BECAUSE I CAN: A World Without Money, Part II

Because I Can with Adam J. Kovitz

“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it.”

- Bob Hope

Michael Moore, in anticipation of his latest documentary Capitalism: A Love Story, was on Larry King recently and stated that capitalism has failed. This got me thinking back to some of my earlier writing this year, in particular A World Without Money back in March. It was a hypothetical thought experiment, looking at what one might would do if they didn’t have Financial Capital. Bottom line of the article…we would leverage what we know (Intellectual Capital) and who we know (Relationship Capital) to provide for our needs.

So this month I return to asking a similar (yet different) hypothetical question…why?

Because I can…the question: What would the world look like if business enterprises stopped accepting money (or anything else) as payment but gave products and services away for free?

Businesses become Not-for-Profit Suppliers and Distributors

If you currently own your own business, breathe deep and don’t panic…remember…this is a hypothetical situation.

If your business gave away its products and/or services for free, there would be several concerns:

1.) How to structure such a business

2.) How to ensure cost of business is covered

3.) How to provide for product/service demand

4.) How to keep good employees

Under such circumstances, the most logical configuration for such an enterprise would be a not-for-profit entity. In this case, companies would not pay taxes (we’ll talk about government impact later) and would have to make sure that demand for products/services were covered by an appropriate operating budget.

The operating budget would cover things like inventory, communications, office supplies, etc. All of these would be provided free of charge from other not-for-profit suppliers. Inventory and supply levels would have to closely match demand for services. Surplus or shortage in inventory may be moved between businesses of similar nature, perhaps by other business entities.

The most effective way of providing for product/service demand may mean a return to the old Main Street days where there were smaller hardware stores and grocery stores in smaller neighborhoods without the current “big box” providers we see today. This would particularly be the case with businesses catering to basic human needs like food, water, shelter and security whereas other services may be more regionalized.

The interesting thing here is that there won’t be need for competition. People who share the same desire to be in the same enterprise yet would normally open up competing business might join forces and combine their own Intellectual and Relationship Capital to provide to the community. Even if such competition existed, it would not last long as:

1. It would be seen as wasteful
2. Competitors, if egos allowed, would merge, or
3. Competitors with the least market share would lose interest, fold and move on to their next enterprise.

So how does one staff such an organization? What incentive does one offer for a job that pays nothing? The answer, just like any other not-for-profit that needs to attract volunteers: people invest there time in causes they believe in.

The rise of the Volunteer/Investor

Isn’t it neat to hear a famous celebrity who has made it big, do something nice for charity as their way of “giving back to the community”? In such a world as we’re describing, everyone gives back to the community...it’s just a way of life.

Imagine going to a job not because you have to, but volunteering/investing your time in a cause to which you have interest, expertise or simply a desire to learn. What kinds of things would you do? Of course not every job would have openings or need for everyone, and certain jobs might require certain certifications or prior expertise, but it might mean an investment of time in a learning institution or time with another job first.

What about the basic needs/rights like food, clean water, shelter, security, medical needs, waste disposal, energy and education? They would all be provided for at absolutely no cost. In return for such services, volunteer/investors will have to report their time (in hours per week or month) to a central authority. In this way, there will be less temptation to take advantage of getting something for nothing.

The infirmed and the elderly, while not being able to provide the same standard of hours per week will, depending upon their unique situations, have reduced or less hours to provide for their needs. Children, while spending most of their time in school would be able to at certain ages (like 13, let’s say) begin to volunteer/invest hours in other ventures/causes as a means to provide them with practical hands-on community service and education.

Who ensures that volunteers/investors don’t just jump from assignment to assignment without causing ventures/causes from collapsing?

Each assignment would be contracted for a standard period of time for which the volunteer/investor must serve before moving on. This ensures that a particular venture/cause is staffed appropriately. This also means that the head of each venture/cause (and other management) must ensure that projects are staffed and that volunteers/investors have a clear “career path” in case they wish to renew their contract.

There would be true choice as a volunteer/investor. How much time do you choose to devote to each venture/cause? Do you have the vision to start one yourself? Do you go to learn by working for another one? Note here that entrepreneurialism exists as new ventures/causes can be started at any time. Please also note that there is flexibility in working for situations where one could work a “full time” job while also doing one “part time”.

What is the incentive to work more than one job? Plainly and simply…career development or belief in a cause.

One of the dangers of a world without money is the desire for one to acquire as much as they can, whether it be for status or just for that “rainy day”. The amount of stuff someone can have of certain items would almost assuredly need to be regulated, otherwise demand rises, unnecessarily.

But who regulates all of this?

The answer: government.

The role of Government

Now I consider myself neither a “big government” or “little government” kind of person, but in this hypothetical scenario, government will have a role in oversight and regulation on numerous issues affecting local, regional, national and international levels.

Volunteer/investors would apply for certain elected positions, while other governmental positions would be staffed like any other venture/cause.

Some of the issues government will have to contend with in this new world would include, but not be limited to:

1.) Inventory caps on certain items for ventures/causes to prevent inflated demand

2.) Caps on personal inventories for volunteer/investors such as number of cars, televisions, computers, refrigerators, etc.

