What does LEXC mean for you?  It means that if you’re a member at NextSpace, you’ve automatically got trusted access at all of the other LEXC venues.  As LEXC grows—we have a collective goal of having LEXC venues in the top 25 coworking markets in the U.S.—you’ll have a place to call home no matter where your work takes you.

This seamless coworking experience wouldn’t be possible without our other founding partner, LiquidSpace.  LiquidSpace is a mobile application company that helps people find great places to work.  As a NextSpace member, you can reserve work and meeting space anywhere in the LEXC network using your handy-dandy smart phone (I hear that a few of you have those).

As with most things here at NextSpace, LEXC is a grand experiment.  We all know that the world of work is rapidly changing.   Advances in technology, a rise in mobility, concerns over environmental issues, and a return to good-old-fashioned sanity are all affecting the how’s, when’s, where’s and why’s of work.  LEXC is an attempt to accelerate that change and make the “future of work” more accessible to you, our super-fab members.

Please check out the LEXC website.  If you haven’t already, please download the LiquidSpace app.  If you use another LEXC venue, let us know how it goes.  And, as always, thanks for believing in NextSpace. Thanks for believing in each other.  And thanks for being part of the (r)evolution of Work.

As most of you know, SOPA, PIPA, censorship, intellectual property, the First Amendment, and the future of the Internet are all being debated today by a wide variety of voices.  Websites like Google and Wikipedia are going dark today as a form of protest.  And Team NextSpace started discussing whether or not our website should go dark in solidarity.  Our website is staying up today, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on why I made that decision.

By way of background, I’ll say that at one point in my life, I had the privilege of raising my right hand and swearing to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.  Our First Amendment rights are something that truly set this country apart.  So I am no fan of censorship, on the Internet or anywhere else.

While thinking about SOPA, I did a little research (read: listened to a couple of stories on NPR!) and discovered that while companies like Google and Amazon who distribute content are against SOPA, companies and organizations that create content (like the film, music and entertainment industry) are for it.  As you know, NextSpace has members who come from both kinds of industries.  At Team NextSpace, we try very hard not to favor one member over another.  Quite the opposite, welcoming and supporting members from a wide range of industries/expertise is something that sets NextSpace apart from other shared office environments.  Indeed, your collective willingness to engage with each other, no matter what your professional or personal backgrounds, is what makes the NextSpace Community a vibrant, thriving place to work.  For that, I thank you.

From a high level, SOPA has emerged from a set of circumstances that sit at the root of many of the challenges that face our society today:  old rules, old models, and old paradigms are butting up against a new reality.  Whenever that happens, things get messy.  And in the case SOPA, I think it’s safe to say that the U.S. Congress may not be the best place to sort out that mess.  Instead, it takes some truly creative, innovative, passionate, visionary people to cut through the mess and develop solutions that will drive us forward.  It just so happens that I know of a place where we can find such people.  Yep, NextSpace.

I know that many of you are passionately interested in the issues surrounding SOPA.  And we love the fact that you’re never shy about sharing your opinions with us or with each other.  So I’m asking you to engage in an authentic, vigorous, respectful debate with each other.  You can do so on the NextSpace email lists, on the comment sections of this blog post, or around the NextSpace coffee pot.  And because of that debate, maybe NextSpace will be the place where a new paradigm or a new business model emerges for a fair and equitable balance between the content creators and the content distributors.  As you know, we call this process the NextSpace Effect™.  Because of you and because of the community that we create together, NextSpace is the only place in the world where you can get it.

So, the NextSpace website will stay up today.  Instead, I’ve asked the members of Team NextSpace to do what they do best:  build and curate a community where ideas discussed and solutions get created.  We can’t do that without all of you.  Again, thank you.

One Minute Manager Summary:

-weekly meetings with staff

-people work better when they feel good

-keep things short and simple

-invest in ppl- you all want the same thing!

-everyone is a potential winner (just got to find it)

Goal Setting:

-write a short list of goals

-review goals often

-point out good behavior and see if it matches your goals

-goals begin with behaviors, consequences maintain behaviors

One Minute Praising:

-people work better with instantaneous feedback

-tell ppl what was done right- be straightforward

-give a moment to react (feel good time)

-encourage more of this

-physical contact (means you support them)

One Minute Reprimand:

-eye contact (tell them you’re going to reprimand)

-do it immediately and be specific

-give a moment to react

-physical contact and say you’re on their side

-remind them of their value and that this was unlike them

-be over and done with it

3 Best Take-Aways:

-people work harder/better when they feel good, are encouraged

-when something goes wrong address it, discuss behavior and feelings

-set goals, review goals, achieve goals

Getting to Yes Summary:

-negotiate without giving in

-learn from doing

-it’s not about who wins, its how you make the deals

-be decent and get what you deserve (it doesn’t have to be one or the other)

Don’t Bargain over positions:

-mix of soft/hard negotiations

-change the game to negotiate on merits

-goals:

-reach wise/fair outcome efficiently/amicably

-solve problem

-yield to principle, not pressure

-what can you do, what can they do and what can a third party do

Separate ppl from problem: (soft on ppl, hard on problem)

-put yourself in their shoes

-understand their thinking

-change their perceptions: send them a message different than expected

-have them participate in process

-all emotions will come (don’t take it personally)

-allow them to let off steam

-don’t react to emotional outbursts

-use symbolic gestures (sometimes all you’ll need is an apology)

-communication is key

-active listening, speak with purpose, speak for understanding

-discuss problem, not the people

-build a working relationship

Focus on interests, not positions:

-behind positions are both shared and opposing interests

-find interests to determine common/uncommon ones

-ask why/why not?

