In April 2009, I shared my thinking about slime mold and organizational culture at the IA Summit in Memphis. For years, I’ve found creative inspiration in slime mold. The elegance of this lifeform is extraordinary: when times are good, it’s a colony of individuals. When times are bad, the whole colony forms a single organism and makes a getaway. I use slime mold as a metaphor and learning inspiration for how organizations behave, adapt and how they can better embrace collective work.
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Lessons from Slime Mold [IA Summit, April 2009]
1. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 1!
Learning from Slime Mold!
IA Summit, March 22, 2009!
Kate Rutter | http://intelleto.com !
2. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 2!
Iʼm Kate.!
Iʼm a designer and strategist.
Making things visible and
visual makes my heart sing.!
I slime mold.!
Adaptive Path is a User Experience strategy and design
consultancy. Our mission is to help companies make
products and services that deliver great experiences that
improve peopleʼs lives.!
3. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 3!
What weʼll cover!
1 } !About Slime Mold!
2 } !A new view of organizations, structures
& environments!
3 } !3 big lessons (and a bunch of little ones)!
4 } !Where to go from here!
4. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 4!
They’re not animals and they’re not plants...
5. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 5!
They are both plant AND animal…
it’s like they can’t make up their mind…and,
you know, they think it’s them…who’ve
been running the earth all this time.
- David St. Hubbins
Lead singer and rhythm guitarist
SpinalTap
“ ”
22. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 22!
Evelyn Fox Keller!
Physicist, Author,
Feminist!
M.I.T.!
Study of complex
biology “from below.”!
23. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 23!
Steven Johnson!
Author!
Interface Culture!
Mind Wide Open!
Everything Bad is Good for You!
The Ghost Map!
The Invention of Air!
Study of complex
systems, dynamics and
emergent behaviors.!
24. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 24!
Slime Mold:!
The patron saint
of innovation!
25. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 25!
organism!
environment!
thriving!
nourishing!
surviving!
hostile!
striving!
tough!
fighting!
fleeing!
dying!
eating!
signaling!
sensing!growing! grappling!
get up & moving!
clustering! stalking!
crawling! fruiting!
26. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 26!
organism!
environment!
constant conversation
with the environment!
27. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 27!
People are not slime mold.!
≠!
28. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 28!
so...whatʼs what?!
individual!
team!
company!
industry!
market!
29. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 29!
B = ƒ(P,E)! Behavior is a function of
a person and the
environment.!
- Lewinʼs equation!
E = ƒ(P,B)! Environment is a
function of a person and
their behavior.!
- Extended from the
incredibly awesome Friday
keynote by Michael
Wesch.!
30. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 30!
B = E!
Our behaviors are our
environments.!
35. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 35!
• Hierarchical!
• Static!
• Top-down!
• Every person has one specific place!
• Environment created by authority
& control!
• Multi-dimensional!
• Dynamic!
• Bottom-up!
• People have many associations!
• Environment created by relationships
& participation!
36. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 36!
or!
Static !
Centralized
Hierarchical
Rigorous!
Top-down
Chunky !
Designed
Planned !
Rational !
Linear !
Taxonomies
Designed
Task !
Done !
Consumer!
Dynamic
Distributed
Networked
Loose!
Bottom-up
Fine-grained
Emergent
Self-organized
Irrational
Interlinked
Facets
Adaptive
Possibility
Always doing
Participant!
38. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 38!
Static !!
Centralized!
Hierarchical!
Rigorous!
Top-down!
Chunky !!
Dynamic!
Distributed!
Networked!
Loose!
Bottom-up!
Fine-grained!
Emergent!
Designed!
Planned !!
Rational !!
Linear !!
Taxonomies!
Designed!
Task !!
Done !!
Consumer!
Self-organized!
Irrational!
Interlinked!
Facets!
Adaptive!
Possibility!
Always doing!
Participant!
Welcome to the world of AND!
39. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 39!
organism!
environment!
constant conversation
with the environment!
40. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 40!
How can we do our best work?!
2} Understand the environment!
environment!
organism!
1} Understand the organism!
41. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 41!
exploring! get up & moving!grappling! exploring!exploring! exploring!
Environment : tough!
Behaviors : !~ sensing!
!~ signaling!
!~ clustering!
get up & moving!
42. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 42!
limited resources!
competition!
lack of respect!
no shared vision!
ambiguity!
unclear paths!
barriers!
power imbalances!
no trust!
shifting landscape!
disconnect on values!
disagreement of purpose!highly political!
tough environments!
grappling
43. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 43!
cAMP saves the day!
grappling
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX5Yiz38fgY
44. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 44!
slime!
mold!
responds!
by!
clustering!
grappling
45. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 45!
Great signals are!
~ sticky!
~ loud!
~ visual!}!
tips &
tactics
Great signals to and from many
sources increase your survival
ability and informs the environment
about whatʼs going on.!
grappling
46. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 46!
Sticky signals!
grappling
S simple!
U unexpected!
