Joe Dunn - A New Newsletter

Hi,

Thanks for being a reader of my previous newsletter, “Shaping Chaos” (and possibly “Tech People Leadership” before that). The title “Shaping Chaos” was intended to describe the essential job of leading and managing a startup — taking the creative energy of a group of talented humans and shaping it into something meaningful and great.

More recently my coaching practice has gone deeper into exploring what it is we’re actually shaping. When we’re managing, what is it we manage exactly?  when we’re leading, what is that we’re directing? 

This newsletter will be about the dynamics of humans in startups: the often invisible forces that, in the end, drive the fate of companies, even (perhaps especially) in the age of AI. Hence the name of the newsletter: “Human Forces”.

Over time, we humans have accumulated a great deal of knowledge about human dynamics. My goal in this newsletter is to surface what works from the diffuse fields of evolution, psychology, myth, mindfulness and my ongoing work in coaching, and apply it to the practical business of growing a startup.

Let’s start with a first draft model of core human forces:

1. Narrative. The most powerful force of all.
2. Connection. Empathy, trust, relationships, culture — these determine how your organization works. 
3. Balance. The push and pull of structure and chaos, process and intuition, logic and emotion.

Feel free to pitch in!

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

(I will be hosting a workshop on Storytelling for CEOs, Founders and Execs in November in San Francisco and would love to see you there. More and register for a slot here).