3.) Developing legal controls for determining breech of contract

4.) Developing audit controls for determining if a venture/cause is a real venture/cause or not

5.) Developing, overseeing and enforcing educational standards

6.) Developing, overseeing and enforcing food & clean water standards

7.) Developing, overseeing and enforcing safe housing standards

8.) Developing, overseeing and enforcing medical standards

9.) Developing, overseeing and enforcing transportation standards

10.) Developing, overseeing and enforcing energy standards.

In short, much of what are governments do, or are supposed to do these days will basically be the same, with the exception (of course) of taxes and money regulation – they wouldn’t exist.

UnReality or Possible Reality?

While the above scenario describes what some might view as a utopian world, it would be foolish to think that it wouldn’t have its problems. A recent article on cnn.com spoke of an international poll revealing that money is the biggest cause of stress around the world. In this hypothetical world, we would not have this kind of stress. We would certainly have other concerns and stresses, but money wouldn’t be one of them.

With money now as a thing of the past, banks, financial services, tax preparation and insurance all go by the wayside…hypothetically, of course.

Crime, especially theft, is dramatically reduced. What is there to steal?

Luxury items would also go away, as well as class and caste systems. Everyone would be equal and would be open to pursuing the same opportunities that everyone else would have. Leverage would no longer be used to hold power over someone else.

Certainly much, much more would change in a world such as this, but is something like this real?

Not at the moment.

Then is it worth talking about?

Yes…in our current world of economic uncertainty as a result of corporate irresponsibility, political corruption and greed, any ideas to reform the system we currently have only benefits fewer and fewer individuals while becoming less and less sustainable by the minute. It’s much like putting a band aid on a gangrenous limb…masking over the root cause of the problem while delaying the inevitable. In the meantime, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and even millions of people continue to suffer.

So is it an idea worth pursuing?

Yes.

Why?

Because we can.

Adam J. Kovitz is the Chairman & Founder of The National Networker Group of Companies, which publish The National Networker (TNNW), provide member services and consulting as well as branding and social media domination.

For more about Adam J. Kovitz, please click here.

Hire Adam to speak at your next conference or event by emailing info@thenationalnetworker.com.

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The Emergence of the Relationship Economy

Relationship Capital is the cornerstone of the Relationship Economy, which RNIA defines as “a measurement assigned to individual and organizational entities based on the relationship interactions between them, and the interactions they have internally.” I am proud to have contributed discussion of the Ten Laws of Relationships Capital to The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, now out as an eBook and in hardcopy. With a forward written by Doc Searls (of Cluetrain Manifesto fame), it is being considered a “must read” for anyone responsible for the strategic direction of their business. If you would like to purchase your own copy of The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, please click here.

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BECAUSE I CAN: A World Without Money, Part II

HEADLINE: In Paper We Trust(ed)

by Adam J. Kovitz

CEO, Founder & Publisher

Adam's section is brought to you by Salesconx.com

There are many “socially-accepted norms” when it comes to conversation that all effective networkers should keep in mind – subjects that one might deem appropriate when making conversation, of which religion and politics are classically considered “taboo”…

…so it is with fair warning that I’m going to be talking about BOTH RELIGION AND POLITICS in this article.

If you feel that you are easily offended by such talk, feel free to peruse the other TNNW articles this month. Actually, I would never have broached such “formidable” topics, but was lured (perhaps “tempted” might be more appropriate a term) into such dark waters, if not for one individual…

Along Came Mr. Rowland

It all started when I published last month’s article, A World Without Money in this very publication. In this article I suggested that our current monetary system is broken, perhaps beyond repair and posed a hypothetical world where money didn’t exist yet run on effective valuation of Relationship Capital (RC) and Intellectual Capital (IC). Okay…I may have had some political undertones to my discussion, but never once did I mention religion or the G-word: “G-d” (yes…many of us Bar/Bat Mitzvahed types spell it this way).

My friend, (and TNNW member) Jay Rowland, Founder of The Referral Marketing Association (a.k.a., ChapterTracker.com), made the following comments on my post:

“As with your State of the Industry address, I feel you’re really talking about the issue of morality, not economic systems.”

And

“…you can’t love both God and money.”

As well as

“God’s economy is one of relationship.”

I was shocked, in a sense, by Mr. Rowland’s comments. Aside from sharing a few political beliefs in my column and publication about networking, had I inadvertently breeched the religion/spiritual barrier with a few offhand remarks or was I making a stronger underlying statement by design? Either way, I was called out, albeit in a friendly manner and felt it a good idea to do one of the things I do best…write about it!

Morality and Economic Systems/G-d and Money

Mr. Rowland suggests that morality/G-d and economic systems/money are mutually exclusive, and unfortunately, he is right…to a degree. It is because of this that I feel we are experiencing our current global economic crisis.

Our current economic system is one of paradox. On one hand, the Founding Fathers of the United States, many of whom were members of one of the oldest running networking organizations in the world, the Freemasons, built the U.S.’s political and financial systems believing and imbuing into them the symbolism of Freemasonry. To be a member of the Freemasons, one must have a belief in that of a higher power – G-d. Therefore, all U.S. currency shares the common quote, “In God we Trust”.

