What Would Google Do?

What Would Google Do? is a question that I have been asking myself for a number of reasons lately, not the least of which  is because I am reading the book right now. I am reading this book and multiple blogs (Meg Hourihan, Clay Shirky, Deb Kantor, Kris Krug, Z Plus) really in the hopes that I can locate myself, our organization and the clients with whom I work squarely in the “new paradigm, “the quantum age” repeating the mantra as I go, “do what you do best and link to the rest”.

This mantra was ever-present for me as I worked this week with a group of folks who are at a most critical juncture in their effort to build a field, the goal of which is to increase awareness and funding to address the root causes not the symptoms of social injustice. A core of the larger global network has been convened, knowledge and product gaps identified, and a commitment to moving forward together has been made. This group was then tasked with figuring out “whither next?” Now what?

Their task is to create a road map that will involve the appropriate people and resources to increase the knowledge and expand the network. As the collaboration-centered process “experts” building collaborative road maps that creates the container for creative engagement, emergent thinking and right action for greater social impact is what we at IISC do but the question remains: what would Google do?

As in most of my life-long searches, I look for some basic princples: the Ten Commandments; the Four Noble Truths; the six articles of faith; burn more calories than you eat and I found some. Here are a few (and like all basic principles have the quality of…..duh…until of course you really, really contemplate their meaning and worse, their implications for your life)

• make mistakes well – admit them, share them, learn from them;
• life is beta – everything is a work in progress and can always be improved; when you make a mistake iterate your way out of it, learn your way;
• be hon est –  be direct, authentic, say what you mean;
• be transparent – make your process explicit; hand over control through openness and information
• collaborate – include, include, include….co-create
• don’t be evil – well, here we’re back to the Ten Commandments, the Four Noble Truths etc….

My own answer to the question is: learn, connect and of course, Google!