6 tips for community operation!

A new community is made up of many different mandala-like "inner circles", and the key personnel in the inner circle will naturally become more core circles, just like the Jedi Supreme Council in "Star Wars".

The Jedi High Council is the ruling body of the Jedi Order and is composed of twelve members (five permanent members, four permanent members, and three limited-term members).

They are a noble group that studies, researches and utilizes the Force throughout their lives, with the mission of protecting the stability of the Galactic Republic. They decide the Jedi Knights' philosophy and action guidelines through discussion, but do not interfere too much in their respective behaviors.

Most communities do not have any committees or deacons circles, which are usually appointed by internal personnel from the brand. However, a real "deacon circle" is important and necessary for new communities. In theory, it is usually composed of founders and senior members.

The so-called "deacon" is a person in the community who has more power than other members, thinks more, and has more responsibilities.

1. The core mission of the Deacon Circle: Initiating, modifying and protecting community values

"The 'C' in CEO, or chief executive officer, I hope it stands for culture. The CEO can be said to be the cultural guardian of an organization." ——Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, "Refresh"

For the new community, the "deacon circle" is a guardian role similar to CEO culture, but it is not a person, but a circle.

1. Create founding values, philosophy and ground rules

In the previous article, Brand Ape believes that:

• "New community" means " gathering a group of people to do one thing ."
• The foundation of the “new community” - founded, unified and cohesive by values , and with a clear “noble cause”.
• The "super-sensitive and heavy-coding" Generation Z are willing to join a community not for the purpose of accumulating connections and mutual benefit, but to find a sense of "spiritual resonance".

The "values", "noble cause" and "spiritual resonance" here all need to be created or initiated by the founder and the circle of deacons.

For example, Confucius and his 72 disciples, Jesus and his 12 disciples, Buddha and his 10 major disciples.

For example, Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon, launched the "Super Girls" campaign in admiration of feminist writer Ayn Rand.

For example, Ma Yin, the founder of Anaya, created the emotional and spiritual dimensions beyond the house according to his own spiritual needs, so that "life can be more beautiful."

I use my own understanding of life to do Aranya, which happens to attract a large number of like-minded people. I discovered that the lifestyle I loved was shared by many people. What people are unwilling to give up is not just the bustle, eating, drinking and having fun. After the prosperity has passed and the dross has been washed away, everyone hopes that life will be wonderful again. We also need to pursue spiritual transcendence, but the spiritual journey is precisely a lonely thing. ——Ma Yin

From this perspective, values ​​are definitely not something that is discussed, but rather are condensed by a certain soul figure's original intentions and values.

2. Evolving and modifying values ​​and behavioral norms

Over time, the values ​​of almost all communities inevitably change, becoming more inclusive or more exclusive; evolving or becoming outdated.

One scenario is:

Debates about values ​​will inevitably begin, and a potential circle of deacons will emerge who expect new values ​​and who may have different priorities and may need to set more radical goals.

If the deacon circle does not recognize the importance of the potential deacon circle, division is bound to occur. Martin Luther split Protestantism from Catholicism, and Huineng separated Zen from Buddhism.

In an effort to be more inclusive, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson was also kicked off the board of directors.

In order to avoid division, the deacons must constantly adapt to the evolving values ​​of the community; of course, when development reaches a certain stage, the new values ​​may not be able to adapt to the original community, then allowing them to leave is the inevitable and best choice.

Another scenario is:

The old values ​​are rigid or have lost their vitality, which not only fails to attract outsiders to join, but also seriously hinders the growth and development of the community. At this time, they need to be refreshed or reshaped.

Nadella’s “empowerment of individuals” “refreshed” the values ​​of the “computer in every home” era; Ren Zhengfei reshaped Huawei’s traditional “management” with the “entropy increase” in physics...; in 2004, Lego’s new head, Nastorp, who launched the Nirvana battle, returned to the original intention of the Lego community, “user participation”.

If values ​​are not corrected in a timely manner, the community will not be able to survive. This is the natural responsibility of the deacons circle.

