- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 106, Issue 7
by Tegan Moss 15 Jul '15

15 Jul '15

Our satilite location has always struggled to gain momentum. Its a tricky location on a university campus and the reasons we are there are multi-faceted. Problems we run into include: - not having all the same specialty tools (impact wrench, headset cup press, BB chaser/facer) so members get bounced back and forth - inventory management of used parts, its very complicated to maintain a useful selection in both locations Benefits: - attracts different user base - some volunteers drawn in specifically for on campus work - shops can be open at different times/days On Fri, Jul 10, 2015 at 4:13 PM, < thethinktank-request(a)lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote: > Send Thethinktank mailing list submissions to > thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > thethinktank-request(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > thethinktank-owner(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Thethinktank digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Advice for hiring an Exec Director (Doug) > 2. Sister/satellite organizations (Ryan Sharpe) > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Doug <cuttercrew(a)gmail.com> > To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Cc: > Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2015 17:06:44 -0700 > Subject: [TheThinkTank] Advice for hiring an Exec Director > Our organization, the Fort Collins Bike Co-op, based in Fort Collins, CO > is looking to hire an ED and we would like to leverage what other > collectives have already learnt. Please send me any job descriptions for > Exec Dir or words of wisdom you have as we step in this direction. I'd > also be interested in how you initially structured a compensation package. > > Thank you, > Doug Cutter > President > Fort Collins Bike Co-op > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Ryan Sharpe <sharpe(a)sacbikekitchen.org> > To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Cc: > Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 12:47:33 -0700 > Subject: [TheThinkTank] Sister/satellite organizations > > Greetings from Sacramento! > > There's an effort underway in an underserved neighborhood to start a Bike > Kitchen, which would be our town's second collective/cooperative/community > shop. > > I'm curious to hear from those that have experience with second shops, > both those affiliated with an existing shop and those that were set up > and/or stand independently. > > Are there any pitfalls or benefits (for either shop) we can expect in > donation impacts, volunteer activation, community engagement, or > fundraising? > > --Ryan > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > -- -- B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop 336 Rubidge St, Peterborough ON (705) 775-7227 communitybikeshop.org

1 0

Wiki User Account Creation
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 14 Jul '15

14 Jul '15

We (Positive Spin) requested a user account <https://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RequestAccount> at the Bike Collectives Wiki on April 29, 2015, and then confirmed our email on the link sent to us. To date, we have not received an email indicating an account has been created, nor has such an email ended up in our spam box. Who is currently administering the Wiki? -Jonathan

