lessons from slime mold [ia summit, april 2009]

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Learning from Slime Mold!

IA Summit, March 22, 2009!Kate Rutter | http://intelleto.com !

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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.!

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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!

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They’re not animals and they’re not plants...

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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

“ ”

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lives here...!

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looks like....!

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sounds like...!

myxomycetes!

mix - oh - my!

see - tees!

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sounds like...!

dictyosteliomycota!

dick - tea - oh - stee - lee!

uh - my - coat - uh!

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Slime mold lifecycle!

amoeba! aggregation!

plant-like!

slug! fruitingbody!

spore!stalk!

animal-ish!

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Letʼs see it big as life...!

(You are a part of this.)!

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These are slime mold.!

+!

You are the forest floor.!

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Phase 1!  Eating!  Sensing!  Signals!  Growing!

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Phase 2!  Sensing!  Signaling!  Clustering!

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Phase 3!  Slugging!  Crawling!

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Phase 4!  Settling!  Stalking!

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Phase 5!  Fruiting!

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Phase 6!  Sporing!  Dispersing!

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rinse. repeat. (as needed)!

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(they did awesome)!

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plants! animals!

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Evelyn Fox Keller!Physicist, Author, Feminist!M.I.T.!

Study of complex biology “from below.”!

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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.!

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Slime Mold:!The patron saint of innovation!

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organism!

environment!

thriving!

nourishing!

surviving!

hostile!

striving!

tough!

fighting!fleeing!

dying!

eating!

signaling!sensing!growing! grappling!

get up & moving!

clustering! stalking!crawling! fruiting!

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organism!

environment!

constant conversation with the environment!

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People are not slime mold.!

≠!

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so...whatʼs what?!individual!

team!

company!

industry!

market!

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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.!

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B = E!Our behaviors are our

environments.!

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•  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!

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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!

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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!

AND!and!

and!and!

and!

and!

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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!

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organism!

environment!

constant conversation with the environment!

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How can we do our best work?!

2} Understand the environment!

environment!

organism!

1} Understand the organism!

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exploring! get up & moving!grappling! exploring!exploring! exploring!

Environment : tough!Behaviors : !~ sensing!

!~ signaling!!~ clustering!

get up & moving!

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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

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cAMP saves the day!

grappling

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX5Yiz38fgY

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slime!mold!responds!by!clustering!

grappling

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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

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Sticky signals!grappling

S simple!U unexpected!C concrete!C credible!E emotional!S stories!

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High-volume signals!  Memorable!  Energetic!  Have a pattern!  Get reinforced!

grappling

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grappling

Visual signals!  Visual ideas get through faster!  Pictures communicate a more complete idea!  Images are more durable and memorable!

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You can always chose what you do next.

-  Scott Berkun Author and very, very smart guy

“ ”

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get up & moving! exploring!exploring!

Environment : hostile!Behaviors : !~ slugging!

!~ crawling!!~ settling!!~ stalking!

grappling!exploring!

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hostile environments!

Something is trying to kill you.!

get up & moving

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slime!mold!responds!by!clustering!

get up & moving

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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

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cheaters!

get up & moving

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People are not slime mold.!

≠!

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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

“ ”

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get up & moving

Martyrs!The Moses Paradox:!

You lead people to the promised land.!

But you never get !there yourself.!

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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

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get up & moving

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get up & moving

Survivors!Maslowʼs Hierarchy:!

Know what matters, and where it is on the scale.!

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Acclimate to the!new environment!quickly get back into!explorer habits!!

get up & moving

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exploring!

Environment : nutrient-rich!Behaviors : !~ eating!

!~ sensing!!~ signaling!!~ growing!

grappling! get up & moving!exploring!

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nourishing!

plentiful!

purpose-driven!

shared vision & purpose!expansive!

open!

supportive!

resource-rich!

high trust!

unmetered!

strong shared values!

inviting!participatory!

rich environments!exploring

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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

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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%!

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We’re having fun... but we’re not kidding.

-  Brenda Laurel California College of Art

“ ”

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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!

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Where is the difference between being self-employed and un-employed?!

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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!

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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...!

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  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...!

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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!

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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

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It doesn’t get easier. You just get faster.

-  Alison Barrett Bicyclist, thinker and community organizer

“ ”

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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!

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Hell yes.!

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Questions!

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Image Credits | Sketches by Kate Rutter!Cover Image: SEM of the Dictyostelium Developmental Stages, Image by Larry Blanton http://www.dictybase.org/Multimedia/LarryBlanton/dev.html Copyright, M.J. Grimson & R.L. Blanton, Biological Sciences Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Texas Tech University.!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/675955701/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/266576734/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/atypically_me/66036673/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/330642929/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/242773714/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/cramsay23/1520892178/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/353366072/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/58762793/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/2039486562/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/2045016739/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/559268937/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/nebarnix/158284513/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/203367911/!http://www.flickr.com/search/?page=3&q=slime+mold&z=t&l=cc&ss=0&ct=0!http://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/2759839949/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/nez/159580421/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryce/56404690/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/kstoeckel/1793679806/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/epzibah/296017012/http://www.flickr.com/photos/epzibah/296017012/!http://twistedphysics.typepad.com/cocktail_party_physics/images/2008/10/05/slime.jpg!http://www.burningcutlery.com/derek/slime/images/paper2-const.gif!http://hopf.chem.brandeis.edu/yanglingfa/pattern/spiral/dd0.gif!http://metafysica.nl/dictyo1.jpg!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haeckel_Mycetozoa.jpg!http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_01/mosesHeston2703_468x611.jpg!http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilyelliott/1197528160/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/double-h/348964034/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/spodzone/1095006108/!http://digitalphilosophy.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/taz.jpg!http://forums.i80s.com/uploads/1171641553/gallery_1_1_4845.jpg!http://www.flickr.com/photos/double_o_zero/3278090358/!http://www.flickr.com/photos/rorymunro/3061446796/!http://bioinfo.bact.wisc.edu/themicrobialworld/Haeckel.jpg!

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Thanks!!Have a wonder-filled day.!

Kate Rutter!Twitter: !@katerutter!

Blog: ! !intelleto.com!