These three questions posed by Seth Godin have the power to drastically simplify our journeys as a DAO operators.Who’s it for?What’s it for?How do we know it’s working?Now, we can answer them in an easy way that wont get us very far. For instance:Who’s it for: everybody.What’s it for: saving the earth together.How do we know it’s working: the earth gets saved 100 years from now.These answers don’t work because they are broad and they are broad because we’re hedging. If its for everyone, there...

These three questions posed by Seth Godin have the power to drastically simplify our journeys as a DAO operators.Who’s it for?What’s it for?How do we know it’s working?Now, we can answer them in an easy way that wont get us very far. For instance:Who’s it for: everybody.What’s it for: saving the earth together.How do we know it’s working: the earth gets saved 100 years from now.These answers don’t work because they are broad and they are broad because we’re hedging. If its for everyone, there...

The kind of working mindset we take to a decentralized organization matters. From a centralized mindset it’s messy, wasteful and complex. From a decentralized mindset it’s clean, very efficient and simple. The difference between these mindsets are subtle but profound. Consider the bee. They have the arduous task of finding a source of food that can sometimes be kilometers from the hive. How are they able to consistently find the largest source of food again, and again? It’s called a waggle da...

The kind of working mindset we take to a decentralized organization matters. From a centralized mindset it’s messy, wasteful and complex. From a decentralized mindset it’s clean, very efficient and simple. The difference between these mindsets are subtle but profound. Consider the bee. They have the arduous task of finding a source of food that can sometimes be kilometers from the hive. How are they able to consistently find the largest source of food again, and again? It’s called a waggle da...

It’s a well known fact that our behavior changes from context to context. Different contexts represent different jobs that we want to get done, and also a social protocol of how to connect in that environment. Going to the mall has a functional job to be done an there is a very ambiguous social protocol for connection in that context. It’s rare you will make a new friend there (in fact it might be weird if you’re going to the mall to make new friends…if its not the 80s). Going to an up an com...

It’s a well known fact that our behavior changes from context to context. Different contexts represent different jobs that we want to get done, and also a social protocol of how to connect in that environment. Going to the mall has a functional job to be done an there is a very ambiguous social protocol for connection in that context. It’s rare you will make a new friend there (in fact it might be weird if you’re going to the mall to make new friends…if its not the 80s). Going to an up an com...

There has been a lot of argument around what DAOs are, and what they are not. But very little of the conversation has been around why they exist. We hear: “DAOs need to be less centralized!” ”90% of DAOs are not automated.” ”DAOs need more structure!.” While all of these are probably true, they are meaningless. What are the direct benefits of arguing what is a DAO and what isn’t a DAO? Collectively we will gain nothing if everyone suddenly explains “YES! You are right, they should all be auto...

There has been a lot of argument around what DAOs are, and what they are not. But very little of the conversation has been around why they exist. We hear: “DAOs need to be less centralized!” ”90% of DAOs are not automated.” ”DAOs need more structure!.” While all of these are probably true, they are meaningless. What are the direct benefits of arguing what is a DAO and what isn’t a DAO? Collectively we will gain nothing if everyone suddenly explains “YES! You are right, they should all be auto...

The most difficult thing about decentralization from the practitioner’s perspective is letting go. It’s a challenge because we ourselves are centralized and all our experiences are filtered through one very subjective lens. Most of our lives (especially in the west) we have we have worked tirelessly to control our experience of reality. Keeping track of what we own, what we create, where we spend our time. We are obsessed with how our reality effects us. There is of course, nothing wrong with...

The most difficult thing about decentralization from the practitioner’s perspective is letting go. It’s a challenge because we ourselves are centralized and all our experiences are filtered through one very subjective lens. Most of our lives (especially in the west) we have we have worked tirelessly to control our experience of reality. Keeping track of what we own, what we create, where we spend our time. We are obsessed with how our reality effects us. There is of course, nothing wrong with...

If we let anybody into our communities things can get ugly very quickly.It dilutes the culture.It creates logistical problems.It hampers meaningful connection.It decreases safety and belonging.This problem gets exasperated in the web3 context as ‘wen token’ bros will join any server in for the odd chance of getting in early for a mint. It creates confusion and frustration. With communities that are not very well designed one solution is to create a complex series of rules that have to be enfo...

If we let anybody into our communities things can get ugly very quickly.It dilutes the culture.It creates logistical problems.It hampers meaningful connection.It decreases safety and belonging.This problem gets exasperated in the web3 context as ‘wen token’ bros will join any server in for the odd chance of getting in early for a mint. It creates confusion and frustration. With communities that are not very well designed one solution is to create a complex series of rules that have to be enfo...