-write them down

-be specific

-each side has multiple interests

-most powerful interests are basic human needs:

-security

-economic well-being

-sense of belonging

-recognition

-control over one’s life

-acknowledge their interests

-demonstrate appreciating their interests so they will appreciate yours

-put the problem before the answer

-look forward, not back

-be concrete yet flexible

Invent multiple options for mutual gain: (invent many, decide later)

-search for many answers, not only one

-separate inventing from deciding by brainstorming

-brainstorm-with your own side & with other side

-before:

1. Define purpose

2. Choose only a few participants

3. Change environment (this’ll suspend judgement)

4. Design informal atmosphere (relax!)

5. Choose one facilitator

-during:

1. Seat ppl on same side (physically will translate to mentally)

2. Clarify ground rules (no criticizing!)

3. Brainstorm-long list from every angle

4. Record ideas in full view (whiteboard)

-after:

1. star best ideas

2. improve/elaborate best ideas

3. set up time to evaluate and decide later (time to think alone helps)

-making offers are more effective than threats or warnings

Use Objective Criteria: principled agreement

-use fair standards (market value, scientific judgement, professional standards, efficiency, costs, moral standards, equal treatment, tradition, etc)

-reason/be open to reason on which standards are most appropriate

Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement (BATNA):

-protect yourself-never go along too quickly

-have a bottom line

-don’t be too committed to reaching an agreement (have an alternative)

-make the most of your assets (what you own/have to leverage)

-develop BATNA:

-develop a list if no agreements are reached

-take some of promising ideas and convert them to practical alternatives

-tentatively select best alternatives

-consider other sides BATNA

Negotiation Jujitsu:

-if they push hard, you’ll want to push back, but don’t push back

-don’t attack their position, look beyond it

-invite criticism/advice to your ideas without defending them

-ask questions and pause (silence is one of your best weapons)

-use “correct me if I’m wrong” phrase; don’t be attacking

-wait to make important decision (don’t make it on the spot)

If They Use Dirty Tricks:

-deliberate deception:

-phony facts (unless there’s a good reason to trust someone, don’t)

-incorrect authority

-just because they are negotiating with you does not meant they have authority to

-it’s legit to ask “how much authority do you have in this negotiation?”

-psychological warfare:

-stressful situation

-physical place of negotiation may’ve been chosen to stress you out (make                                 suggestions for a change in scenery)

-personal attacks-attack appearance, status, refuse to listen, make you repeat         yourself

-good cop, bad cop routine: you naturally want to give in/agree with good cop

-threats

-personal pressure:

-opposite party refuses to negotiate

-find their interest of why they don’t wan to negotiate

-extreme demands- bring this to their attention so they can see how redic it is

-escalate demands

-demands raised, resolved issues reopened

-call this to their attention and take a break (avoids impulse)

Dirty Tricks Helpful Insights

-establish deadlines, if a delay comes up, address it and restate deadline

-take it or leave it, use this tactic if you still cannot negotiate with other side

-don’t be a victim!  treat them/negotiate the same way as you would family/friends

3 Best Take Aways:

-silence is powerful and can be your greatest weapon

-physical placement of people can influence negotiation (sit on same side of table, comfortable environments for both sides of the party)

-treat them as you would family/friends to come to fair and efficient resolutions

October 31, 2011 – Noose Flash: DeathSpace, the co-working environment for the undead and soulless, opens new portals to hell in Los Angeles and San Jose.

DeathSpace is the best co-working option for entrepreneurs and business people who work themselves to death– and beyond. In addition to housing the cadavers of moribund start-ups, this festering meatlocker also serves as an entrepreneurial stinkubator for ghoulish ideas. Many a C-corpse gets its start here, and the DeathSpace community is known for supporting these businesses from seed stage, through expansion stage, all the way to rotting bloat stage. On any given day, a visitor to DeathSpace can witness fetid entrepreneurs vying to ensnare companions on their business’ journey through the valley of death. Like moths to flame, investors can’t get enough of these hell-spawned up-starts, and they can be found pouring over Excel deadsheets to calculate devilnue, cost of good souls, and net burnings for their next promising incestment.

But beware! An anonymous sorcerer warns of the so-called “DeathSpace Effect,” whereby still-redeemable souls are eternally enraptured in this unholy orgy of chaotic commerce. “This place is like Hotel California played by Pantera,” swooned one capitalists of the apocalypse, drunk on theDeathSpace Effect. As maggots spilled from under her blackened tongue, “I wouldn’t trade this for a first-class ticket to hell!” A chorus of gravely voices emanating from both nowhere and everywhere concurred: “This place is a whole coffin of awesome.”

