov).

Below are the Member Interview questions [i]:

Question 1: Background. We would love to learn more about your background, particularly how you came to pursue an entrepreneurial/academic life and what you see as the key element(s) of your success.

Question 2: Early Memory. Could you tell us about an early memory of a professional or alumni association? [ii]

Question 3: First Impression. How did you first hear about the Academy? What was your initial impression?

Question 4: Value. It would be fantastic if you could tell us a story about what makes AoM (especially the ENT Division) a valuable experience for you. [iii]

Question 5: Flaws. We would also love to hear a story on some specific aspect of your membership experience that could be improved. [iv]

Question 6: Presentation. How do you describe AoM, and especially your membership experience with the ENT Division, to friends or colleagues who do not know about the Academy?

Question 7: Voice. If there is anything else we should have asked you or that you would like to tell us about your membership experience, we would be thrilled to hear that.

_____________________

[i] Adapted from Gregory Bunch, The Advanced Strategy Program Materials // The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, 2011.

[ii] For example, for me it was an unofficial alumni association of Inkombank – a top Russian commercial bank in the 1990s. I learned about this organization from my father when I was about 12 years old, and it had an air of mystery for me at that time. I remember when my father talked about business with me. From time to time, he would say, “Oh, that turned out to be really easy. The guy was an Inkombank alumnus.” This memory greatly affects my perception of the Academy, even though this organization is in fact radically different in many ways.

[iii] We are looking for powerful real-life stories, not general anecdotes. Did you make a new contact at an Annual Meeting that resulted in a productive partnership? Learn some useful frameworks or ideas that helped you with a challenge you were currently facing? Or maybe just having an affiliation with the Academy helped you advance your entrepreneurial endeavors? If you have been a member of the Academy for more than one year, recall what made you renew your membership. If this is your first year, reflect on why you will renew, or, if you are not sure yet, what kind of experience would motivate you renew your membership next year?

[iv] Was there an expectation that you had that the Academy failed to meet? Have you ever wondered about some aspect of the Academy that you find inflexible or misguided? Please do not hesitate to be honest, even brutally so, in expressing your true perspective and insight.

(For more information see Entrepreneurship Division NewsBlast, November 2012)

VOSS: Closing Circle Follow-Up

Dear VOSS participants,

Thank you for all your contributions to the Closing Circle! Is was so wonderful to learn that even those who were unable to join the discussions, found something valuable in the VOSS experience! Below are some updates that emerged from the Closing Circle:

About your comments:

As some of you asked me in your e-mails, we will wait for more comments before bringing them together to create a Harvest Scroll – a kind of a mind map that represents the key takeaways, – so if you have not shared your comments, please do so: this small contribution can make a huge difference for the whole VOSS community.

About final mailing list:

Those of you who joined us on Skype today think that excluding people from the list because they are not active, is a by all means a bad idea. Instead we will keep the list as it is and even keep it growing. If anyone does not want to receive further collective e-mails from fellow Vossians (thanks Anne-Cecile for the word!), please advise me to exclude you from the list.

VOSS future:

Building on the conversation hosted by Dariana last Saturday, we plan to keep in touch in multiple ways.

1) Devashish has an idea up coming that he plans to host in the coming weeks. He will tell you the details of his idea in the e-mail he is going to sent to all of us.

2) Also anyone is encouraged to host a conversation on a topic that matters to him/her anywhere (Skype/WebEx/Google Talk/etc.) at any time. If you want to do it now, or, for example, in two years from now, just announce your topic, time, and place, and after you do this, make sure to keep people updated on any changes. Also feel free to invite people from your networks to join any VOSS conversations. Anyone can add his or her e-mail address to our mailing list to receive VOSS updates. Foe example, we are planning to talk with Serge next week about plastic flood in Laos, and I invited a change maker from South Africa who has experience with similar issues to join our conversation. The conversation will be on Skype, and we will announce the time later.

3) In addition to audio conversations and e-mails you can keep in touch with the community on the following platforms: 
Facebook, Coursera, LinkedIn, WordPress/BlogSpot, Skype, and E-mail.

4) Bryan and Devashish asked me to remind you about our LinkedIn group and resume sharing. We already connecting with each other on LinkedIn, and 5 resumes are on the table: you are welcome to join.

