FIGMENT 2011 in NYC and elsewhere

Looking to enjoy collaborative art minus the desert dust? Like the idea of being able to pedal or rollerskate around between art installations? Want to contemplate the current state of affairs with a view of the Statue of Liberty? The annual arts event FIGMENT in NYC will take place, rain or shine, starting this Fri., June 10 through Sun., June 12 at Governors Island. FIGMENT is free and family friendly. (However, like Burning Man, furry friends have to chill at home). For information on hours and the free ferry that departs from downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn, go here.

Brush up on FIGMENT’s principles here.
Learn about FIGMENT’s organization here.

Not in NYC? Detroit will have its own FIGMENT on Aug. 6th. Click here for more info.

What to do with the “bad” team/group member?

This June, more than 50 colleagues and I will be participating in a special conference sponsored by the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, the Center for Public Leadership, and the Graduate School of Business Administration at Harvard University. This conference honors one of my advisors, J. Richard Hackman, a foremost expert researcher in teams. To identify the conditions that encourage effective teamwork, Hackman studied groups including commercial flight crews and the Orpheus chamber orchestra, which does not rely upon conventional leaders but rather collective decision-making by the group. Besides numerous journal articles and co-authoring the seminal book Work Redesign with Greg Oldham, Hackman has also written the book Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances, which walks readers through the steps of creating and running successful teams.

In addition, Hackman has been highly influential in mentoring and teaching organizational researchers such as myself about how to create organizations that are both meaningful and serve members’ interests. In fact, Hackman has been one of the most enthusiastic supporters of my research on Burning Man, which when I first started my field studies, was a mystifying phenomena to most (i.e., at the time, most reactions consisted of “Burning What?!? Is this like the movie Wicker Man?”).

When I initially signed up for this June gathering, I anticipated sipping bubbly over small talk in the hallowed halls of HBS. I soon learned that the conference, dubbed the “Hackfest,” involves working in teams to troubleshoot challenges to teamwork. One issue that we’ll discuss involves “Dealing in real time with “bad actors,” team members who are slowing team progress or undermining the team.” Those of us who manage/work/volunteer in groups inevitably encounter this dilemma. Since most of us are not trained or coached on how to work effectively in groups, we often deal with this challenge through trial and error, with a heavy emphasis on error.

We may not recognize instances in which participants may have different goals or processes in mind and label these persons or their activities as bad rather than understanding their underlying motivations – “undermining” might be one participant’s way of checking groupthink or pursuing an end other than efficiency. For example, some people complain when meetings get derailed by small talk or discussions that don’t lead to tangible outcomes. What we often don’t realize is that meetings aren’t just tools for getting things done; they also serve as social occasions where the collective comes together. On the other hand, we do occasionally encounter individuals who are having a bad day or have a chip on their shoulder; their participation can derail or impede group processes despite our best efforts.

Interestingly, back in May, Burning Man regional leaders at the 5th Annual Burning Man Leadership Summit discussed a similar issue, “How do we deal with divisive personalities while still supporting radical inclusion?”* This and other issues provoked feverish but enthusiastic brain-storming, much of which drew on an earlier workshop on conflict resolution skills. I’ll be paying especially close attention to the “bad actors” discussion at the Hackfest to see whether what the experts suggest lines up with what Burning Man practitioners have proposed. (BTW, in his book Leading Teams, Hackman also recognizes the value of including even seemingly “difficult” individuals.)

*Note that the summit’s wording uses the word personalities, which connotes that this behavior is inherent to a person, rather than the conference’s word actors, which emphasizes activities. Organizational researchers like myself prefer not to use terms like personalities, as we focus on how activities emerge from interactions or situations. For example, all of us have occasionally acted as a “wrench in the machine” by questioning the status quo, but most of us would not characterize ourselves as being inherently divisive.

Burning Man organization headquarters moving to downtown San Francisco

Last Friday, during the Convectional Caucus, Burning Man co-founder and Executive Director Larry Harvey announced several changes to the Burning Man organization’s structure. One of these changes includes moving Burning Man’s headquarters to 6th and Market in downtown San Francisco. Eric Mar, from the SF Board of Supervisors, noted Harvey’s quote in the San Francisco Chronicle‘s coverage of this anticipated relocation: “Burning Man believes in urban revitalization,” Harvey said. “After all, we build an entire metropolis every year in the desert.”

