A Room of Our Own Starting IA Locals and Bringing IA to Work

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A Room of Our OwnStarting IA Locals and Bringing
IA to Work

• Stacy Merrill Surla
• ssurla_at_mitre.org

IA Summit March 25, 2006
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• "Everybody can be great, because everybody can
  serve." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Point of this Session

• Help you create IA-friendly environments
• Concepts and strategies for starting IA local
  groups and fostering IA at work

Introduction
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Archetypal Situations

• Accidental Evangelist
• IA is a mystery to your boss work holds little
  scope for IA practice
• Lone Wolf
• In EVERY social setting "I'm an IA" is a
  conversation stopper
• Young Hero
• You've brought IA to work and play and wonder
  what's next

Quick Guide
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Useful Domains

• Leadership
• Project Management
• Organizational Value
• Service
• Volunteerism
• Evangelism
• Party Planning
• Networking
• IA Spa

Quick Guide
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Accidental Evangelist

• What do you need?
• A platform for doing your job
• Higher ground a basecamp or even a handhold
• Your model can be enterpreneurship
• Successes tied to company goals

Quick Guide
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Accidental Evangelist

• How do you get it?
• Look throughout your company to see where you
  can add IA value
• Network, gain allies, and make contributions
  freely
• Get some wins for the boss
• OR tuck accomplishments / lessons learned into
  your portfolio and get hired where they'll
  appreciate you
• Caveat you'll have to demonstrate your value
  there, too

Quick Guide
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Lone Wolf

• What do you need?
• A place to go where everybody knows youre an IA
• Learn, share, be wise,be the neophyte...
• The IA Summit all year around

Quick Guide
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Lone Wolf

• How do you get it?
• Start a local IA group
• Try the easiest things
• Repeat the things that work
• Involve everyone who wants to take part

Quick Guide
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Young Hero

• What do you need?
• Up the ante in Leadership, Service, and Party
  Planning
• Replicate your successes then give it all away
• Link what you do to a larger matrix
• Speak at conferences
• Support IAI Local Groups
• Contribute your wisdom to other,
• related associations

Quick Guide
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Challenges and Opportunities

• IA at Work and IA Locals
• There are differences
• However, approaches with
• IA locals also apply at work

Challenges/Opportunities
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IA at Work Challenges

• Dangers
• It's your job so you're on the line
• You might fail
• People might think you're stupid
• Difficulties
• Other ways of doing things are entrenched
• Pockets of resistance are distributed (this can
  also be a point of leverage)
• It can be very lonely

Challenges/Opportunities
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IA at Work Opportunities

• It's practice
• You will always have to sell IA to somebody -
  boss, clients, prospective bosses and clients
• You make a big impact
• Your company
• Your clients' projects
• Individuals who are attracted to your approach
• Your career

Challenges/Opportunities
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Local Groups Challenges

• Disincentives
• You could fail to gather interest
• People might think you're stupid
• It's homework or unpaid overtime - it takes time
  from the rest of your life
• Knowledge gaps
• Where do you start? How does a volunteer group
  work?
• Overdoing? Underdoing?
• How to keep up momentum?

Challenges/Opportunities
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Local Groups Opportunities

• Spa
• Incredibly refreshing
• Validating
• You can have adult conversations
• Strengthens your sinews
• Good for you

Challenges/Opportunities
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Local Groups Opportunities

• Not your job
• Work is the fuel, but you're freed from your
  work setting
• Start with certain axioms granted so can focus
  on the interesting things
• Tap into a knowledge base and solve work
  problems
• It's good for your career
• Communal good
• You increase the endowment for your daughters
  and sons

Challenges/Opportunities
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How To IA at Work

• Philosophical approach
• Sell IA and further your career
• Resource List
• I refer you to other Summit sessions
• Selling IA - Getting Execs to say Yes, Samantha
  Starmer
• IA and Business track sessions
• See Resource List at end

How To IA at Work
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How To Local Groups

• IA local approaches and lessons learned will also
  apply at work
• So most of the details are here

How To Local Groups
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Philosophical Approach

• Spa
• Think of the Spa when organizing your group and
  planning activities.
• Everything should be refreshing, fun,
  meaningful, and good for you.

How To Local Groups
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Practical Matters

• It's volunteering
• Read at least one book about organizing
  volunteers
• It's an organization
• Keep in mind you're creating an enduring
  non-profit organization

How To Local Groups
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Practical Matters

• It's largely party planning
• Keep things as simple as possible, but no
  simpler
• Repeat whatever works best
• Involve everybody who wants in
• Up the ante when you get good at it
• Replicate your successes
• Give it away
• Support IAI Local Groups
• Work with related associations
• Declare victory and celebrate

How To Local Groups
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Events

• Face to Face Meetups
• Little or no agenda (dinner, cocktail/coffee
  hour)
• Easy agenda (book group)
• Planning meetings (events, activities,
  infrastructure)
• Presentations
• Deliverables fair
• Event redux
• Guest speakers (grab them when theyre in town)

How To Local Groups
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Logistics

• Find good locations and reuse them
• Bookstores
• Coffee shops (particularly alternative ones)
• Public libraries
• Schools with related programs
• Your company
• Your abode

How To Local Groups
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Logistics

• "Good locations" means
• Enough room for the number of people and the
  activity
• Right ambiance (e.g. for talking, socializing,
  sharing documentation, listening, etc)
• Centrally located, with good parking

How To Local Groups
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Logistics

• Reach people
• Start a list
• Announcements only, or discussion?
• Start a website
• How do maintain? (Blog?)

How To Local Groups
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Logistics

• Get people involved
• Events
• Dan Brown "We'll support flamenco
• dancing if an IA wants to organize it"
• Planning
• Maintenance
• Give them real ownership

How To Local Groups
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IA-do (The Way of IA)

• The secret is "service"
• Keep going
• Get people involved
• Be willing to give it away

How To Local Groups
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Resources IA at Work

• A Foray across Boundaries Applying IA to
  Business Strategy and Planning, Richard Dalton,
  Rob Weening, http//www.iasummit.org/2005/finalpap
  ers/104_Presentation.ppt
• Selling IA Getting Execs to say Yes, Samantha
  Starmer, http//www.iasummit.org/2006/conferencede
  scrip.htm138
• 2006 IA Summit Business IA Track (see 2006 IA
  Summit Proceedings)

Resouces
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Resources Local Groups

• The Volunteer Recruitment Book, Susan J. Ellis
• When Everyone's a Volunteer The Effective
  Functioning of All-Volunteer Groups, Ivan H.
  Sceier
• Yahoo Groups, http//groups.yahoo.com/
• Google Groups, http//groups.google.com/
• IAI Local Groups, http//www.iainstitute.org/local
  groups
• DCIA Local Group, http//www.dc-ia.com

Resouces
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Stacy Surla ssurla_at_mitre.org