Any other ideas are still welcome, and as always, you are invited to share your thoughts at any time!

Here is a beautiful mind map designed by Anne-Cécile Gallon:

Course Discussion – Week 6 – GMO: Stop the Hysteria and Make Your Own Choice?

In my view, the greatest problem with GMO is the increasing hysteria both sides are responsible for. On the one hand, organizations that benefit from production and distribution of genetically modified food are motivated to invest in lobbying pro-GMO bills and organizing pro GMO propaganda. João Maciel has masterfully described this kind of behavior in his new post. On the other hand, GMO fighters like Gilles-Éric Séralini are so eager to mobilize all factual and emotional anti-GMO arguments they can possibly find, that they often use unreliable information or omit important facts.

Such irresponsible methods of both sides ultimately hurt the end users of genetically modified food: consumers do not have access to objective data, and therefore their individual choices are based on manipulative propaganda rather than on awareness of objectively identified pros and cons. This situation is driven by a widely accepted assumption that we need one solution for all times and for everybody.We generally think that some folks on the top (scientists, governments, etc.) must find out whether it is safe for us to eat transgenic food, and then we would simply do as they tell us. Along the way we get suspicious about the intentions of the authorities, and get really frustrated about which position they should stand for. The funny thing here is that our suspicion is inevitable, because like so many issues in our increasingly interconnected world, the question whether it is safe to use GMO, just does not have the right answer.

When dealing with complexity, we cannot rely on somebody to “figure it all out right”. This old-fashioned approach can only increase our frustration, because any opinion is not solid enough to resist challenges imposed by some people or groups biased by their own self-interest. Under such circumstances, the best thing we can do, in my view, is to acknowledge and accept the complexity we are facing, and to discontinue our attachment to the assumption that there is one right solution for everyone. Instead of forcing our governments and the scientists to determine and announce “the iron truth”, we should try to work together on increasing transparency and objectivity of the industry, and to empower end users with objective data they can rely on to make their own consumption decisions.

VOSS Reflections Week: Discussions Continue

We had 3 Skype conversations, 1 WebEx conversation, and 1 Facebook discussion:

1) Anne-Cécile, Dariana and Devashish supported Serge with their opinions on how to change stakeholders behavior to stop plastic flood in Laos. The main challenge is to convince shop owners to give up plastic bags in exchange of monetary reward, but some other ideas also emerged from the discussion. Because Serge had to leave relatively early, the discussion continues, and we expect further Skype conversations on this topic, so please contact Serge if you are interested to join.

2) The same people discussed how we can extend the VOSS experience into the future. This discussion initiated by Dariana, extended to the next session and generated such ideas as LinkedIn group and Mailing List (with CVs/Bios of participants) suggested by Devashish, in addition to the VOSS Blogs Circle suggested earlier by Anne-Cécile, and the well-known Facebook Group.

3) Devashish and Bryan joined Anne-Cécile to discuss how stakeholders can work together to create a sustainable fashion industry. The Sustainable T-Shirt Project proposed by Anne-Cécile was discussed from different prospective: social, environmental and financial aspects were considered. Devashish and Anne-Cécile discovered synergies of their backgrounds, and possibly a new partnership has emerged from the conversation.

4) Bryan presented his ideas on how to use harvested rainwater to make households in the tropics use water in a more sustainable way. Jess and Tatiana provided their feedback on WebEx, and Finola contributed to the discussion on Facebook.

5) Felipe experienced some problems with his microphone, therefore his discussion on the quality of life vs. the environment moved to Facebook discussion, and Jess has already joined this discussion.

6) Still no signals from Hugues. He scheduled a WebEx conversation on how to create local cell-information on the usefulness of e-learning, but did not show up. When he comes back to us, updates on his conversation will be posted here.

However “official” conversation sessions are over, you can still invite people to talk via Skype or WebEx to continue your conversation or even to open a new topic. If you do this, it’s a good idea to announce when and where (Skype/WebEx/Anywhere else) you will talk, so that anyone could join if interested.

Also feel free to invite people to your Blog/Coursera Thread/LinkedIn Group/Etc. to discuss your topic in written form.

