Sunday, August 29, 2004
Team Play
Paul:
We are keenly aware of what we intend to do as we push forward in life. I have learned from life to pay attention to patterns of outcome, even when they are different from my intent. You have goals for inventive leadership, but your curiosity and eagerness to understand the contributions others make to "our community", that may ultimately be your finest and best achievement.
We have greatest need now for a professional association in the knowledge sciences, for a refereed journal, in the future -- for awards, for a history and an intelligent perception of the goals and themes that have driven us to our shared interests and individual differences.
To do that well, forces those involved to unifying the community's interests and voice. Your community interests and those of John Sowa have both grown stronger, and even greater I think than your need for personal recognition. I can see that subordination in your writing and tolerance for criticism, which none of us ever really likes to experience. From 2002 to 2004, your letters are enduring in their energy and search for community.
Look at the next step -- the business models for professional organization. Not as a commercial, vendor driven show model, nor a pure electronic networking.
We need to know each other as people with a face, a voice, a real affection, and respect. To bring us together, you would have to find the statement of commonality that all might find uplifting, worthy, and representative of what we seek for ourselves and for each other.