3. Teach and protect values ​​and codes of conduct

The first step is to impart. The values ​​taught by deacons are far more valuable than those taught by other members; the second is protection. It's not that someone deliberately does something that goes against values, so someone needs to discover and stop behaviors and activities that are not in line with values.

Great groups and organizations understand that the "circle of deacons" is the guardian of the community values ​​they cherish; and community values ​​are the "life" of a community. Without this life, the demise of the community is only a matter of time.

2. The powers and responsibilities of the "deacon circle" should also involve five aspects

The "deacon circle" does not need to be clearly regulated, such as a presbytery, senate, or committee. Some community organizations even take pride in not designating an official deacon circle.

However, a mature and strong community will always have some form of deacon circle. Their titles may not be related to the deacon circle, or they may not have any titles at all, but they need to consider the present and future of the entire community.

1. Issues leading the community’s survival and development

People in the inner circle only need to consider their own growth and the growth of people in their own small circle, while people in the "deacon circle" also have to consider the survival and development of the entire community: business model, sponsorship support, resource integration, etc., even if it's just going to a dinner party to make friends who can provide support.

The top EP club of NIO Community has set three entry conditions for club members:

1. 10-year membership, spending more than 10 million yuan to buy EP9;
2. Annual members are the top 100 users in the NIO ranking each year;
3. Quarterly experience members consist of the top 10 users with the fastest growing NIO value every quarter.

Among them, "spending more than 10 million yuan to purchase EP9" directly gives a 10-year membership, which is a way of exchanging deacon's rights and responsibilities for resources.

Without the hard work and foresight of this circle, the community might not survive more than two seasons.

2. Make decisions in a way that is generally considered fair

A community is "a group of people gathered together to do one thing", so decisions should be made by "a group of people" together, and members make decisions in a way that is generally recognized as fair.

However, this does not mean that decision-making must be done by unanimous consent or simple voting, but rather that " the decision-making method requires the participation of members . "

This is also one of the necessary reasons for the existence of the deacon circle.

3. Explore the way of operation - activation rather than management

With extra power comes more responsibility.

How to activate the "symbiotic content" of the active circle, help the participating circle "co-create products", and "co-build a community" with the inner circle are important contents they explore, such as growth mechanisms, reward mechanisms, etc.

As times change and people renew, continuous innovation is needed to adapt to and attract new members to join and integrate.

These new ideas and new adjustments to the gameplay can only be made by the deacon circle.

4. Open, Guard, and Protect Boundaries

Guardian boundaries refer to guarding the written rules and default norms (note that here we are guarding boundaries, not guarding values).

Just like Seraph, the prophet guardian in "The Matrix", every new community needs one or more " boundary guardians ".

They are well-known in the community as the "gate openers " who have the power to accept or reject external members and welcome new members to join; they are the " guides " of the community who can find new members at any time; they are also the " boundary guardians " who expel unqualified members.

They can be community managers, empowered users, or a joint group.

5. Host the ceremony

Whose presence would be exciting? Which members are the most obedient? Whose wisdom will be passed down?

Imagine how surprising and memorable it would be for a person in the default circle of deacons to attend or perform certain "initiation ceremonies", "advanced ceremonies", "circle initiation ceremonies" and "connection ceremonies".

Such ceremonies also double the members' sense of belonging and honor.

3. Six tips for deacons to manage the community

Here are six tips based on Elinor Ostrom’s (Nobel Prize-winning economist) eight principles of community.

1. It must be known that without a deacon circle, various problems will ensue.

• Without the circle of deacons, we would not be able to distinguish the contribution of Jobs from that of an angry young man or a troll.
• Without the circle of deacons, there is no strong management body to remove individuals who affect the overall unity.
• Without the circle of deacons, visitors would have no way of understanding what the community represents (or whether it represents anything at all), and they would not be able to tell whether it is the angry young people or the moral backbone of the community who are speaking.

This was reflected in many of the group buying communities in Shanghai. Brand Ape was in several group buying groups. All the communities that allowed group members to speak freely and make suggestions were in a mess; on the contrary, all the communities that had a deacon (strong) group leader volunteer were recognized by everyone.