The picture below illustrates what have happened within the VOSS to date, as well as where we are heading:

Course Discussion – Week 5 – Change Mindset to Reduce the Amount of Carbon Dioxide We Emit

This post is currently under construction

VOSS: Opening Circle and Conversations Update

We now have five topics announced:

1) New Approach to the Theory of Sustainable Development: to Consider the Quality of Life of the Population Before the Improvement of the Environment hosted by Felipe Macedo

2) Behavior Change Discussion: How to Change Stakeholders’ Behavior to Fight Plastic Flood in Laos hosted by Serge Doussantousse

3) How Designers, Manufacturers and Users of T-Shirts Can Work Together to Create a Sustainable Fashion Industry hosted by Anne-Cécile Gallon

4) Collaborating for Sustainability: How Can We Extend the VOSS Experience into the Future? hosted by Dariana Bluehand

5) Creation of a Local Cell-Information on the Usefulness of E-Learning  hosted by Hugues Fongang

I encourage those of you who want to host a conversation, to announce your topics as soon as possible, because we are starting in less than 48 hours. Here are some tips and announcements:

For Participants in General:

I have just sent a WebEx invitation to the Opening Circle (Saturday, September 29, 7:00am California Time) to all of you. Opening Circle is an opportunity to “see” each other before the conversation sessions start. Hosts will announce their topics, participants will share their plans, and there will be the last opportunity to ask questions before the sessions. Please do everything you can to attend the Opening Circle.

Organizational Tips for Hosts:

1) As you know, you can choose one of the two sessions (7:30-8:15 and 8:15-9:00 California Time). If you want to attend some of the conversations in the Session One, I encourage you to schedule your conversation in Session Two.

 

2) One of the 5 basic principles of Open Space is “Whoever comes is the right people”. Don’t panic if you have as many as 20 people joining you, and don’t get frustrated if there is only one dedicated participant talking with you about your topic. Treat everyone who joins you as your dear guest: any background can make a difference in the conversation.

 

3) Another OS principle is “Whenever it starts is the right time”. This means that you don’t have to start exactly at the official starting time. Feel free to wait and see if there is someone else who wants to join you, and at the same time feel free to start the conversation right away without waiting for anybody. Just feel the energy of the group, and start when you feel like it is the right time for everybody.

 

4) Please know that “Wherever it happens is the right place”. Although you are expected to schedule a WebEx meeting, feel free to switch to Skype or any other platform if you have technical difficulties with WebEx, or if your group strongly prefers that other “place”.

 

5) Always keep in mind that “Whatever happens is the only thing that could have”. Don’t get frustrated if anything “goes wrong”. Nothing can go wrong in the Open Space environment because any outcome is the right one. Feel like you are failing with moderating the discussion? Share your concerns with others and think together how to overcome it. Nobody joined you? Wait as long as you want, and feel free to join other conversations.

 

6) The last OS principle is “When it’s over, it’s over”. If you feel like the topic is exhausted, and nobody is interested in going into further discussions, feel free to close the conversation and join someone else’s discussion. Equally, if you have a lively, vibrant discussion, feel free to proceed regardless of what time it is. If anyone has to host another conversation, he or she will simply leave your discussion. Don’t get frustrated about it, and feel free to proceed for as long as you have a productive discussion. And yes, you may keep the discussion going for hours, if you and at least one other participant have enough energy to do it.

 

7) After Saturday, hosts will summarize the ideas emerged from their conversations and publish them on Facebook, Coursera of any other platform they feel comfortable with. Their reports will be used by Anne Cécile to create the mind map of the conference, which should be a great way for hosts to attract attention of a broader audience to their projects.

Technical Tips for Hosts:

1) When creating your WebEx meeting, check the box “RECORD THE MEETING”. It is very important to make recordings of all conversations, so please remember to check the box.

 

2) Use your topic as a headline for your meeting, so that it will be easier for the participants to find your invitation in their e-mail boxes.

 

3) I encourage you to schedule at least one test meeting in advance, and to invite your friends or relatives to join this test meeting to help you make sure that everything works well technically.

 

4) If you hear certain noise that interferes the conversation, ask everyone to keep their microphones muted when they are not speaking, and turn the mics on only to say something.

Once again, I encourage you to announce your topics as soon as possible, and those of you who has not replied to my “How Can I Help” letter yet, please do so as soon as possible.

Thank you for your commitment to make VOSS a great experience for everyone involved, and I wish you good luck on Saturday!

Cordially,

Fedor