a single source, nothing corroborates it

Grow by adding people unlike the ones you have

Stacking up more of the same member type is not growth, so aim for depth and breadth rather than headcount and let the mix span industries that would never otherwise meet, which gives you one vantage point onto many separate scenes. Walk up to the edge of who you serve and work out who is living just past it, and when a skill gap starts locking newcomers out of an activity, change the rules rather than replacing the people.

The method

1. 01

   Grow by adding people who are not like the ones you already have, rather than simply stacking up more of the same type, and aim for depth and breadth over headcount.

2. 02

   A customer base spread across unrelated industries gives you one shared vantage point onto many separate scenes you would otherwise never see inside.

3. 03

   Once you know where your edge is, walk right up to it and find out who is living just past it, then work out whether they sit outside your boundary or you sit outside theirs.

4. 04

   When a skill gap starts locking newcomers out of the activity, change the rules rather than replacing the people.

5. 05

   Build relationships on top of participation and taking part stops being a chore someone performs and becomes something they belong to.

What it returned

• 2011

  By 2011 Indy Hall drew members from pharma, insurance, sports, law, journalism, film and finance, having started out as a room full of people building web apps.

• Hillman treats Indy Hall's cross-industry membership as a live view into dozens of business and social circles across Philadelphia.

• Hillman spent months on this and planned to give the following year to finding new edges to test.

• Members switched to an Android timer that began with sixty seconds and doubled whatever time remained on each turn, reasoning that skill is no defence against deliberately irrational play.

Sources

• The Importance of LinesAlex Hillman · dangerouslyawesome.com · Discovery of Others · 2011-02-01
• A Coworking Parable: The Game of ChessAlex Hillman · dangerouslyawesome.com · 2011-06-01
• The three necessary ingredients for community. Do you have them?Alex Hillman · dangerouslyawesome.com · Factor #2 Relationships · 2012-11-01