By Derek Neighbors, Published on August 27, 2013
Defining Bootedness
Julia Ivashina recently asked a very profound question of “How do you define your bootedness?” [1]
She defines it as “the degree to which I master to exhibit rational behavior in situations where spontaneous reaction used to be my first response.”
One person framed it as, “for me it’s about living the Core Commitments: can I say I was true to them, all of them, at all times?”
Another pondered, “The aspirational goal is to behave according the the Core Commitments and fall back to Core Protocols when under stress… without being consciously aware of both.”
Another put it as, “At an individual level I agree with unconsciously following the Core Commitments and Core Protocols. At the team level have we internalized everyone’s Personal Alignment, signal, and response.”
Finally someone said, “Greatness! Bootedness = greatness.”
Individual Booting : The Current Metaphor
I like metaphors. One thing that appeals to me about the Core (Commitments and Protocols) is that adopting them is expressed in the metaphor of software programming. That your mind is like a computer. The core is a set of instructions that can run on your hardware to give you better and more consistent results. The reference to “booting” is loading the core operating system.
Network Booting: The Future Metaphor
So I prefer to express my “bootedness” by extending the metaphor. In today’s world of computing, the computer doesn’t matter much anymore, it really is the network that matters. Think of how most of your data and applications don’t live on the device itself. The power is allowing any device (node) on the network to access the power of the collective (the network). In 1985, a computer with an operating system and few applications was pretty incredible, but it had limited functional use to most people. Plus, they were not in abundance and very few people could wield them or use them.
Fast forward to 2013 and most of the world has access to a computer of some kind (think mobile devices), connected to a network that is extremely useful. The Internet is largely responsible for this because it set out a number of protocols to define how devices (nodes) can communicate. Additionally, massive cultural shifts about how we think about the power of computers and freedom to interact happened (see Free Software Foundation, Cathedral and Bazaar. We moved from thinking the computers processing power was important to realizing that leveraging it as a tool to augment our qualities as humans could be much more effective. Think of what 2025 will look like…
Abundant Greatness is Coming
Currently the Core seems to be in 1990 in that is has provided a great personal operating system for people to connect on a Local Area Network (team) to interact. It is on the cusp of installing the network stack that will allow those nodes to flourish and expand. While challenging cultural assumptions that will allow humans to flourish. Bringing the power of computing to the masses instead of the few.
Defining My Bootedness
I would define my “bootedness”, by my ability to be using the core effectively enough to interface with other nodes and advance network discoverability techniques to rapidly add additional nodes and leverage the network effect that it affords. Exhibiting the highest integrity in reconstituting culture in ways to allow new ideas for humanity to be explored.
Yeah I know I am crazy. So what. The alternative is being normal.
What is the Core?
[1] What the hell is this booted crap?
In an effort to create teams that are effective at delivering every time Jim and Michele McCarthy with the help of other’s have defined Core Commitments. Agreeing to these commitments constitutes as being booted. As you can see, while simple they are extremely difficult to adhere to. When one finds themselves struggling they can lean on the Core Protocols to help them through.