4 4

On Collectives
by Angel York 14 Jul '15

14 Jul '15

I was doing research for our cookbook, and found this statement on the Moosewood Collective. I found it inspiring and thought y'all might appreciate it as well: The Moosewood Collective <http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Moose.gif> The Moosewood Collective is a crew of fourteen women and five men. Some of us moonlight from Moosewood, and among us we have a broad range of interests and avocations. Our group comprises musicians, singers, dancers, actors, performers, mediators, meditators, activists, teachers, trainers, consultants, writers, gardeners, editors, poets, artists, quilters, calligraphers, martial arts instructors and enthusiasts, health advocates, parents, grandparents, good cooks, and really good eaters. Working Collectively – flat, fluid & functional The Moosewood Collective is a group of nineteen people who own and operate Moosewood Restaurant and write cookbooks. “Collective” is our group’s philosophical identity, not a legal term. Most of us have worked together for more than twenty years and some of us have worked together since Moosewood opened in 1973. Our membership has changed over the years, but basically we are a stable group. When all is said and done, Moosewood is a hard place to leave. We’ve tried not only to feed people well, but also to treat people well. Over the last thirty years our company has come to represent something bigger than we ever anticipated, and something better than the usual business. We struggle to hold on to the best of what we’ve been, and to mature into what we can become, periodically checking in with each other. We fret and sometimes doubt ourselves, hoping always to find safe harbor. We’ve tried to live up to the expectations people have invested in our image. Sometimes we fall short and sometimes we resist being the least bit famous. Most of us experience the Collective as a kind of second family. We’ve shared a significant portion of our lives with one another and find Moosewood a loving and supportive place that can drive us crazy too. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s hard.having so much good food around sure doesn’t hurt. The corporate world is just now being transformed by the realization that cross-training and shared responsibility produce better results. Working collectively at Moosewood has meant a flat, fluid, functional way of sharing work. The experience is like having no boss, or like having nineteen bosses, depending on how you choose to look at it. Both the restaurant and the cookbooks are primarily collective endeavors. <http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/pear.gif>Much of the romance about groups that resist a hierarchical structure rests on the mythology that a group without a boss is a group without leaders. The “leaderless group” is a popular notion, especially among academics exploring ways to organize committees and teams. We can testify that leadership has little to do with title or chain of command. It is a quality that exists within every successful group. Several leaders among us with courage, creativity, self-discipline, principles, and willingness to learn, teach, support and share, have kept us going. Leadership emerges in the unplanned heroism and grace under fire that every one of us has shown at times. Leadership is irrepressible. It gets passed around depending on the task. Collective work doesn’t automatically generate equal voices. When some of our voices dominate, it’s important that others speak up to add balance. The accommodating ones among us have to resist always going with the flow because it’s easier. Sometimes we need to be active and raise conflict. We’ve had to work at developing diplomatic ways to express ourselves so that interpersonal disagreements don’t turn into a test of skill and endurance. Our meetings, and we do have quite a few, have gotten a lot better over the years. We delegate more responsibility to our boards, teams, and committees. But we still rely on the whole collective to reach major decisions and support big changes. Our tradition has been to strive for consensus. Simple majority is fast and useful, but it’s only reliable for less significant issues. Going for high majority or for consensus keeps us together. Consensus is a widely misunderstood process, and we’re still learning how to best use it. It’s not just another word for unanimity. The discussions that happen on the way to consensus raise lots of alternatives and disagreement. People have to keep paying attention. Someone has to summarize once in a while to keep ideas alive and available. When someone objects to a proposal, it’s not always easy or popular to say so or explain why. We’re constantly learning the importance of dissent, listening to each other, and being patient. When we reach agreement, we may not have found the ideal solution, but we believe it’s the best we can do for the time being. And when the decision doesn’t reflect our personal opinion, the hard part is having the self-discipline to support the group decision and to consciously avoid undermining it. This is a more challenging lesson. We recognize that we’re not all equally good at everything, nor do we have to be. We find ways to accommodate our differences and play to our individual strengths, while keeping opportunities open and accessible. Since the climb up our corporate career ladder isn’t very steep, we find ways to stretch out and around. The shy and cautious push through being uncomfortable. The control freaks work at being patient, accepting the influence of others. The self-directed independents strive to be open to shared responsibility. It’s been quite a dance. We think a lot about how to support personal development without sacrificing quality. Exchanging roles and functions was easier years ago when the only choice was between working as a busser, “waitron,” cook, or “omni” (someone willing to prepare the fish). Anyone might competently play all of those roles in one week. Writing books, editing, managing, consulting, developing products, doing publicity tours, starting new ventures-these roles are a different story. The nice part is that we can learn from each other. We’re a real do-it-yourself kind of group. We’ve had to learn to establish standards and then hold ourselves accountable to them. We’ve had to pioneer in brand-new jobs without the benefit of support or supervision. We’ve learned that when someone turns out to be good at something, it makes sense to let them keep at it. Or, when they’re ready to move on, that we learn from them first. We are individually neither interchangeable nor dispensable. And as we diversify our business, we wrestle with how to value all of the different kinds of work we do. <http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/hot-peppers.gif>There are many benefits of working collectively. There’s the broad base of support-getting over a hump because people put wind under your wings by pitching in and lifting. We have steady people who come in early, or stay late. Some are calm and level-headed in a storm. Others help us remember our values. There are sensitive ones who speak up for people who aren’t present. Those who remember to appreciate and acknowledge others. The explorers, who take risks and step out in front. Those who take on the unpopular and difficult jobs. We feel tremendous gratitude for our collective perseverance and staying power, the incredible commitment to just keep contributing. Reprinted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics © 2001, Moosewood, Inc., Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York, NY. via http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/collective/

1 0

Undergoing Sustainable Transition
by Leslie Peteya 14 Jul '15

14 Jul '15

Hey y'all! We here at the Durham Bike Co-op in Durham, NC are undergoing some major growing pains as an 8-year-old 501c3 non-profit in the midst of launching a crowd funding campaign to upfit a new space. Along with that community presence, we are transitioning to a more expanded board structure and are looking to add some new board member roles. We run on consensus, and currently have 2 Shop Coordinators, the Treasurer, and Social Media/Outreach as board roles. Questions: 1) What new board member roles did you want to add as you expanded as an organization? 2) How did you advertise these positions? 3) What were your requirements for active board members? So far we are entertaining the addition of a Business, Fundraising and Legal Consultant to help with capital campaigns, big money donors, and revision of by-laws. Thanks!. Leslie Social Media/Outreach Durham Bike Co-op

1 0

Sister/satellite organizations
by Ryan Sharpe 12 Jul '15

12 Jul '15

Greetings from Sacramento! There's an effort underway in an underserved neighborhood to start a Bike Kitchen, which would be our town's second collective/cooperative/community shop. I'm curious to hear from those that have experience with second shops, both those affiliated with an existing shop and those that were set up and/or stand independently. Are there any pitfalls or benefits (for either shop) we can expect in donation impacts, volunteer activation, community engagement, or fundraising? --Ryan

3 2

Advice for hiring an Exec Director
by Doug 09 Jul '15

09 Jul '15

Our organization, the Fort Collins Bike Co-op, based in Fort Collins, CO is looking to hire an ED and we would like to leverage what other collectives have already learnt. Please send me any job descriptions for Exec Dir or words of wisdom you have as we step in this direction. I'd also be interested in how you initially structured a compensation package. Thank you, Doug Cutter President Fort Collins Bike Co-op

