Good faith MOU

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a contract. A soured relationship is not helped by the existence of a contract. By the time it is “needed,” an MOU is a hammer applied too late in the context of growing and nurturing a team. The writing of a MOU can be extremely valuable. Writing the MOU lets the team spell out what they think is important in relationships. It lets individuals say what they need to be successful and whole in their work. It is an exercise in trust building and empathetic understanding of others. As a non-contractual document, we could call this a good faith MOU. It is a social contract, to be upheld by everyone on a team in all their work.

This is a living and aspirational document. It does not need to be perfect. We will revisit it as part of our retrospective process, and can edit, grow, or shrink it as needed. Footnotes are used to capture actions and behaviors we can engage in to work towards our aspirations.

• Warmth. We are, first and foremost, human beings worthy of respect and compassion, continuing to live at work under pandemic conditions. We all are experiencing this differently. While our cup may feel more or less full on any given day, we aspire to bring our most compassionate selves to the work we do and our interactions with our colleagues.
• Trust. Trust is earned through words and actions. It comes from doing what we say we will do, when we say we will do it. It comes from saying when we misjudged, and our goals might not be achieved the way we hoped. Open, honest communication is foundational to trust.
  • Across the team, we consistently expressed that we value accountability, transparency, and regular open/frank communication. These are all things that lay foundations for trust.
• Working in the open. As federal employees, our work grows the public domain. As much as possible, we also hope our words and actions might model how this work can also take place openly. In doing so, it encourages others to contribute to our efforts of improving the government and it’s processes for the benefit of the people.
  • Clear commitments and transparent milestones are more easily achieved when the work is open.
• Collaboration. We value working together. It is easier to brainstorm, to explore ideas, to get unstuck, and to push each other when we are working together.
• Documentation. Our work should be documented. More specifically, we should 1) try and document the rationale for important design decisions (without which, we might “roll back” a decision that was made for good reason), 2) document work products (so that others can pick them up and continue the work), and 3) document reflections (so that we can communicate what and why about our work led to success or failure).
• Be bold. In open, collaborative work, being bold means many things. It might mean not asking permission, especially when using tools where changes can easily be rolled back. With regards to our thinking, it means avoiding mental locks, like believing we have to do things that are logical, or that we have to come up with the right answer. While it is true that we have milestones to achieve, part of good agile practice is also knowing how and when to pivot, and that occasionally requires us to be bold. The appendix provides a bit more context for what it might mean to “be bold.”

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A Whack on the Side of the Head

Roger von Oech wrote the book A Whack on the Side of the Head. It’s a fun book. A light read.

At the core of this (small) book are ten mental locks that we tend to constrain ourselves with. “Is that the right answer?” “Are we following the rules?” “Can we be practical for a moment?”

These phrases have their time and place. But, we also want to question them as part of our 10x-funded entrepreneurial work, and make sure that we’re challenging ourselves to deliver the best value to our partners (IMLS, SDCs, and library systems/librarians) and the people. We do this by balancing well-established practices with a willingness to make mistakes and try things that are new (to us, or to everyone).

1. The Right Answer
2. That's Not Logical
3. Follow the Rules
4. Be Practical
5. Play Is Frivolous
6. That's Not My Area
7. Don't Be Foolish
8. Avoid Ambiguity
9. To Err Is Wrong
10. I'm Not Creative