The 11 Pillars of My Community Philosophy
I’ve been building and studying communities a long time. 15 years professionally, and much longer unprofessionally. When Jay asked me this question, I realized that over time I’ve formed a set of core beliefs that drive how I build community. I’ve never articulated them before. This is a first stab. It’s not an exhaustive list, but I think it does a pretty good job of encompassing my philosophy. This is the community builders’ dilemma: We create communities to help people feel included, but it’s impossible to build a community that doesn’t make some people feel excluded. Exclude the people who make your members feel unable to have the important conversations they need to have. Exclude with intention, exclude with empathy, but exclude you must. Your members and potential members are all at one of three stages: The Convinced: eager to take action The Undecided: needs a gentle nudge to take action The Unconvinced: aren’t ready to take action Always start with the convinced. Once you’ve ac
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