Building Remote Community...

When I began learning about how to build a community we were knee-deep in Facebook, Instagram was on the rise, and other apps like meetup were popular ways to connect with others. Back then we were using these tools to find ways to get people together in a physical space. Fast forward to today and there are many reservations regarding whether to gather in a physical space. The impact of the pandemic on how people view gatherings has changed in dramatic ways. Political, religious, and personal views have created a divide within all communities. How do you take a community of people and help them stay connected without physically meeting? It's not as simple as applying a digital approach to what used to work. Companies, schools, and teams of all kinds have found it difficult to apply effective community-building techniques in a digital space. Things like book clubs, study groups, and happy hours have all been converted into digital meeting spaces. Here's what I think we can learn from the successful adaptations.

• I've noticed that the smaller the digital meeting group size, the more effective it can be. The max number feels better around 10-12 participants.
• Leaders that speak last. Let your team take the ball and run with it. The engagement picks up when you give others control.
• Find a way to develop a hybrid space. Giving people a chance to meet physically in concert with a digital space could be the future.

It's the last one that is going to be where I invest my time. I recently started a new position at a healthcare organization. Part of what makes me tick is the ability to socialize. How do I build a rapport with others across multiple teams? After some thought, I decided to lean into what I know. Outdoor sports, cycling, running, swimming, and more. I plan to create a virtual space on a fitness-oriented social media platform and to create opportunities to meet in person to share in like-minded activities.

To accomplish this goal it feels like Strava would be the best platform to use. It costs nothing to start a Strava club and anyone can have a profile for free. You can post pictures, give kudos, and comment on the activities and achievements of others. I think it will be a great way to cheer on the company without exposing anyone to political and/or social problems. Exposure to spam is minimal too. There's potential for more localized chapters, group activities, equitable challenges, etc.

What does success look like? A company-wide club where thousands of employees gather to cheer on eachother. Employees that are eager to participate in activities and even more excited to cheer on their peers. It would be amazing to see participants give more than they receive, at least a 2:1 kudos ratio. It's one thing to receive props for your activity and it's an even greater pleasure to give props to your pals. Kudos are free, and the impact they have on your peers is amazing. Getting a like or a kudos will release a sweet taste of Dopamine along a reward pathway in your brain. It's a nice shot of happiness. Doling out these tiny boosts of pleasure is a huge part of the goal.

This will be a multiple-part series that I'll update from time to time. So far, I've pitched the Helicopter level plan to my leadership. It sounds like it was received well and we're waiting to discover what to do next to gain corporate approval.

Here's what the pitch looked like. I used a pitch deck template from Canva that I tweaked to fit the message. The pitch was short and sweet, designed to deliver the objective along with some bullet points. I like to build pitches backward, Why-How-What, because it answers the most difficult questions upfront.

• Why: To support our team members as they strive to live active and healthy lives.
• How: Cheering them on using in a digital space
• What: Using a social media platform like Strava to organize a club and deliver likes to our athletes company-wide.

I expand slightly in the slides but not by much. The goal is to answer the bulky questions upfront and to drill down into the details as the project evolves. It feels like this is a good step #1. We've shared our Why, How, and What with the people that can help us advance our project. Depending on how it's received will dictate our next steps. In a perfect world, our initiation would be approved to move forward and I'd enter the planning stage. There's always the chance that we'll be told no. Here's how I'll respond to either outcome.

First, if the project is approved, I would break the project into chunks and then drill down into those chunks. It might look something like this, Mission- we'll write a mission statement that clearly articulates the purpose of the project. Backup Plan- we'll create a crisis management team that will help us navigate any issues that reflect negatively on the project. Marketing- we'll create a plan to share the good news and manage the interactions with participants. Establishment- we'll create the actual club including the proper contact channels and uploading any relevant information. This is a sample of where I hope to start if we're approved.

However, if we're not approved I still want to advance this project. I'm a? firm believer that if you want to petition for a change or a project of any kind you should seek out ways to achieve it even when you're told no. Let me be clear, I'm not suggesting that you break any laws or company policies. What I'm saying is that you should find acceptable alternative avenues to take to advance your project in some way. In this case, I'd start a smaller club that's inspired by the greater organization. I'd build it in a similar way and on a smaller scale. It would grow much more slowly because my reach isn't as great as that of the entire organization. Because of that, my project timeline will be severely impacted.

I feel like having a secondary plan on how to move forward is beneficial. I won't give it too much thought at this point because our goal is to advance the project as we initiated it. This will be a multi-part series with updates, obstacles, and hopefully a success story. I encourage you to follow along, send me your tips on how to build a hybrid community, and of course, subscribe to this newsletter to be notified of new posts.

As always, I'm human and I make mistakes. I'm sure that this article is littered with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and more. If you find them, please message me privately and I'll work to resolve them. If you found this article helpful in any way please like it and share it with your network. The next article will be a highlight/review of a cycling event I'm attending this week. My wife and I are making the annual journey out to Kansas so that I can participate in The Garmin Unbound Gravel race. There's so much to share about these events so stay tuned, thank you!