2. Not all ideas are equal

Some communities give equal voice to all members, including visitors, and take pride in this.

Part of the reason behind this is to make sure no one is ignored or unheard, which is a misconception. Because most people and most suggestions are either based on personal perspectives, or are ineffective and difficult to implement, which will make the deacon circle feel exhausted.

3. Paying attention to new members is equivalent to insulting old members

A community must have enough actions to help new members integrate and grow, but helping them does not mean granting them privileges. Privileges or exclusivity are always given to senior members.

Moreover, only these privileges and exclusivity can give new members the motivation to move forward.

4. Let new members know clearly about the members of the deacon circle

Taking an event as an example, who is the initiator, who is the organizer, who is the manager, who is the coordinator, and who is the contact person? In fact, a list will do.

5. A mechanism for punishment and conflict resolution that is cheap, easy and fast

There are different punishment mechanisms for those who do not comply with community norms, and various conflicts are quickly resolved in an approved manner.

Take the group buying community such as Shanghai Tuanzhang as an example. First, there will be a social media announcement. If you refuse to change your name, urge for delivery, or complain about prices, you will be warned the first time and kicked out directly the second time.

A community is different from other organizations. If a loose alliance is not strong, fast, or even bureaucratic, its members will naturally leave.

6. Finally, let members know clearly how to join the deacon circle

For example, NIO’s EP Club includes the top 100 users ranked by NIO value every year and the top 10 users with the fastest growing NIO value every quarter.

4. Join hands with the "Deacon Circle" to move forward into the future

"The purpose of a finite game is to win, while the purpose of an infinite game is to continue the game."

In order to prevent someone from winning the game and to allow as many people as possible to participate in the game, the "infinite game" will change the rules. The construction of a new community "deacon circle" is a way to change the rules.

• Because of the "deacon circle", there is openness in cognition in this "infinite game". In this era, those who are open win and those who control lose, and closedness is a permanent state of decline guaranteed by continuous errors.
• Because of the "Deacon Circle", we can attract more like-minded people to participate in various forms. It will definitely be much easier to move forward together with a group of capable and resourceful people.
• Because of the "Deacon Circle", the community and the brand are no longer in binary opposition and separation. This is the difference between "I" and "we", and it is also the foundation for a community to grow stronger day by day.
• Because of the "deacon circle", the reference system on which we have relied in the past to build our identity is gradually loosening. In addition to family roles and social roles, a person also has another role. " Participate in the collective and make contributions in new ways ", this role may be everyone's interest and where their true self lies.

So, please open your "deacon circle" and let us move forward into the future together.

5. Postscript - Nine Principles for Building a "New Community" 8: "Co-building and Co-creating"

Whether you admit it or not, "choosing friends to form a group" has become a new lifestyle and underlying logic; the business of small interests based on "like-minded people" is moving from the margins to the mainstream; "only selling to people who appreciate me" has become one of the brand innovation methods.

At this time, this "new community" that is like an open ecosystem, facing the uncertainty, diversity, inclusiveness, and constant change of the present, is a way of survival and growth that is more adaptable to the times - "the fittest will always survive."

So how can we build and create a "new community" with these "friends" and "like-minded people"?

This is the 8th rule of Brand Ape’s new community - the "co-construction and co-creation" rule, which draws four interrelated and progressive "mandala circles" - progressively helping members learn more, have more wisdom, access greater power, and better understand how to achieve their goals:

• Active Circles——"Symbiotic Content": An Effective Way to Accelerate Members' Integration into the Community
• Participation Circle——"Co-create Products": New Potential for Product Evolution
• Inner Circle - "Co-building Community": The driving force for the self-growth and development of new communities
• Deacon Circle - "Together for the Future": More power, greater responsibility, growing together, and moving into the future together

The real inner circle (gameplay) is generally not hierarchical, but like a mandala, each part is the center and each part is connected to each other. The "center" is the exact middle point of the mandala and is "larger than all the space outside the mandala."

——The Art of Community Operation