C concrete!
C credible!
E emotional!
S stories!
47. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 47!
High-volume signals!
Memorable!
Energetic!
Have a pattern!
Get reinforced!
grappling
48. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 48!
grappling
Visual signals!
Visual ideas get through faster!
Pictures communicate a more complete idea!
Images are more durable and memorable!
49. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 49!
You can always chose
what you do next.
- Scott Berkun
Author and very, very smart guy
“ ”
50. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 50!
get up & moving! exploring!exploring!
Environment : hostile!
Behaviors : !~ slugging!
!~ crawling!
!~ settling!
!~ stalking!
grappling!exploring!
51. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 51!
hostile environments!
Something is
trying to kill you.!
get up & moving
52. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 52!
slime!
mold!
responds!
by!
clustering!
get up & moving
53. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 53!
You need to know:
~ what wonʼt you give up?!
~ what can you leave behind?
~ how much will you participate
in the collective action?!
cheaters!
martyrs!
survivors!}!
Tips &
Tactics
What role are you going to play in !
survival tactics?!
get up & moving
55. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 55!
People are not slime mold.!
≠!
56. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 56!
Interestingly, we noted that cheats only
cheated in the presence of non-cheaters –
when they could get away with not ʻbailing
waterʼ. !
When surrounded by other cheaters, they
contribute to the group effort again, ʻawareʼ
that if no one does, all of them will die.!
- Dr Chris Thompson, Faculty of Life Sciences
University of Manchester!
get up & moving
“
”
57. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 57!
get up & moving
Martyrs!
The Moses Paradox:!
You lead people to the
promised land.!
But you never get !
there yourself.!
58. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 58!
Moses paradox people!
- Works to protect people on the team!
- Stands up strongly for values!
- Speaks truth to power!
- Holds difficult conversations with stakeholders!
- Negotiates for the time & resources for action!
- Held accountable for hardline outcomes, change and
proven impacts!
- Functions in environments with severe ambiguity!
get up & moving
64. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 64!
Making rich environments:
~ collective play!
~ simple rules of engagement!
~ shared standards
~ always be sensing!
~ always be signaling!
TAZs!
listening platforms!
work out loud!
happiness checklist!
}!
Tips &
Tactics
How do your actions directly
enhance the environment?!
exploring
65. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 65!
TAZ : Temporary Autonomous Zones!
A socio-political tactic of
creating temporary spaces
that elude formal structures of
control.!
exploring
R&D / skunkworks projects!
Wieden+Kennedy
Slime Mold Award!
Google 20%!
66. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 66!
We’re having fun...
but we’re not kidding.
- Brenda Laurel
California College of Art
“ ”
67. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 67!
listening platforms!
Technologies and tools that
you can listen for, send, and
reinforce signals. !
exploring
Twitter, RSS, Google Alerts, Facebook, etc.,!
talk to people at the seams of the company!
keep all eyes and ears open : ask for strategy
docs, watch the market!
68. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 68!
Where is the difference
between being
self-employed and
un-employed?!
70. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 70!
work out loud!
Post work, notes, signals and
information in visible and
high-traffic areas. Open the
doors to participating in
design work.!
exploring
open design sessions!
information radiators!
walk-by contribution!
71. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 71!
exploring
Have satisfying work to do!
The chance to be good at something!
Connections with people we truly like!
The opportunity to be a part of something bigger!
happiness checklist!
Jane McGonigalsʼ list of things
that we all need to be happy...!
72. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 72!
Have satisfying work to do!
The chance to be good at something!
Connections with people we truly like!
The opportunity to be a part of something bigger!
exploring
Connect with people we truly like!
happiness checklist!
Jane McGonigalsʼ list of things
that we all need to be happy...!
73. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 73!
Static !!
Centralized!
Hierarchical!
Rigorous!
Top-down!
Chunky !!
Dynamic!
Distributed!
Networked!
Loose!
Bottom-up!
Fine-grained!
Emergent!
Designed!
Planned !!
Rational !!
Linear !!
Taxonomies!
Designed!
Task !!
Done !!
Consumer!
Self-organized!
Irrational!
Interlinked!
Facets!
Adaptive!
Possibility!
Always doing!
Participant!
Welcome to the world of AND!
74. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 74!
4 simple things!
1 } !Make places and spaces for collective play.!
2 } !Work out loud.!
3 } !Sense with intent;
signal back what you learn.!
4 } !Constantly tune behaviors.!
Take me
home
75. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 75!
It doesn’t get easier.
You just get faster.
- Alison Barrett
Bicyclist, thinker and
community organizer
“ ”
76. Lessons from Slime Mold | March 2009 | 76!
My cAMP is spiraling!
Semantic
web!
Evolve or die!
Social participation
& meme-making!
Ubiquity or
bust!
Frameworks,
platforms &
modularity!
Social
architectures!
Namba
Tok!
Storytelling
deconstructed!
Tribe vs. Community!
Device as context!
The computer is using us!
Care to confront
and connect!