I had promised a 7-part series with my reflections on the Stoos Gathering. Now I promise that this will be my last post on this topic for a while…
I have discussed the goals & outcomes of the event in Stoos, the name & identity, the core idea, and the stakeholders. Now it’s time to consider what comes next. Allow me to suggest the following steps, which can be picked up by anyone in the bigger network. Including me. :)
1) Stakeholders
I think a little more work is needed to identify the groups of stakeholders. We’ve already made progress, and received some comments. But it would be great to have a definitive set of personas, so we can refer to it in later activities and projects. It would be useful when the organizers of an event could say, “our event is primarily targeted at the following personas/stakeholders…”
2) Change Agents
We also need to know which people are already now trying to change the world on their own. They might be interested in consolidating the influence of change agents so that their heroic efforts are more effective. (Managers might call it “leverage”…) I’m talking about individual writers and bloggers, but also institutes, alliances, networking groups, and many more.
3) Strategies
Once we know all stakeholders, and we know all change agents, we could identify strategies mapping change agents onto stakeholders. Some target audiences could be involved at big international conferences, maybe others through books or magazine articles. Some people prefer watching YouTube videos, while others prefer to participate in small local events. Different people have different needs. Our desire for change has to accommodate for that.
4) Events, Big & Small
And then we should make sure to get together and talk once in a while. I know Maarten Volders is already planning to organize something big near the end of the year. And I’m planning to discuss things at a smaller scale in the next ALE Bathtub. But other people will have to organize other events, either as follow-ups or improvements on what we’ve tried at the Stoos Gathering.
5) Publications, Big & Small
I have already received several invitations from magazines and newsletters to write about the Stoos Network, about our achievements and our failures. I cannot change the world by myself, so I hope that some people will step forward and bring the movement to the next level by publishing articles and videos about it. Or podcasts. Or paintings.
6) Name & Identity
As far as I’m concerned, the name of this movement is still undefined. I see Stoos Network as a placeholder, until something better comes along. It may be something that’s already growing elsewhere and that we’re unaware of at this time. It may also be a name that someone in the network spontaneously comes up with. I’m not fond of being recognized as a Stoosonian, because it reminds me too much of Elbonian. And Stooser is, for me, also not an option.
That’s it, for now. Thanks for your patience reading through this series!
And please help each other change the world...
Last week: Stoos Network (part 6): Goals & Outcomes
For more information: Stoos Network website, Stoos Network group
