The Vision
Unplugged Ambition is a true community site.
It's value and impact will depend on the insight, honesty and commitment of its members and the extent to which we can support, offer hope and inspiration to each other, yet also challenge each other to achieve our shared goal: to put our talents and energies towards things that matter to us, outside of a corporate framework, and through doing so earn a living.
It's a site where members are marked out by talent, experience of senior management (often, not always), ambition, the power of critical thinking and a belief that it is the people we are able to invite into our lives who help us grow.
100 of us would be a great number. Enough for a variety of perspectives and a high probability of response. But as a marketer who has worked with metric-obsessed men who brought little of value to the world let me say: numbers don't matter.
But what if it got really big?
As we grow, we are committed to:
Fair payment for staff and transparency with founding members as to staff pay
Payment for contributions as soon as viable, where payment is financially or psychologically important to the contributor
Transparency in decision-making as to the site development and management
Voting rights for all members on the direction of the site, levels of payment and commissioned content and grant awards as well as all else of substance
Self-management for all members wherever possible: minimal moderation, minimal editing of commissioned pieces
As of June 2024 the ultimate vision for the site is to be:
A powerful community supporting individual success: our members make changes that benefit their lives and the lives of others, in small or big ways, directly through the inspiration, support and collaboration offered by the site
A directory of resources covering mental health, growth, skill development outside of the narrow focus of LinkedIn: Unplugged Ambition makes the process of research, tribe-finding, growth and accessing support easy
A structured way to find mentors, coaches, campaigning groups and other teachers of life skills, based on member recommendations and reviews, not promotion and advertising
A powerful force that can be drawn on by journalists, policy-makers, unions and others wanting to quickly canvass, consult or draw on the expertise of members, who are part of an important and growing movement which insists on the right of all people to earn income without exploitation
A source of first-income and grants for those looking to career change or develop their skills
A place where those experiencing layoffs, dismissal, bullying, manipulation, inequality, discrimination, fear and anxiety because of corporate or start-up life can speak openly and honestly and quickly connect to support
A leading voice in the field of alternative entrepreneurialism, modelling through everything the site does, and in particular with its relationships with staff, contributors, partners and members, the key principles of alternative entrepreneurialism.
As I write we have no content live, no members (we do have a wait-list for go-live), no income and no staff. So...some way to go.
All decisions made will be on the basis of their impact on our ability to achieve this vision.