Will they come back? Will they miss the environment we’ve created? These are the kind of questions DAO practitioners need to spend a lot of time thinking about. Drawing people in to your discord with the right words and influential connections is easy… but not enough to cultivate a thriving ecosystem. People don’t keep coming back to alcohol anonymous because it’s easy to join. Raving sports fans don’t dedicate their life to a club just because it’s cool. Satisfied employees don’t work at Zap...

Will they come back? Will they miss the environment we’ve created? These are the kind of questions DAO practitioners need to spend a lot of time thinking about. Drawing people in to your discord with the right words and influential connections is easy… but not enough to cultivate a thriving ecosystem. People don’t keep coming back to alcohol anonymous because it’s easy to join. Raving sports fans don’t dedicate their life to a club just because it’s cool. Satisfied employees don’t work at Zap...

As we build ghosts of our past tend to appear. These are not the fun Casper kind who help us along the way, and in the web3 space they are especially pernicious. These Dementor type ghosts suck the creative energy out of use - but only if we give them permission. It’s no secret (at least it shouldn’t be) that we all have doubts, fears and insecurities. In fact it would be very strange if there were not these feelings. Building in web3 is like sailing into the unknown with a group of strangers...

As we build ghosts of our past tend to appear. These are not the fun Casper kind who help us along the way, and in the web3 space they are especially pernicious. These Dementor type ghosts suck the creative energy out of use - but only if we give them permission. It’s no secret (at least it shouldn’t be) that we all have doubts, fears and insecurities. In fact it would be very strange if there were not these feelings. Building in web3 is like sailing into the unknown with a group of strangers...

In the 10 odd years I have been working with people all over the world, I have realized (with the help of Simon Sinek’s work) there are 2 broad types of incentives: Finite incentives and infinite incentives. Finite incentives are mostly objective, transactional, establish brittle trust and are easy to calculate. “If you complete this bounty, you will receive 1,000DOGE$.” Infinite incentives are mostly subjective, relational, establish robust trust but are not as easy to calculate. “Will you m...

In the 10 odd years I have been working with people all over the world, I have realized (with the help of Simon Sinek’s work) there are 2 broad types of incentives: Finite incentives and infinite incentives. Finite incentives are mostly objective, transactional, establish brittle trust and are easy to calculate. “If you complete this bounty, you will receive 1,000DOGE$.” Infinite incentives are mostly subjective, relational, establish robust trust but are not as easy to calculate. “Will you m...

A problem has a solution. That’s why it’s called a problem. Different problems exist in different contexts. But just because the same problem exits in one context, doesn’t mean that it warrants the same solution in another context. This is a blunder we see all the time in emerging economies that are seeking to innovate. Just because Europe solved their problem using xyz solution…doesn’t mean it’s going to work in the Maldives. The same thing can be said for how DAOs are going about trying to ...

A problem has a solution. That’s why it’s called a problem. Different problems exist in different contexts. But just because the same problem exits in one context, doesn’t mean that it warrants the same solution in another context. This is a blunder we see all the time in emerging economies that are seeking to innovate. Just because Europe solved their problem using xyz solution…doesn’t mean it’s going to work in the Maldives. The same thing can be said for how DAOs are going about trying to ...

Yes. It matters. Mass measures the volume of atoms in a given object. It is constant and does not change with location. Weight measures the gravitational force on a given object. It is not constant and changes on the context. This distinction can help us better understand how we might be able to classify types of information and where they should go in a DAO. That volume of information should not be directly correlated to the force generated by that piece of information. Just because there is...

Yes. It matters. Mass measures the volume of atoms in a given object. It is constant and does not change with location. Weight measures the gravitational force on a given object. It is not constant and changes on the context. This distinction can help us better understand how we might be able to classify types of information and where they should go in a DAO. That volume of information should not be directly correlated to the force generated by that piece of information. Just because there is...

Late 2021 having great ‘vibes’ in a web3 community was the ultimate signal that “this was a the place to be.” 7 Months later it’s hardly being used. Vibes are dead. What happened to the vibes? The same thing that happens when your crush for someone wares off. At first the relationship is vibing, there is so much to explore, the future is ripe with possibility and you just have so much fun together! Then after a few months you realized that they are still human, unorganized and their breath st...

Late 2021 having great ‘vibes’ in a web3 community was the ultimate signal that “this was a the place to be.” 7 Months later it’s hardly being used. Vibes are dead. What happened to the vibes? The same thing that happens when your crush for someone wares off. At first the relationship is vibing, there is so much to explore, the future is ripe with possibility and you just have so much fun together! Then after a few months you realized that they are still human, unorganized and their breath st...