DeathSpace.
The (de)composition of work.

Reported by Matthew Scarichiba

NextSpace Coworking + Innovation, Inc. is one of the coolest spots to work in Santa Cruz.  We need some help managing our coworking community of 200+ freelancers, independent consultants, start-ups, and small businesses.  So we’re hiring a membership coordinator and we’d be honored if you would consider applying.

The NextSpace Community Builder (Ns Ceebee) is part of the NextSpace leadership team and reports directly to the Community Curator. Think of it as the Robin to the Curator’s Batman. S/he coordinates the daily activities required to keep our 200+ members happy and productive, and the space running smoothly.

Duties, Responsibilities, and other Stuff You Do at This Job:

Every NextSpace employee helps to foster, facilitate, and manage the NextSpace community.  We do this so that our members can create products, services, and solutions for the global marketplace.  We work for our members.  Everything you do as the NsMC should be done with this idea in mind.

The NS CeeBee handles all the tasks required to sign up new NextSpace members:  giving tours to prospective members, assisting new members with filling out membership applications, adding new members to our database, adding new members to our social and professional networks, and ensuring new members understand how to use and enjoy all the amenities at NextSpace.

The Ns CeeBee acts as the administrative arm of the dynamic NextSpace leadership duo. Tasks include date entry, calendaring, ordering supplies, interfacing with vendors and setting up and cleaning up for our various events. Some evenings are required with this job, say 2-4 per month Max!

Hey, every job has some not-so-sexy responsibilities.  So there’s always organizing to be done, coffee to be made, messes to be cleaned up, phones to be answered, and 1,001 little details to be attended to.  The Ns CeeBee, along with the entire NextSpace leadership team, will dive into this stuff with gusto and good humor.

Qualifications:

You gotta like people. That’s a big one. Huge, even.
You’ll do really well at this job if you’re self-motivated, detail-oriented, and like to work as part of a team.
You are a whiz with technology, even if you aren’t aware of that yet. This job is about people, and our people are technologists so you are too! We are a Mac shop, so it’s best if you know how to use OS X, though not required. Some of our members have PCs so if you can trouble shoot a few IT issues on a Window’s device that’s a plus. We do expect though that you can write a proper and professional email, browse the interwebs and do online research using The Google.
You are comfortable and interested in social media tools. This includes Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and WordPress.
You like events, can help plan them and don’t mind attending or throwing a few in the evenings each month.
You are a creative troubleshooter who doesn’t stop until the problem is solved.
You don’t mind a little multitasking here and there. In fact, multi-tasking is the name of the coworking game, so you should be able to juggle the phone, your regular tasks and the constant little things that come up by the minute with grace and thoroughness.
You’re a great communicator. Our members are talkative and they wanna talk to you. This is the fun part of the job. Sometimes you gotta talk around a sticky situation and you need to do so with confidence and transparency. This is the challenging part of the job.
We think we’re pretty interesting people (the CEO can juggle flaming torches).  And we like to work with other interesting people.  So we’ll want to know what you do in life besides work.
A sizeable personality that adds to the mix is a plus.

This is a full time (40 hours/week) entry level job and pay is commensurate with experience. Our goal with this job is to train you into the Curator position so this is a career track, you’ve got an exciting future here! Interested?  Please send us a resume, a short statement about why you think you can totally rock this job, and a couple of fun facts about you.  You can reach us at iris (at) nextspace (dot) us.  And be sure to take a spin through www.NextSpace.us as well.  Have fun!

NextSpace is an equal opportunity employer.

At the desk adjacent to Dusty sits Cliff, a branding attorney and amazing cheesecake chef. Cliff first came to NextSpace delivering one of his cheesecakes to a client and learned about coworking at the NextSpace launch party. At this party he won a free month of membership in a drawing and has been a dedicated member ever since.

Another member who’s stuck around from the beginning is the lovely and always dressed to impress Kat. Kat is a sex and intimacy coach who has written multiple books on the subject and often holds conferences for her clients here at the space. Her home away from home is at one of our comfy workstations on the third floor.

Kat’s neighbor, Rod- who is quite fluent in tech-speak, often helps Kat and other members at NextSpace with iPad and Apple issues. He is currently working on a kick-a** app which will change the way you choose and watch movies. In a nut shell it’s like a Pandora but for movies (how (r)evolutionary!). Keep an ear out for the launch of this world-shaking app!

Another way Rod shakes the community here at the space is in his generous supply of buttery croissants. He brings breakfast treats with him every day he’s at NextSpace because if he “gets one croissant, why not get a dozen”. Rod has earned quite a nice reputation and loads of good karma from all the NextSpace foodies. When you see croissants in the kitchen you know that Rod must be around!

It surely is a diverse, intellectual, go-getting crowd here at NextSpace. My favorite part of the huge spectrum is introducing others who work in completely different realms, then finding they have numerous common interests. NextSpace is truly the workplace for the new economy; we cowork across ages, genders, industries, and (of course) with warm croissants.