We want YOU to be part of something great.
To share a vision with us and make it happen.
Bell Parc is my invented name, lets just get that out of the way first. I’ve taken it as my name and as the name of this venture. I can’t say when I came up with the name, but I can tell you how I came up with it.
“Bell” comes from Bell Laboratories, a company of immense influence and inspiration to me. Founded in 1880 by Alexander Graham Bell the company has gone though a series of incredible development stages. Previously of AT&T it is currently the Research and Development subsidiary of Alcatel Lucent. At its peak, Bell Labs was the most amazing facility of its kind in the world. Just some of the incredible technologies which came out of it include:
To date seven Nobel Prizes have been awarded for work completed at Bell Labs.
PARC comes of course from the famous Xerox PARC, Palo Alto Research Centre. The PARC is the entity responsible for so many of the great innovations we take for granted today:
It has such an incredibly rich history of innovation and downright straight-out invention. It allowed incredibly smart guys the freedom to work on projects of passion. If The PARC had a downside, it was that it was that it was weak on commercialising its great ideas. I read the story years ago of the young Steve Jobs visiting the PARC and being overwhelmingly inspired by what they were doing. Apple of course was the first to commercialize GUI and forever change the way we use computers.
So that’s the “who” bit. Now, the “what”& “why” and “how” bits.
Bell Parc stands for something I truly believe in; To Create Organizing VisionsTM.
Let me explain. Firstly, it comes out of change. So much is changing so quickly today and from where I stand, so-much of the change we find ourselves immersed in comes about organically, consequentially and reactively. It seems lacking in leadership, in a clear vision. The leader of my countries major political parties openly conducts a MO of “a small target strategy,” that is, keep your head down, don’t say anything controversial, don’t rock any boats and keep as close to the status quo – the biggest voter base as possible. I find that unacceptable.
I believe that people just like you and I are seeking leadership, wanting to be inspired by a meaningful vision, wanting to participate in movements which will make the world they live in a better, safer, cleaner, greener and happier place and yet, those visions are few and far between.
Don’t ask me why, but I think I do visions well. I’m not good at much stuff, (maybe swimming & I used to be a good high-jumper once) but when I think about something, I tend to be able to see how it might work if only… It reminds me of a trait a good friend of mine used to talk about some years ago. It was when we were all in our late twenties and sort of at the point of thinking about getting into a meaningful long-term relationship. He made me laugh at the time because he was saying that he was locked in this mindset that every girl he met he couldn’t help instantly jumping ahead twenty years and imagining that they were married with two kids a dog and mortgage. This happened within 10 seconds of meeting her. The point I’m trying to make is this, I believe the world is in need of some powerful, meaningful and clearly defined visions and as I don’t seem to see many people defining them, I thought I’d audaciously take it upon myself to have a go.
That brings me to the “Creating” part. Sometimes a person’s natural life experience compels them to create a vision. MADD is a great example. Fact is though I believe some visions can be created arbitrarily and still compel people to want to participate. That’s what Bell Parc has been ‘created’ to do. Not every vision has to be about changing the world or curing cancer. Visions, or perhaps micro-visions, vistas, are needed everywhere and that is the mission of Bell Parc. Every vision we create I intend to document and discuss on my blog, The Phenomenon Experiment. I intend to discuss openly and without reservation why it has worked, failed or otherwise. I am thinking of it as an on-the-job learning exercise specifically set up to understand, and perhaps even codify, the formula for creating visions.
The “Organizing” part is equally interesting. I know from personal experience the enormous commitment of time and energy required to run and grow a business. No one person can do it all. That’s why I specifically use the term Create Organizing Visions, because I believe that great visions can be in a sense, self-organizing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying YouTube doesn’t have a team of committed staff who work very hard behind the scenes to allow it to happen, but look where the real work is done, its done by the people who themselves organise the vision and generate the greatness (and the crap).
The organizing part of my plan is, I admit, not clearly formed. At this stage of the project I propose to create the visions and invite those who are inspired by them to participate in the organizing. How and at what level they/you choose to participate is up to you.
Because it’s inspiring. Because it’s never been done before. Because I think it will make the world a better place.
Someone far wiser that me once said “The journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step.” How is a process and it will be different each time. I anticipate new models of business and enterprise will be forged along the way. I expect operational challenges and obstacles. I trust that if the idea is inspiring enough, and someone wants to be involved badly enough, that we can negotiate speed-humps like ownership and remuneration as we go. Don’t ask me how now, just jump in and lets see what comes out of it, all together.
Having not seen anything like this done before I have taken it upon myself to get it done. Bell Parc, that is me and this enterprise, is/are proposing to create and organize visions. We/I (whatever) propose to lead into a place that I've always wanted to explore but to where no-one I've ever seen has been. I, with your help, intend to create not one but multiple phenomenon. I invite you to follow, participate, experience, and yourself, inspire actions.
