Connective Tissue

[FamilyFirm at aol.com]

Peg,
I think that the group I am part of  (
<A HREF="http://www.aspenfamilybusiness.com/">
http://www.aspenfamilybusiness.com</A> )  as a self organizing system.  The
group is 10 years old, there are 5 of us in the group, there is no heirarchy,
we all live in different parts of the country, and we only meet face to face,
2 or 3 times per year.  Other communication is by email, or telephone.

I think the "connective tissue" involves two things;  a public presence in our
speciality area, and trust.  We put on an Annual conference for our clients or
potential clients (family owned businesses), write books and articles, and
always present together at the annual conference of the professional
association we belong to.  So probably having a distinct public identity is
important.

The other "connective tissue" is a very high level of trust, that is based on
independent competence, and an ability to balance collective interests with
our own individual self interest. I also think that we generally think that
our respective contributions to our collective interests are equitable.
Joe Paul