To Mr. Rowland’s point, unfortunately, there is the saying that “money is the root of all evil”, and we’ve recently seen the classic “seven deadly sins” rear their ugly head to a head, resulting in economic meltdown. What took coinage and script imbued with the power and trust of G-d inscribed upon them and reduced them to almost meaningless hunks of metal and paper upon which now our trust is questionable?

Diverging Economies

From my perspective, here’s what has happened – we have abdicated our own personal power and externalized our trust into a situation where we have given power to an economic and political system that has diverged from G-d’s economic and political system of Karma and morality.

Some may argue that it is difficult to base such a tangible system of our current economy on such an intangible concept. To this I respond, our tangible economic system, once backed by such tangible “assets” as salt, gold, oil and even chocolate has "evolved" into something much more intangible.

For a while basing our economic system on tangibles worked quite effectively…it even curtailed our needs for more spending because we could not spend beyond our means. The downside to this was that the profit one could make in business was relatively flat.

But human needs, desires and ambitions work on abundance…our success is never an endpoint, just a milestone on one’s journey through life. Tangible assets, on the other hand, are limited. When we, as a human race, had the opportunity to graduate ourselves to the next level, we kept the same classroom, same teacher and the same curriculum. We just created new rules as we began to head into the new school year.

Those in the class who were ahead of the learning curve decided to make rules to make things more “interesting”. Unfortunately, they were weighted in their favor and refused to notice that by favoring themselves, they would be hurting others while ignoring the classic golden rule “do unto others as they would have done unto you”. They made the rule of credit, whereby we could spend beyond our means in return for speculating that we could pay back the difference in time. Thus began the downward spiral.

In time, words like “extortion”, “blackmail” and “highway robbery” would lose their significance as they were minimized or “spun” positively by those in power who networked and then eventually hijacked the political/economic system. At times, under the guise of being “G-dly” or “religious” they made their points known and got their agendas passed as more of the “regular people” (some called them “middle class”) got too busy playing by the new rules which didn’t at first effect them. The middle class became complacent and trusting into a system that was being perverted and compromised.

In time, the economic system changed to being backed by intangible means. A central authority of “oversight” based upon so-called tangible economic models, once backed by tangible assets would now be based upon nothing more than an “IOU”. Still the middle class trusted in the system…until slowly but surely, the system that “worked” for them at one time, began sorting them into two classes: upper and lower. Due to the nature of the system that was created, the 20% of the population that controlled 80% of the wealth began shifting to 10% controlling 90% of the wealth.

90+% of the people in this world have been taking the same class for years, passing it each time, yet never graduating to the point where it is becoming seemingly harder and harder to do so each year. The problem is that through faith in G-d to save them, they STILL GO TO THE SAME CLASS, EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS AND WONDER WHY NOTHING’S CHANGED.

How long must the insanity continue? How soon can we come to our senses and resolve this issue seriously and peaceably before things get worse?

Getting Back to “the Garden”

The question that I pose to Mr. Rowland, TNNW readers and the rest of the world is, how might things have been different if the “winners” of the economic game that has been created, maintained their ethical/spiritual integrity and worked to make everyone a winner. What if they networked to build and earn trust in a viable sustainability model that would support generations to come?

The key lies in understanding that an economic system based upon scarcity and hampered by the self-limiting beliefs of its creators and stewards does not take into account the abundant creativity and power as well as the sovereignty and stewardship of humanity. What if there was a way of merging the two economic systems: the Karma/G-d-based relationship economy steeped in “morality” and the economic system we use to feed our families?

Since we are already basing our currency (Financial Capital, or “FC”) on the valuation of intangibles, shouldn’t we utilize the who we know (RC) and the what we know (IC) that got us all the FC we’ve ever earned and leverage it into something of true value…a currency that we can really trust?

I believe that with proper valuation of RC and IC, we can create a realistically, spiritually and morally-balanced economic system that is scalable for the human condition and optimized for sustainability. Our technical knowledge of the internet and the populism of social media would allow enough oversight by which the playing field will once again be leveled and a one class system can be created. In this way, we would determine and have full control over our own “earning potential”.

I believe that creating such an economy would cater to the majority of the people in the world, despite race, color, nationality, political leanings, religious beliefs or sexual preferences. As one of my fellow TNNW writers and friends, Terry Bean, this month writes about the concept that we are all one, let’s take G-d off of our currency, put G-d back within ourselves and fly our flag under one world nation, one balanced and morally-blessed economic system, and one fully-networked "meritocrity".

This is not capitalism, this is not communism, this is not socialism. This is not JudeoChristianity, this is not Buddhism, this is not Islam. This is not American, this is not Russian, this is not Chinese. This is humanism. In this, we are all powerful and all meek at the same time. Why don’t we all inherit the earth together? And as for Mr. Rowland’s statement, “God’s economy is one of relationship”, I say AMEN, BROTHER…AMEN.

Adam J. Kovitz is the CEO, Founder & Publisher of The National Networker (TNNW).

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The Emergence of the Relationship Economy

Relationship Capital is the cornerstone of the Relationship Economy, which RNIA defines as “a measurement assigned to individual and organizational entities based on the relationship interactions between them, and the interactions they have internally.” I am proud to have contributed discussion of the Ten Laws of Relationships Capital to the upcoming book The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, now out as an eBook and in hardcopy. With a forward written by Doc Searls (of Cluetrain Manifesto fame), it is being considered a “must read” for anyone responsible for the strategic direction of their business. If you would like to purchase your own copy of The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, please click here.

