INVITATION TO BECOME A NEW WORK ASSOCIATE.

von Frithjof Bergmann

New Work is at this point active in numerous different countries, and has begun to advance a large range of extraordinarily diverse projects. Thus, it happens frequently that someone after a seminar or even during a plane-flight asks: How can I become involved? How can I begin to contribute?

We believe that it is in the spirit of New Work, but also necessary because of the great range of endeavors which we are moving forwards, to have an immediate, quick (“One-click”) answer to this question. It is: become a New Work Associate. (And in Germany furthermore: join the Verein.)

From its very start New Work has not only worked with many different kinds of groups, from small business enterprises, to corporations, and schools, to Indian tribes and universities, but from the first day we have also done our very best to work one-on-one with individual persons. Indeed, this has been our central task: to help individual people discover what work they most seriously want to perform.

In our thinking and our practice, we have, however, always combined this, with the strong insistence that this discovery cannot be accomplished in isolation, that because of the prevalence of the “poverty of desire” we require the intimately attuned assistance of others. Hence there must be an Association of the New Work Associates. The long uphill walk from a job to work one seriously wants has to be accompanied, it needs mentoring, possibilities proposed by others, mutual support and stimulation, feedback, context and structure.

Still, we would betray ourselves if this Association, despite its diversity and global reach were not minimally bureaucratic, minimally centralized, minimally hierarchical and most especially minimally “lead.” For anything more than that would cripple, and paralyze our Associates.

This we have learnt not just from our own experience, but also from the early period of the development of the computer industry in which fabulous new ideas did indeed see the light of day in garages, and of course also from the growth of the Internet, which was not created by one gigantic, centrally controlled corporation, and no less also from what more recently has been accomplished by Linux, and other enterprises that associate themselves with the Open Source movement. This also means that our Association of Associates intends to be a model for the future of many different kinds of organizations.

Concretely, what do we offer and what do we expect? You can become an Associate, (and please, in Germany join the Verein). In return for this you can e-mail to us inquiries about ideas, projects, products, or still other matters related to New Work. We do not have the money, or the energy, or time to answer every question – hence the fee. We also cannot make hasty guarantees, but we will try very hard to be useful to you; to link you with others who are already working on a related issue, to provide you with information or suggest sources where it can be found, and to beyond that assist you to find you way in the complex and evolving domain of New Work.

 

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