10.23.2012

Wisdom of Crowds Yes; Courage? No

In 2008 I completed a master's degree in Change from the University of Oxford and HEC University in Paris. Great academic schools with the joint mission of educating leaders. I did give them a great deal of money for the degree.

There is an alumni group associated with the program that counts about 180 people as members. I'd guess the average age is about 47 with about 25 years of life and business experience for each of us. In a few cases, more of both. Add all those people's experience together and you get a pretty steep number. Lots of talent in the room when we gather for our alumni events twice a year.

This past September we came together for a continuing education session and decided that all our experience amounts to "something" and that we should write a book. A book made up of individual stories that reflect experiences in leading change projects, consulting on change projects and witnessing change projects

We committed to writing the book. A kind of crowd-sourced package of practical change experienced gathered from the field. The kind of street perspective that is often lacking in academic research books that litter the bookshelves. We would do this book ourselves.

But not really.

It has been a month since the meeting and what has emerged is the desire, need, or dare I say, rationalization that we want to include these academics as joint writing partners for credibility in the marketplace.

It seems we believe we are not enough as we are constituted. We still seek the cover of our "education parents" and the associated validation we think they provide. That actually might be accurate but I'm doubtful.

I am asking myself if groups have collective courage or if that attribute is mustered by one person? A person who breaks with the crowd and goes it alone? I have no answer but I'm thinking hard on the questions.

I do know I find no comfort or added value in co-writing a piece with an academic. But then I also have been telling myself that I have no topic of value to contribute to the book. It seems my deliberation on crowd-courage needs to be reduced to individual courage. But my gut tells me there is no crowd courage; just individual actions that look like courage.