_______________________________________________________

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HEADLINE: In Paper We Trust(ed)

HEADLINE: A World Without Money

by Adam J. Kovitz

CEO, Founder & Publisher

Adam's section is brought to you by Salesconx.com

WARNING: DO NOT attempt to read this article if you are:

1.) Incapable of understanding the term: “hypothetical”

2.) Employed somewhere in the financial services industry, really, really like your job and can’t stand to see it invalidated…hypothetically

3.) Illiterate.

This month I would like to pose a hypothetical question to all TNNW readers in light of recent global events…

…what would the world be like if all money became worthless?

Our Current Economy

We live in a world where money (or as I call it, “Financial Capital” or FC) is the standard unit of measurement for determining how goods and services are exchanged between individuals, communities, the country and the world. It should be noted that this is true for the so-called “civilized world”, as there are other cultures that do not rely upon such “civilized” means of exchange, yet they continue to exist, many of them, as they have for centuries, if not millennia.

Currently, we are being forced to question the value of money as we face one of the world’s worst financial crises since the 1930’s.

1.) Just how “civilized” is our current global economic system?

2.) How is our money really valued?

3.) Why are we relying upon (and rewarding) the same people to “fix” the situation that got us here to begin with?

The Never-Ending Game

Games, whether they’re board games, video games, educational games, sporting games, role-playing games, etc. are a fantastic opportunity for us to interact with others (a great networking event), possibly get some exercise and learn about ourselves. The good thing about games, whether they’re played competitively or cooperatively is that they all come to a logical conclusion, are reset and can be played again. The nice thing about this is that any competitive advantages gained in previous games, are wiped clean with all sides equal.

Imagine if this wasn’t the case. How interesting would it be for spectators if the two competing sides in a sporting match to begin the game with points that are the cumulative total of all past matches that they’ve played as opposed to zero? If this was the case, competitive advantage would be given to:

1.) The team that won the most, provided that both teams have been playing for the same amount of time, or

2.) The longest running (if not the “winningest” team).

Would you even choose to play a game if you had no chance of winning or hitting “the reset button” at the end? Most people would say no.

Unfortunately for many, our current FC-based economy is a game that all must play if they are to survive and there is no reset button. In fact, we are penalized for losing – banks and other institutions charge us extra money that we don’t have in the form of late charges, administrative fees, etc., regardless of the reason, especially if we do not have the proper relationship with the right person at the institution. If we want the privilege of a college education, owning a car or home and we don’t have the money, we must borrow and hope to pay it back and on time.

We call this “reality” and we accept it as such…for better or for worse, no matter how harsh.

We also protect our kids from this harsh reality. In fact the Millennial generation (a.k.a., “Generation Y”), has been so well-protected from such realities through child-protection laws of the 80’s and 90’s, the innovation and infiltration of high-technology and the proliferation of positive role models in media specifically formulated for their viewing.

The good news: we have created a reality for them in which they learn by playing games with reset buttons, they know that they are truly capable of accomplishing anything they want and they come ready to face our “civilized reality” with a sense of self-entitlement and a view of FC that is completely different from previous generations (see my May, 2007 article: “Networking With the Millennials: The End of the World as we Know It?”)

The bad news: at some point in their lives, they realize that the childhood reality in which they have been brought up is radically different from the “civilized reality” that awaits them…that we have created, maintained, fought countless wars over and have lost millions of lives over.

The ugly news: this is self-destructive and not a move towards sustainability that many of us espouse that we want.

The question becomes: with the shrinking number of winners and growing number of losers of this never-ending game, do we need a major upheaval to hit the reset button or can we figure this out before hand like rational human beings?

What does it take to realize that we’ve created our own illusory glass ceiling by externalizing value and giving it the power it currently has over us? Must we be doomed to repeat our Senior Year of Secondary School over and over, despite the passing grades of the majority? Haven’t we earned the right to graduate?

Of Star Trek and Penguins

While I am not the biggest “Trekkie” out there, I was one of the millions of people who appreciated the ground-breaking science fiction show and its spin-offs as it presented real human issues in a futuristic setting. There was one particular episode that I remember (I don’t remember which of the shows, nor the episode, nor the character who stated it) where it was mentioned as an aside that money in their world had been eliminated – there was no need for it.

Gene Roddenberry, the creative mastermind behind the series introduced such “heretical” and “unrealistic” concepts as transporters, food replicators, phasers, communicators, holodecks and people of diverse races, nationalities and even planets working together to seek knowledge in the 1960’s before there was a man on the moon, the internet, the Cold War, racial equality and mobile phones. And while the majority of such “far-fetched” ideas still remain as “science fiction” thanks to the defenders of “civilized reality”, some ideas have leaked through to become part of our reality today. Could a world without money be next?

It certainly exists virtually. In our world of “civilized reality”, networking face-to-face often requires going to events or even joining organizations. This typically requires a fee, but online there is no limit to the amount of organizations with which one can join and interact. While there is no exchange of FC, there are record levels of exchange of both Intellectual Capital (IC) and Relationship Capital (RC).

