Independents Hall: Co-working and Beyond

Here is a link to one of the best About pages I've ever seen.  Alex Hillman explains what co-working is, what  Independents Hall is, how it originated, who is involved, where they are going and what has inspired them.  Masterfully succinct.

My first reaction to Independents Hall was, "young, hip, freelance-type-computer-dudes gathered together in a cave grooving with a pict."  For the sake of accurate disclosure, that truly was my very first thought, but only for a second.  Then I thought this is a brilliant idea and fruits of the cross pollinating type of atmosphere have yet to even be imagined. 

Then, at the fifteen second interval of my thinking, I thought of my dad...

My dad is seventy-seven years old and has been a Wally-Mart Greeter for twelve years.  Prior to that he spent forty years in large grocery store management and worked in that business for over fifty years.  He is a gold mine of retail store management.  Early on at Wally-Mart he tried to offer advice but got the what-does-that-old-man know vibes.  So he shut it down and did something for the very first time in his life.  He punched in and he punched out - with no value given in between other than to hand out carts and to be friendly.

How many folks are out there in our workforce today like my dad?  Walking gold mines just waiting to be harvested.

So, at the forty-second interval I thought, wouldn't it be cool if some old dudes could hang out with some young dudes at places like Independents Hall?

I've had this story in the stable for over a month.  After reading Lost Knowledge by Dave Simanoff of the Tampa Tribune I had to open the barn door and let it out.

Comments

[Steve Sherlock]

Happy Birthday, Dave.

The stories your father could tell... has anybody captured them? I am recording my father's story and it is a great learning experience on several fronts.

[Steve Sherlock]

Happy Birthday, Dave.

The stories your father could tell... has anybody captured them? I am recording my father's story and it is a great learning experience on several fronts.

[dave]

Thanks Steve! I have thought about recording stories for many years. I studied up on the techniques of oral histories. But I haven't.

I wonder, can conversations on Skype be recorded?

[Alex Hillman]

Hey Dave!
Great post...we do have a couple of those "old dudes" who not only hang out, but totally keep up. It's great to see them get interested and inspired by the younger crowd. They bring new and different questions than the rest of us have, and have totally different outlooks on the tools and technology we work with every day. It really does rule.

Also, thanks for the compliment on our "about" page. :-)

Cheers,
Alex

[David DeLong]

Dave,

You might find my book of interest: "Lost Knowledge: Confronting the the Threat of an Aging Workforce." It addresses exactly the issue you are experiencing with your father. However, my book focuses primarily on solutions -- what we need to be doing with people like your father to preserve their knowledge. You can learn more at my website: www.LostKnowledge.com --David DeLong

[dave]

Thanks Alex! A glimpse into this one post might reveal an irreverent tone towards older folk. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have the utmost respect to those older than I and "old dudes" is meant with affection.

Thanks for the heads up David! I will check it out.