Presentation given to APTI Board of directors and APRN member stations in mid-November 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska. It presents an alternative organizing notion -- the "chaordic" organization -- as a way of collaborating statewide on public service via media.

1. An invitation to innovation

2. Let’s talk about
The trouble we have today with collaboration,
competition and just plain survival
An organizational model that might solve our problems
and offer new opportunities to serve Alaskans
An invitation to explore this new world together

3. A few problems
There are several factors that make working together
difficult today — and it’s not easy alone, either

4. A few problems
APTI is stressed by the substantial operating cash
subsidy from local service to statewide service
KSKA KAKM
$ $
limited local service APRN limited local service
statewide service maintained

5. A few problems
Conflicts over APRN ownership and management
model persist 4 years after the merger
station
station
APRN
station station
(APTI)
station
station
station station
station
station station station

6. A few problems
Limited State funding creates unhealthy competition
between stations
station
station
APBC
station station
(GAR)
station
station
station station
station
station station station

7. A few problems
Costs Revenues
rising station costs
falling state revenue
diminishing underwriter
capacity
as-yet unknown
impacts on donors

8. A few problems
Largest potential source of money—the State—has not
been overly generous in recent years
Access to money made tougher by ever-expanding
media market, blunting our traditional case for support
Everyone wants more flexibility, lower fixed costs, more
control and independence, more value
But today’s APRN makes this hard to deliver

9. Bottom line
We must find more resources and build resilient
strength (competition)
We must end our conflicts (cooperation)
Our top-down organization model doesn’t help
We need a new way to organize ourselves

10. What if a new approach...
Fostered maximum autonomy for members
and simple cooperation at every scale
Eliminated most conflicts over power and money
Helped participants with a shared mission but couldn’t
interfere with local missions
Brought new members and new support to the table
Built a new case for support based on deep public
service with measurable impact

11. chaordic organization
chaos + order = chaord

12. Living systems thrive in a narrow band between
chaos and order …
CHAOS ORDER CONTROL
CHAORD (kay-ord)

13. A Chaord Is
Any organism, organization or
system that is:
Self-organizing
CHAORD Self-governing
Adaptive
Nonlinear
Complex

14. Chaordic Organizations
! Enduring in purpose and principle.
! Powered from the periphery,
unified from the core.
! Exist to enable constituent parts.
! Equitably distribute power, rights,
responsibilities and rewards.
! Fluid webs of cooperation and
competition.
! Cannot be managed, can only be
led.
©2001, Chaordic Commons

15. Chaordic organization
Pioneered by Dee Hock, founder of Visa International,
about 40 years ago
An organization that serves members in a common
mission, but leaves members autonomous
Based upon natural / biological principles, rather than
top-down industrial era management notions
Allows participation by any entity committed to the
shared mission

16. Visa International
Problem: value transfer system in a world of competing
banks plus millions of consumers and merchants
No single bank could solve the problem without
building out at huge risk or by owning all banks
Multiple banks founded Visa with a unified mission
Bank / merchant / consumer problem solved
Prevented merging for scale or competing to death

17. Visa International
A Delaware for-profit, non-stock membership
corporation, with ownership held in the form of
irrevocable rights of participation
An inside-out holding company
An enabling institution
—Chaordic Commons

18. Holding Company
Ownership
©2001, The Chaordic Commons

19. Inside-Out Holding Company
Ownership
©2001, The Chaordic Commons

20. Umbrella Organization
Give up autonomy
to leverage joint
influence
©2001, The Chaordic Commons

21. Upside-Down Umbrella Organization
Freedom to grow
from shared
infrastructure
©2001, The Chaordic Commons

22. ut ion ion
s
is trib m is
ie rd red
my s s ha
o ea ing
u ton d
ra b ran
m be c o-
me
What if we created our own
“Visa” for public service
media in Alaska?
e
a ng
h
xc
n& te
a tio n n ten
or titio m co
b
lla pe or et
co om l atf rk
c o np n ma
e
o mm op
c

23. If we built a natural network
What would it be like?
How would we get there?
What mission APTI
would we share?
other org station
station other org
APTI
facilitator
station station
station
pool

24. A shared mission would
attract the bulk of current APRN stations and staff
attract new members to the network with a natural
inclination for the shared mission
focus on positive, measurable community impact
draw new support to members
be platform- and distribution-agnostic

25. One possible mission
Inform
provide information in context
Connect
bring people and resources together around issues
relevant to our communities
So that Alaskans can act
we enable action (but don’t do the work),
then measure the impact

26. Development phase
early pool formed mostly
by legacy APRN APTI
filled with traditional other station
content and services
founders setup station other
constitution, facilitator
shared mission station station
requires funding
station
and facilitator
pool

27. Expansion over time
pool draws in additional commercial station
members APTI independent
reporter
technical platform other station
grows
new members join station other
governance facilitator
museum
facilitator role station station
grows, never
station
produces products
pool nonprofit
new media org

28. Members beyond APRN
public television foundations
libraries new media orgs
commercial media Alaska Native cultural
organizations
United Way, other
nonprofits schools, universities
museums local government

29. Okay... so now what?

30. A modest proposal
Let’s design an organization to facilitate sharing and
distribution of public service media focused upon
Alaskan people, communities and issues
Let’s define a shared mission for the organization that
incorporates legacy values of APRN, but opens the
platform to any member subscribing to the mission

31. An invitation to innovation
We have the seeds of an idea and have found a
compelling model to explore
There’s a lot to figure out and it needs more ideas from
more people to develop
We invite interested parties to get in touch with us
We’d like to start exploration in January
The exploratory group would be small and ideally
include 1 or 2 from outside APRN