I have often mentioned that my sons love to visit Disney’s Club Penguin, an online social network for kids in which they take on the persona of a penguin (which they can customize) and interact with other members (penguins as well) and explore a snow-covered virtual world full of cafes, pirate ships, stores and dance parties. While there is a fee for premium levels of membership, basic membership is absolutely free. Even with basic membership, all penguins get their own igloo (yes…where else can you find free shelter?...no mortgage crisis here). All penguins get the right to earn coins to buy things like items of clothing, costumes (needed for certain jobs), bigger igloos, furnishings for said igloos and pets called “puffles”.

Unlike our “civilized reality”, in the world of penguins, coins and other privileges are earned not by climbing corporate ladders or waiting on unemployment lines, but through involvement. Involvement in Club Penguin means playing games, agreeing to take on the responsibility of being a tour guide (they show new penguins around the virtual town), snow plowers or even agents (deputized penguins who help Disney monitor and report bad penguin behavior to the appropriate authorities). All puffle owners must be responsible for taking care of the health of their pets or run the risk of losing them.

In the world of Club Penguin, there is no shortage of money…wealth is created through involvement and by being in service to others. There is no mortgage crisis or unemployment; no red tape, no hierarchy…all penguins are created equal, even though they may come in different colors, wear soccer or ice cream scooping uniforms or even funny hats.

Is there something we can learn here?

The Hypothetical Part

So what would you do without money in our current society? Let’s just say you were in a foreign country and your wallet and passport were stolen. What would you do?

If friends or relations were nearby, you could leverage your relationship with them, but if not, there are other options. In the CBS reality-show The Amazing Race, teams without sufficient funds have begged for money. Begging is a way in which one works to leverage Relationship Capital into Financial Capital and it actually worked – the kindness of strangers prevailed.

Others without money might “work for it”, especially those with particular talents like with a street performer – juggling, playing and instrument, dancing, etc. is a way by which many performers earn a living. In this case the combination of know-how (Intellectual Capital) combined with one’s ability to connect with the audience (Relationship Capital), is leveraged into Financial Capital.

In a start-up entrepreneurial concern looking to secure funding, the principals court potential investors by selling them on their team (Relationship Capital), their experience and their plan to show stability, sustainability and eventual profitability (Intellectual Capital).

Again…the Ninth Law of Relationship Capital holds true.

Up to now, we have assumed a situation where one party in an interaction does not have Financial Capital and the other does, but what if neither party did?

Here’s the reality…if Financial Capital was taken away from all of us, we would still know things and know people as well.

In a world without money, we would continue to exchange goods and services. We would continue to apply who we know and what we know to get them. Our word, our reputation and our know-how would be our lifelines to sustainability. Our current technology would even allow us to monitor and measure such things for verification. We could turn our efforts to developing an economy based upon methods of evaluation of who and what we know.

The difference would be that we wouldn’t have need to store any wealth, because we would take it with us every day – we would all be wealth generators and be capable of supplying limitless amounts when applied correctly towards being of service to humanity and working towards sustainability. Therefore, we would be rid of the burden of fear of loss of such things. What does this mean?

Everything changes.

If we no longer had fear of loss of wealth, we wouldn’t need safes, safe deposit boxes, banks or financial vehicles. Many types of insurance would become obsolete. Think of the money we would save! (wink wink)

Banking and other financial institutions would evolve into monitoring agencies for Relationship and Intellectual Capital. Other such professions, such as financial advisors, might begin to take on roles as relationship, membership or career advisors, linking individuals to resources to allow them to build, develop, grow and leverage their Relationship and Intellectual Capital portfolios.

Many types of crime would go away as well. What motivates someone to rob a bank, steal someone’s purse or swindle an innocent? The fear that they cannot generate their own wealth on their own…this would go away.

Many of the things we’re used to will remain. We will still have need for food and clothing and shelter and energy. We will have need for medical treatment from time to time…some more than others. We will have the need to explore, build knowledge as a human race and improve upon sustainability, with emphasis on education and knowledge transfer and again…sustainability.

How about jobs?

Since we are all wealth generators, we would work doing the things we want to do and where we feel we can make a difference. Gone would be the days of sitting in a job we don’t want, waiting in quiet desperation for things to change. Yes…the ambitious will accrue more wealth and work to get more rewards from their hard work, but even those who just want a less hectic lifestyle would still be able to survive.

What about finite amounts of jobs? Who gets those?

Those who have the most merit will continue to get “harder to find” jobs, yet since there is always more work to be done and things left to learn, there will always be something for people, regardless of skill to do. Wealth will be earned by doing service to humanity, no matter the job.

It won’t all be “unicorns, rainbows, and standing around campfires in drum circles singing ‘kumbaya’”; there will still be issues, debates, challenges and the like, but perhaps it might be nice to finally graduate from outdated systems that keep us enslaved. Gee…wouldn’t it be need to go to College already?

And what of our kids? Should we continue to tell them at an early age that they can do whatever they want until they become adults and then tell them that it’s all a lie – welcome to our “civilized reality” or can we work to adopt a world that looks more like theirs in which we really can have it all if we apply ourselves? It’s certainly what the “American dream” was based upon.

