The Art of Cooperative Intelligence Article Series (Art 9): The Cooperative Performance Model (CPM)

In our previous article (Art 8), we discussed the Cooperative Performance Science Model (CPSM) which provides a mental construct that helps us better visualize cooperation as a performance based concept. The Cooperative Performance Model (CPM), illustrated in this article, represents a visual framework representing the 4 cooperative stages, the 13 cooperative principles, and the 24 cooperative activities that allow us to recognize, map, analyze, monitor, influence, and improve the cooperation based environments, activities, and outcomes between two or more people, systems, and structures such as organizations and societies. Although we are not going to dive into cooperative performance science methodologies in these short articles to avoid confusion, studying the model itself, one can inherently establish a "first" mental picture of cooperation as a performance based concept and have reference from which to build a standardized, transferable, and evolving cooperative intelligence. Currently, society's transferred understanding relative to cooperation based outcomes is centered around two or three concepts such as leadership, communication, and or teamwork. The introduction and evolution of Cooperative Performance Science is a significant paradigm shift to an ordered and interdependent hierarchy of 13 cooperative principles. Learning and conditioning are considered the 13th principle but are found to the right of the model. These principles are arguably just as relevant to humanities understanding and future application of cooperation, as the periodic table of elements is to chemistry and science.

The Cooperative Performance Model's structure has the appearance of a multi-story building. As previously stated, the 13 cooperative principles are in hierarchical order; and they represent the floors of the building. Each principle is absolutely dependent upon the supporting, or next lower principle. For example, leadership can only exist through the cooperation or compliance of one or more followers. Contrary to popular teachings, leadership is not an absolute in itself, as often demonstrated by humans choosing death over follower-ship. Therefore, leadership is absolutely dependent upon cooperation and or compliance.

Between floors (cooperative principles) are various types of elements that act as 2x4's that allow or prevent the next higher principle from being achieved and or sustained. If we have to few or compromised 2x4's, we may never be able to create the proper foundation for the next higher principle or we could face ongoing catastrophic failure in the building structure. The roof of the model says "cooperative excellence," however, the product of the cooperative environment of principles, activities, and elements are a single cooperative outcome of which ideally demonstrates a degree of cooperative excellence. To the right of the model, you will notice learning and conditioning. Throughout the cooperative environment; knowledge, wisdom, and information are gained and or influenced. The model properly and purposefully re-introduces this knowledge, wisdom, and or information back into the cooperative environment or helps us identify and establish a new cooperative environment to map.

In short, mapping the principles and elements of cooperative environments helps us to create a GPS for cooperation based performance allowing us to see where we are, where we want to be, and how to get there. Considering almost every important outcome in our personal, professional, organizational, and societal lives are allowed and or prevented by the cooperative environment they are dependent upon; the Cooperative Performance Model is the cornerstone of humanities future understanding and application of cooperative intelligence. As we move forward in our ART series, we will discuss each cooperative principle in this articles illustrated model and expand into other relative models and theories as appropriate.

Questions, Comments, and or Concerns regarding this article and or its content should be sent to [email protected].

All intellectual property rights to include patent pending automation of methods related to Cooperative Performance Science (CPS) as described here within, are reserved by Mark D. Grissom