What More Can We Do? Build Better Communities

Of which communities would you consider yourself an active member? Among those communities, which have created (or are creating) the most meaning in your life?

I love asking these questions of clients at the beginning of any new community-oriented consulting project. They serve as good fodder for a team warm-up exercise. They help me better understand client team members, and often help them better see each other, as well-rounded humans and not merely inhabitants of their organizational roles. And they help me make my first important point: building communities is hard work.

Most people initially respond to these questions by listing communities that fall into one or more of these categories:

• A local community, neighborhood, or group primarily centered around physical proximity and in-person gathering
• An affinity community formed around shared love (though sometimes masked in harsh criticism) for a sports team, musical artist, or other niche interests
• A support community where members help each other regarding health issues, shared identities, or other life circumstances
• A faith, spiritual, or philosophical community where people explicitly pursue meaning collectively
• An alumni community where people connect with those who shared an educational institution, employer, or similar experience
• A professional community where members network and grow in their chosen field

The common denominator is that all of these communities offer real — and mostly intrinsic — value to members. They tend to either form organically with no formal connection to an established organization, or they are central to an organization’s purpose.

It’s no surprise that product support forums or social media influencer programs, absent other authentic and inclusive community building activities, are not the first examples that come to mind when I ask clients about their most meaningful community experiences. That doesn’t mean that multifaceted brands or organizations cannot, have not, or will not host communities that create purpose and value for their members — quite the contrary. (You can read about some of the shining examples in the new and excellent Building Brand Communities by Carrie Melissa Jones and Charles Vogl). It simply means that building community requires hard work, intention, and an abundance mindset.

Enter Better Communities.

Over the last several months, I’ve been collaborating with a small cohort of experienced community builders that believes the conventional wisdom of building communities and networks has largely failed us. The Better Communities Co-op seeks to increase the number of brand communities creating true shared value for hosts and members by consulting the wisdom of the community leaders who came before us, and expanding upon best practices to meet today’s challenges. As Ray Davies of The Kinks sang in the strikingly communitarian Village Green Preservation Society: “Preserving the old ways from being abused. Protecting the new ways for me and for you. What more can we do?”

We are a trusted group of experienced practitioners, researchers, technologists, and writers. We are not hopping on a bandwagon. As a first step (no more, no less), we’ve published Toward Better Communities, a treatise of sorts that postulates that the real value of communities lies not in transactions, but in their ability to positively transform and create value for individuals and organizations. If you are interested in our origin story, read this post by fellow collaborator, Bill Johnston.

Want to join us on this expedition? In need of a new perspective for your community initiative? Read on, and if your interest is piqued, learn how you can get involved.