It is time to press the “reset” button. It will be less painful now than later. Our future and that of our children and generations to come depends upon it.

The Emergence of the Relationship Economy

Relationship Capital is the cornerstone of the Relationship Economy, which RNIA defines as “a measurement assigned to individual and organizational entities based on the relationship interactions between them, and the interactions they have internally.” I am proud to have contributed discussion of the Ten Laws of Relationships Capital to the upcoming book The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, now out as an eBook and in hardcopy. With a forward written by Doc Searls (of Cluetrain Manifesto fame), it is being considered a “must read” for anyone responsible for the strategic direction of their business. If you would like to purchase your own copy of The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, please click here.

___________________________________________________________

Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER. To subscribe for your free newsletter, go to www.TheNationalNetworker.com. For the complete National Networker Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free, continuous RSS feed (available either by traditional RSS or by direct email), go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com. You are also invited to click our buttons:


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HEADLINE: A World Without Money

HEADLINE: State of the Industry, 2009

by Adam J. Kovitz

CEO, Founder & Publisher

Adam's section is brought to you by Salesconx.com

In the winter of 2006, after suffering from severe writer’s block, I had run out of things to write about in my regular column in The National Networker. I was really panicking because we were celebrating our first anniversary of existence and people were starting to get used to my regular submissions (if not my style of writing). I felt I owed something to our readers but lacked anything with which to “wow” them. But then I had an inspiration…since I was working so hard to sell the idea of networking being an up-and-coming industry, and after recently hearing then President of the United States, George W. Bush, deliver his customary “State of the Union Address”, I figured that I could combine the two ideas…writer’s block over!

Therefore, a tradition was started, and I addressed a mostly U.S.-based audience at the time. Why me? Simply put; no one else was! Since then we’ve expanded and grown to include an ever-increasing global reader base. I feel blessed to continue this tradition for the fourth year in a row and I dedicate this article to all the readers of TNNW as well as anyone who believes in the power of networking. So without further ado…

(cue the fanfare, and please…no need to stand)

My fellow networkers of the world, it is with great pleasure that I address you all today at such a crucial time in our history.

We face many great challenges such as the world’s largest economic crisis since the 1930’s. In countries around the world people are losing jobs, unemployment is facing record levels and people stand in fear of losing their homes. Morale is low and people are desperately seeking salvation.

But my fellow networkers, despite the darkness that seems to loom before us we have the following:

· At a time when our current model and way of living no longer supports us, we recognize the need to change and have the desire to change now

· At a time when we look to others for support, news, a place to share ideas, learn from others and express ourselves, we have the internet

· At a time when money and sources of capital may be tight, there is no shortage of opportunities to network, nor knowledge to be gained.

So my fellow networkers of the world, I ask you this very important question:

If we have seemingly endless ways to network (both online and off), access to friends, family and colleagues like never before, superior technology and generations of collected knowledge and works plus the desire to change for the better…what still stands in our way?

If the answer is “nothing”, then that, unfortunately, is unrealistic. If it were true, our problems would be solved instantaneously and we would all have experienced the change already. The truth is that we have yet to experience such a change.

In my humble opinion, my fellow networkers, one of the biggest obstacles we face is that our current economic system is not supporting us. Financial Capital is meaningless as “experts” continue to develop increasingly-complex economic models designed to separate “fools from their money”. The truth is, it’s easy for most of us to look like fools with such complex systems. Compounding the issues, those in authority hold common citizens accountable for maintaining fiscal responsibility despite their own lack of it. Bailouts are not the answer as they only help those in authority – not the majority. It’s time to address the root cause of the problem.

What is the root cause?

A traditional economic system (such as the one we’re using) is based upon finite resources and “healthy competition”. Yet, as human beings, we have limitless desires, ambitions and goals and must work cooperatively to survive. Do you see the discrepancy?

Is it that our economic system is being crushed under its own overly-bloated weight or have we simply outgrown it?

If we have, then it’s time to look at the root cause of Financial Capital: Relationship and Intellectual Capital; who we know and what we know. Without these two truer forms of capital, we would not enjoy the by-product of Financial Capital. We have already begun to determine value based upon Intellectual Capital thanks to the Intellectual Property movement, but only recently have we begun to scratch the surface of determination of value based upon who we know – Relationship Capital. My writings on the Ten Laws of Relationship Capital and “Relationship Capital in the Workplace”, show that this is not mere idle speculation and naïve idealism but grounded in the hard science of Newtonian physics.

My fellow networkers of the world, I ask you to consider what life might be like with an economic system based upon a truer form of capital, more closely resembling the limitless imaginations and machinations of the human race, while also recognizing us as stewards and citizens of the Earth.

• In such an economic system, individual acts of kindness would pay the bills and put food on a family’s table. Wealth would be gained by developing and advancing the cause of the individual, society and the planet. Conversely, those who choose to defy the laws of nature and humankind through acts of trickery, theft and war would lose wealth, giving new meaning to the term “morally bankrupt”.
• In such an economic system, “I win, you lose” would be replaced by “I win if everyone wins”.
• In such an economic system, crimes and atrocities motivated by economic gain would be greatly curtailed.
• In such an economic system, people would have the basic rights of food, clean running water, food and shelter for their families.
• In such an economic system, individuals would be motivated and compensated to work towards projects that bring us closer to sustainability.

