Hmmm. Those tribal teachers dishing out assignments in their isolated classrooms say they're "networked" because they use an ATM, check their account balances online and get emails from amazon.com. I beg to differ. They are no different from the L&D departments lacking accountability at position 1 of the Jennings/Reid-Dodick curve above. This got me thinking about how to identify a "real network" from the trappings of being connected. Here's what I came up with.

Tribes only have internal communication. Members are only connected to themselves. They are embroiled in us/them, friend/foe battles. They are like silos inside institutions without the institution. They shun efficiency and accountability in favor of their autonomy at all cost.

Institutions nurture tribes inside vertical silos that receive communications, directives, pronouncements from above their level in the hierarchy. They are out of the loop with anything horizontal-- other silos, constituencies, institutions, etc. Their communication from on high is a one way street. Back talking is considered to be insubordination, disrespectful, overstepping bounds, etc. Efficiency gets enforced through policies, best practices, coordination meetings, shooting the messenger, etc. Inhabitants of silos lack sight of the big picture, outcome measures, alignment with mission, etc.

Markets nurture tribes of their customers, talent pool, journalists who cover their industry, etc. Market enterprises maintain two way communication up and down their internal chain of command. Higher ups find out what their front line is learning through horizontal communications with customers, employment candidates, journalists, etc. Everyone inside the enterprise shares the big picture, outcome measures, alignment with mission, -- that add up to accountability, alignment, etc. Recipients feel served by attention, innovations, responses and changes, not just the "quantity and mass" of deliverables.

Genuine networks nurture tribes as communication nodes, each with a bounty of inbound and outbound connections. Horizontal, two way communications define the network. What occurs by all the back-n-forth transmissions is generative for the immediate participants, but also for any others tapped into the two way transmissions. Efficiencies and accountabilities work themselves out emergently, amidst all that egalitarian collaboration toward shared understandings, solutions, value, etc. Autonomy of each node co-exists with larger purposes, process efficiencies and continually learning from the fire hose of transmissions on the same level.

Thanks for the link and the Jennings/Reid-Dodick curve above. I really like that picture of a "return to autonomy" without a loss of alignment.