SF denizens know that 6th St. has had a distinctive atmosphere, populated by those who are down-and-out and visited by downtown workers on their lunch break and the occasional tourist. Years ago, on a hot summer day, I waited for a friend outside Tu Lan, a Vietnamese restaurant on 6th St. To my puzzlement, a parade of passers-by greeted and addressed me, an unusual activity for urban dwellers who are known to mind their own business. One man exclaimed, “you know why everyone’s talking to you? We rarely see someone like you here.” Although I have never figured out what “like you” meant (my age? ethnicity? gender? my profession? all of the above?), his comment underscored how segregated neighborhoods can diminish opportunities and interactions across socioeconomic strata and racial/ethnic groups. It’s possible that groups like Burning Man could directly and indirectly foster some of these connections.

Interested in reading research about the effects of segregated neighborhoods? Start with: Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton’s American Apartheid, William J. Wilson’s The Truly Disadvantaged, and Katherine Newman’s No Shame in My Game.

Burning Nerds at the 5th Annual Regional Network Leadership Summit

I will be in San Francisco and co-representing Burning Nerds (aka Burning Academics) at the 5th Annual Regional Network Leadership Summit this Fri., April 1, 2011. This event is free but private – an advance RSVP is necessary. For more information, click here. If you’re attending, come over and say hi!

Flipit from Chicago was nice enough to design this image for Burning Nerds:

Don’t know what a regional is? Find out here.

For regional representatives on Sat. morning, April 2nd, I will be facilitating a workshop on “Charismatizing the Routine at Burning Man and Regional Events: Making the Mundane More
Meaningful through Storytelling, Rituals, and Other Activities.”

You can see Burning Man’s blog post about last year’s regional summit here.

First paperback printing of Enabling Creative Chaos almost sold out!

Michael McQuarrie, a UCDavis colleague, assigned my book for his 2011 spring quarter class and was kind enough to let me know that the University of Chicago warehouse says that they are out (!!!) of the paperback version of my book. To follow-up, I spoke with my press’s marketing representative and was told that a second print run will be available by July 2011. Thank you to colleagues, including Gwen Dordick at The City College of New York and Tor Hernes at the Copenhagen Business School, who have assigned my book.

For those of you who need Enabling Creative Chaos: The Organization Behind the Burning Man Event for class or other deadlines, here are options for how to get my book:

If you have an iPad, Nook, Kindle, or other ereader, you can buy an electronic version of the book.

Major distributors like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as independent bookstores, have new and used copies of the book.

If the above places are out of hard copies, you are welcome to contact me about whether I have any available.

If you prefer to borrow the book, your local library or university library may have a hard or electronic copy to loan. If your library does not have a copy, you may be able to request one using Interlibrary Loan (ILL) – search WorldCat for options.

Get involved FIGMENT in Boston

Looking for Burning Manesque events in your community? Events like FIGMENT are looking for contributors and supporters. Please see the announcement below.

FIGMENT Boston, the interactive, non-commercial arts event happening on June 4th & 5th on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston needs your help. FIGMENT relies entirely on donations and grants to put on its amazing events, with no sales or corporate sponsorships. You can help by donating to our IndieGoGo campaign or by participating in Finding FIGMENT, a public art scavenger hunt and party on April 3rd.

1. Support FIGMENT Boston on indiegogo.com.

Indiegogo is a crowd-sourced fundraiser that’s raised millions of dollars for creative projects of all kinds. Donations to FIGMENT Boston made through Indiegogo are tax deductible—and you can get some great gifts, including handwritten thank-you notes suitable for framing, entry into a drawing for a piece of art by a FIGMENT Boston artist, a private cocktail party with FIGMENT organizers, and even having the FIGMENT Boston team throw a party at your house!

Please help us spread the word by attaching the widget to your website, telling your friends about it, or sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. Also make sure to click on the Feature It link on the bottom right, to help FIGMENT Boston get promoted on the IndieGoGo homepage.

2. Finding FIGMENT: April 3, 2011

We’re bringing FIGMENT to some of Boston’s known (and lesser known) artistic treasures for an all-day journey into the creative mind. Join us for Finding FIGMENT on Sunday, April 3, 2011.