Do you see what I see, my fellow networkers of the world?

Does this have to continue to be a dream or can it be our reality?

Can this be the change we need to make or are we doomed to make the same mistakes over again?

Do we really have the luxury to sit back and write this off as idle, idealistic chatter?

How much longer can we afford to be slaves to a system that only benefits a select and slowly-diminishing minority?

So what can we do today?

It all starts with a favor.

A favor is the smallest, simplest interaction involving Relationship and/or Intellectual Capital. In terms of Financial Capital, a favor is absolutely free, yet it’s an exchange of RC and/or IC. When we do a favor for someone else, improve our standing (RC) with them.

This is the basis of a traditional barter system – an economic system that existed before our current one and still exists in parts of our world today.

The more favors we continue to do for others without exchange of Financial Capital, the more we grow an economy based upon the truer forms of Capital: The Relationship Economy.

My fellow networkers, I also urge you to look into online networks like FreeCycle to see how the technology of the internet might support such a system.

We do have the technology today to make it happen.

We do have the networking know how (or at least know where to find it).

We do have the people out there with the desire to make such a change.

My fellow networkers of the world I ask you this:

Are you one of those people?

If so, what do you plan to do to move us all towards the relationship economy?

What favors can you do for others to make a difference today?

My fellow networkers, you have these commitments from me:

• I will continue to explore the ways by which Relationship Capital can be used to spark a newer, brighter, day for us all.
• I will continue to post my findings and research in the pages of The National Networker.
• I will listen to any and all reasonable offers to move the Relationship Economy forward – our future, and the future of generations depends upon it.

My fellow networkers of the world, I thank you for reading this. May G-d bless you and all those you know and love.

The Emergence of the Relationship Economy

Relationship Capital is the cornerstone of the Relationship Economy, which RNIA defines as “a measurement assigned to individual and organizational entities based on the relationship interactions between them, and the interactions they have internally.” I am proud to have contributed discussion of the Ten Laws of Relationships Capital to the upcoming book The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, now out as an eBook and in hardcopy. With a forward written by Doc Searls (of Cluetrain Manifesto fame), it is being considered a “must read” for anyone responsible for the strategic direction of their business. If you would like to purchase your own copy of The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, please click here.

___________________________________________________________

Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER. To subscribe for your free newsletter, go to www.TheNationalNetworker.com. For the complete National Networker Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free, continuous RSS feed (available either by traditional RSS or by direct email), go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com. You are also invited to click our buttons:


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HEADLINE: State of the Industry, 2009

HEADLINE: Relationship Capital in the Workplace

by Adam J. Kovitz

CEO, Founder & Publisher

Adam's section is brought to you by Salesconx.com

With 2009 here I wanted to revisit Relationship Capital (RC) and look back at the Laws of Relationship Capital Series I ran from October, 2007 – August, 2008 and expand upon a few of their points. In fact, I realize (in hindsight) that I never suggested an actual means by which we might calculate RC, although I hope to show how we already do this consciously or otherwise when we “size people up”.

A Review

When we think of “capital” we think of money – the stuff that puts food on our families’ tables and keeps us in our homes and gets us that 42” plasma screen TV. But when we begin to look at how we acquire money (Financial Capital), we realize that any Financial Capital that we’ve ever received has been the result of who we know and what we know. The “what we know”, I have come to call “Intellectual Capital” (not that I have coined this term, but this is what others have come to call it who work in the area of Intellectual Property). The “who we know” refers to RC.

This is the basis of the Ninth Law of Relationship Capital, which states that “Financial Capital is merely a reflection of and cannot exist without some combination of Relationship and Intellectual Capital”.

The U.S. Dollar is one of the world’s leading monetary units, even considering the current global economic crisis. Yet what is the true value of such a currency? At one time, the dollar was backed by gold, one of the world’s most precious metals. In 1933, the Roosevelt Administration did away with the easy conversion of dollars to gold (and back) and in 1971, under the Nixon Administration the gold standard was altogether replaced by the Federal Reserve determining the value.

Whether backed by gold, economic modeling, chocolate (as was once used by Aztecs in Mexico) or something else, the issue is that currency is something external and valuated based upon perception. In this regard, it is an invention of the mind to which most people have agreed, yet when it stops working, more people begin to question its validity

Many regard Intellectual and Relationship Capital as a truer currency in that it can’t be taken away from us like Financial Capital can. Both these forms of capital cannot be devalued without:

1. Our consent, or
2. The applicability of who and what we know given specific circumstances.

As it is, Intellectual Capital is being used more and more in the determination of corporate valuation. In fact, the “intangibles” of an organization, mainly Intellectual Capital items like patents, copyrights and even branding have become as much as 80% of a company’s appraisal value (whereas around the turn of the century 80% of appraisal value was based upon tangible assets). Individuals are considered candidates for jobs if they meet initial criteria of a higher-education degree, specific knowledge of computer technologies, or prior knowledge of regulatory issues.