1 0

Interbike, Festival of Fancy
by Joergen Trepp 08 Jul '15

08 Jul '15

Hi All! Interbike's around the corner, *September 14th-18th* with the Outdoor Demo the two days before. As you probably know, the industry's dog-and-pony show is a great environment for Collectives to meet retailers and shop owners and let them know about all the great ways to get involved with what we do on a local and national level. Last year we didn't get a ticket confirmation until the LAST MINUTE, which was annoying, so I wanted to reach out to the network early this year with two things. 1. Would you like to go and get a (free) ticket through us? 2. What resources should we bring to bear and share with the cycling industry? *1. If you'd like to go, sign up on this sheet and fill out the relevant tabs. < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mcqVNpCdwITiXhBM5RORTaklCbTnj2BZgSr… > *If you're needing a hotel room, put yourself down in one of the slots, we aim to put 4-6 people in each room to keep 'em cheap. If you're looking to carpool, put down your arrival/departure details and room in your vehicle, if applicable. Going to Interbike with us comes with responsibility: Firstly, everyone attending has to sign up for two shifts at the Bicycle Collective Network booth (*third tab below*), where we'll be representing the Bicycle Collective and the Alliance for Walking and Biking. Secondly, we will not tolerate conduct that doesn't represent us favorably to the rest of the bicycling industry. Being inconsiderate of an exhibitor's time, heckling for swag or deals from people you haven't developed a relationship with or who haven't clearly offered that sort of thing, or generally behaving like a child will earn you a boot from the show. We're not willing to jeopardize the reputation of the Bicycle Collective Network. Barring major conflicts, we'd also like to do a night out for Collective folks on Tuesday night, the night before the show, where we would briefly go over our responsibilities formally and then just kick back, catch up across the city, state, and national lines between our different shops. *Sign up:* https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mcqVNpCdwITiXhBM5RORTaklCbTnj2BZgSr… *2. How should we represent the Bike Collective Network? * In years past, the question we're most asked at the booth is "Who's the local collective in our neck of the woods?" To answer this question, we have a print-out of the organizations listed on the Bicycle Collectives Wiki: http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Community_Bicycle_Organ… Is this the most current and representative list? Or is there a more current resource out there, like the organizations tab on bikecollectives.org? http://www.bikecollectives.org/#organizations Beyond that, let me know if there's anything else we should try and tout! I'll send a followup out later when tickets are secured. Joergen Trepp Director of Operations Bicycle Collective Work // 801.328.2453 Mobile // 231.392.3403 www.bicyclecollective.org The mission of the Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.

1 0

Closing a shop
by Beth Barnes 06 Jul '15

06 Jul '15

Does anyone have suggestions on how to close/drastically downsize a full blown shop with slim sales but over active repairs? 25 years in business with great following but in a remote, depressed area in far north VT. Any ideas on how to downsize/diversify/still make a living? Very active ebay presence. Lots of vintage bikes and parts. Been collecting for many years. No rush, just starting to weigh options. Thanks

3 3

Shop pricing and expectations/rules list
by Sarah Schaan 03 Jul '15

03 Jul '15

Hey folks, Our shop (Fargo Moorhead community bicycle workshop) is having some issues with pricing nicer used parts pricing/ used bike (fundraiser) pricing. We have used eBay and Google etc... and it's tough to find a consistent amount to agree on. We are also trying to come up with a posted "expectations" board so that we can be a little less opaque with

1 0

Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 106, Issue 1
by Josh Goran 03 Jul '15

03 Jul '15

We keep things pretty simple and have a rack that is in our (admittedly large) loading dock/entrance area and volunteers/visitors just lock their bikes up. It keeps them separate from donations and secure. Similarly, we have lockers that volunteers are encouraged to use to keep their possessions safe from unscrupulous folks or from thinking something is a donation. We also have a "project room" for bikes that are being worked on, and each bike that doesn't belong to the co-op gets a tag with the owners name, number, project start date, and project 'log' to make sure people are actively working on bikes, along with a basic release stating that OCBC isn't responsible in the case of damage etc that the shop user signs. We also technically require that projects be removed within 2 months and be worked on at least every 2 weeks, though have been lax about enforcing this. *----------Joshua GoranAdministrator, Ohio City Bicycle Co-op* 1840 Columbus Rd Cleveland, Ohio 44113 216 830 2667 OhioCityCycles.org <http://ohiocitycycles.org/> > Subject: [TheThinkTank] In-shop bike check/claim ticket? > We're in the midst of a nasty situation where a new visitor parked her > bike in our Donated/To Be Assessed pile, then left it there for a week. It > was a good bike, and it sold quickly. Fortunately we know the buyer, and > we're probably going to get it all sorted out. > > Does anyone use a bike check-in or claim ticket process to avoid this sort > of thing? We've also had some issues with visitors either claiming a shop > bike was theirs, or ownership of a visitor's bike coming into question (one > visitor claiming another stole it). It seems like some way to check a bike > in could help, but we don't want to add much drag to our shop process. > > Any ideas? > > Andy > > Broke Spoke Community Bike Shop > Lexington KY > >

2 1