Community concerns

I have felt very uneasy for some time with the way the word community is used in business and by whom. I had the word expunged from the systems we implemented at the BBC because I hated it when people talked about "managing communities", "forming communities" or, saints preserve us, "community champions". If communities exist at all they form themselves through people behaving in certain subtle ways over a period of time and through volition rather than control. It was old style management using cuddlier words.

In a great post Will Davies muses on the use of the word in politics and comes up with some interesting and not dissimilar conclusions.

Comments

[Andrew Woolfson]

Well Euan; its never really worried me as to what things are called in business. If we chose another word, I am sure another expert , hobbyist, "professional annoyancer" would shout and rant on about its relevance and definition. I am of the view that if people are getting together of their own accord - and being the better for it (personally, group, org'lly..then who cares).

From my perspective your dislike of the communities term (and its associated connections) plays into your views and so I fully support why you say it.

By the way we are progressing with a few of the things i have been thinking through over the last year or so; some of the ideas are rubbing off in my business world - creating conversations and getting people to engage and react, which makes things happen, decisions taken and an even better place to be.

[Euan]

I winced as I read "expert , hobbyist, "professional annoyancer" " if that is how you see me Andrew but then when I thought about it I kind of liked the last one!

I had hoped to convey that I have no problem with people behaving communally and looking after each other - that is the whole point! What I worry about is turning it into yet another fashion that leaves people more alienated than before.