Calculating RC

While there are very few commonly accepted practices to calculating Intellectual Capital, there is even less in terms of RC. That being stated, I figured that I would put forward a suggestion based upon observations of the real world and the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Laws. Therefore calculations should be based upon the following:

• Number of connections – in the world of online networking, we tend to size people up by how many people they “know”, whether they truly know them or not. In terms of mailing lists, we look see how many people have “opted in” to receive it
• Quality of connections – eBay uses a system of stars to determine whether or not the buyer or seller of products is reputable. In a corporate setting, we use a similar numbering system in 360 degree evaluations and annual reviews.

It should be noted that such a calculation of RC is good for one snapshot of time and can change – I’ve written about this time dependence of RC in my discussion of the Fourth and Fifth Laws.

The calculation of RC is based upon a scaled perception of an individual (or brand) from -10 to 10 with:

• -10 being viewed as highly unfavorable or distasteful
• 10 being viewed as highly favorable and/or attractive, and
• 0 as being indifferent or completely unknown.

Individual RC

RC can be calculated for a myriad of entities and purposes, such as in the case of the study of one individual within the workplace. For example:

In the above illustration, we are evaluating Bob’s RC Value (or RCV) in his organization/business unit, by polling his co-workers, Beth, Butch, Brian and Brianna. Each one rates their perception of Bob on a scale of -10 to 10, an average is taken and the result is 4.25.

Of course, Bob has his own perceptions of his co-workers, and in several cases, considerably different from them...

Relational RC

Based upon the average of employees’ perceptions of each other, we can also tie an RCV to the individual relationships between these employees. It should be noted here that each employee (network node) and each relationship (network tie or link) has its own value.

From an individual standpoint, and knowing these numbers, an employee might ask the following questions:

1. Why is my own personal RCV what it is and what can I do to improve it?
2. Why is there such a large discrepancy between my perception of my co-worker and their perception of me?
3. What specific actions can I take to improve my relationship with my co-worker?

From a managerial standpoint we can ask the following questions:

1. Which one of these individuals should be considered for promotion?
2. Does it make more sense to invest more into an employee like Butch (like getting him additional training or coaching) or is it best to consider termination?
3. What are the acceptable RCV levels for:

a. Employment?

b. Year-end bonuses?

c. Dealing with clients/customers?

Organizational RC

RCV can also be aggregated for the entire organization/business unit by simply averaging individual RCV. In this organization of 5 people, organizational RCV is 4.4.

As a manager/director of this organization/business unit, the following questions might be considered:

1.) What steps must we take to improve organizational RCV?

2.) How do the other business units within the organization “stack up” against this one?

3.) How does organizational RCV change with:

a. Key employees leaving/joining?

b. Problem employees leaving/joining?

c. Major economic upheavals?

d. Changes in corporate policies?

4.) How does organizational RCV effect:

a. Innovation?

b. Morale?

c. Profitability?

d. Return business?

Cohesiveness

Teamwork is essential to the effectiveness of any network, organization, business unit, etc. Up until now, this measure of cohesiveness was measured in end-results and a general “feel”. With measurement of relational RC, we can determine the average of all the links within the organization to determine the RCV for cohesiveness. In the above example, the RCV of the four relationships would yield a result of 2.875.

Similar managerial questions should be asked as with organizational RCV. What would be interesting to study is the relationship between organizational RCV and cohesiveness. As well at what levels (if any) cohesiveness is too high as to produce unhealthy co-dependencies, too low to keep a team together.

Other Considerations

The “map” of the organizational network in the examples used are somewhat simplified as Bob is not the only one who has a relationship with others – the others may all have relationships as well with each other, creating a vast mesh which can be analyzed in similar fashion.

As stated earlier, this type of analysis is looking at an organization at one “snapshot” of time. People and relationships change and when we look at the way RCV changes over time, we can begin to see how events, both internal and external to the organization is affected. We can also use this type of analysis along with statistical probability methods (like Monte Carlo analysis) to predict future behavior and growth/constriction of the organization as well.

A Future Economy

If we can come to agreement and begin using RC analysis within companies or any other group of people, we will make significant headway, much like we’ve done with Intellectual Capital, in valuating people, brands and companies. The key to a newer, more effective global economy is developing the means to tie both Intellectual and Relationship Capital closer than ever to Financial Capital. This might allow us to realize, in time, that true wealth is internal, yet also relies upon our abilities to communicate and work effectively with one another in a cooperative manner under a unified sense of purpose. When this happens, we can achieve anything.

Coming Up Next Month…

It’s a tradition…the 4^th annual State of the Industry Address. Stay tuned!

The Emergence of the Relationship Economy

Relationship Capital is the cornerstone of the Relationship Economy, which RNIA defines as “a measurement assigned to individual and organizational entities based on the relationship interactions between them, and the interactions they have internally.” I am proud to have contributed discussion of the Ten Laws of Relationships Capital to the upcoming book The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, now out as an eBook and in hardcopy. With a forward written by Doc Searls (of Cluetrain Manifesto fame), it is being considered a “must read” for anyone responsible for the strategic direction of their business. If you would like to purchase your own copy of The Emergence of the Relationship Economy, please click here.

________________________________________________________

Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER. To subscribe for your free newsletter, go to http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/. For the complete National Networker Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free RSS feed, go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com/.

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HEADLINE: Relationship Capital in the Workplace