Starting at 1pm, Finding FIGMENT kicks off with an all-ages public art photo scavenger hunt throughout Boston. Teams will be judged on…imagination. (Make sure you bring a digital camera to take pictures.) Winning teams will receive cash and more when we…

Head to the Wonder Bar (134 Harvard Ave, Allston, 02134) at 7pm for an evening of auditory artistry with some of Boston’s most dynamic DJs and artists (21+). Check out the Finding FIGMENT page for the full line up.

Click Here for Scavenger Hunt Tickets: $25 per person. (Includes admission to the Wonder Bar after party)

Click Here for After Party Tickets: $15 in advance / $20 at door

For more about the event, visit the FIGMENT Boston website. For more information, please email BOSTON@figmentproject.org.

Be a part of FIGMENT Boston

Submit Art (deadline is April 15)

Volunteer

Explore More:
On the web: http://boston.figmentproject.org/
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FigmentBoston
On Twitter: @FIGMENTBoston”

Fact-checking and researching Burning Man phenomena

Increasingly, I am contacted by the media or students to fact-check items or find information. Most recently, I was asked about the veracity of the claim that rap star dr. dre had started Burning Man. To my surprise, someone cited my book to refute the claim, which then lead to another report reproduced in the huffingtonpost and businessinsider blogs. My take on the dr. dre and Burning Man meme? Burners enjoy satirical pranks – for some, these are an art form.

Graduate and undergraduate students as well as practitioners are also interested in learning more about Burning Man and its organization for a course paper or setting up their own organizations. If you fall into that camp, I would highly recommend starting with the online AfterBurn reports, which are produced by the Burning Man organizers, staff, and volunteers. These are a treasure trove of information for those patient enough to read through the reports.

New informal reviews and mentions of Enabling Creative Chaos

A reviewer on Good Reads was kind enough to provide a review that highlights several of the main points of my book Enabling Creative Chaos: The Organization Behind the Burning Man Event. Click here to read his review, which starts with: “This truly lovely bit of organizational sociology is about “the difficulties of creating an enabling organization: how can members establish sufficient structure and coordination that support but do not constrain their activities?” (Page 153).”

In addition, Howard Lune, at Hunter College, CUNY, has included a short discussion of my research in his new sociology of organizations textbook Understanding Organizations (2010, Polity). See p. 144-145.

The meaning of money in relationships, as explained by sociologist Viviana Zelizer

As some people know, Burning Man has a gift economy. The only cash transactions possible during the event are purchasing coffee/tea at the Central Camp Cafe and ice to cool drinks and to keep the food in coolers from spoiling.

While some may believe that cash transactions lack meaning or emotion, one sociologist has devoted her career to disputing that division with historical evidence. In today’s NYTimes, sociologist Viviana Zelizer has an op-ed about the evolution of cash as a gift. Zelizer has written several academic press books about people’s complicated relationship with money. She shows how people have infused cash transactions among loved ones with meaning and emotion. For example, her book Pricing the Priceless Child (1994, Princeton University Press) shows how once economically “useless” children became “priceless” by tracing the development of life insurance. The Purchase of Intimacy (2005, Princeton University Press) examines the intertwining of familial and romantic relationships with money. You can hear a podcast about that particular book here.

American Sociological Association (ASA) conference supports unionized labor

Back in mid-Dec., the American Sociological Association (ASA) announced that it had pulled out of its 2011 conference contract with Chicago hotels because the hotels had not settled a labor dispute with local unions. The ASA now has to find and negotiate a contract for a new conference site that (1) is large enough to accommodate hordes of sociologists and (2) relies on unionized labor to host the upcoming August conference. For some, this change has altered or put on hold plans for mini-conferences and pre-conference workshops. For others, the conference location can impact the likelihood of attending/presenting at a conference – particularly for academics at public universities, declining budgets may mean less or no support for travel and conferences, which are crucial to sharing work and building a community of peers.

Orgtheory has posted an informal poll of possible locations for the 2011 ASA annual conference; see the last option for an amusing suggestion.

For those interested in supporting hotels that use unionized labor, click this link to a website.