staying as a boot after an event

The three boots that have now been here the longest (fred (five years), jen (1.5 years) and josiah (1.5 years)) all started here with a PDC.  And decided to be in the bootcamp.  

And then we got to a point where we had more people wanting to be in the bootcamp than we could handle, so we started a waiting list.  

Then we got to a point in november where our boot population dropped and we could take two more boots.  Zero takers.  

So in the warm months, we have too many, and in the cold months we have too few.  


Today the question was put to me:  what if somebody comes to our summer events and then wants to stay on as a boot?    Hmmmm ....  I guess it depends.  I talked with josiah a bit about it.   The big questions are stuff that have nothing to do with the person asking:

  how full is the bootcamp at the moment?
  how many people are coming in the next batch of boots?
  when does the next batch of boots even arrive?
  how many people want to join the bootcamp after the event?
  how many boots are in the courses and returning to the bootcamp afterward?

And then there are things that have everything to do with the person asking:

  how many podcasts have they listened to?
  have they read the books?
  how many BBs do they have?
  did they support past kickstarters?
  how did they do during the events?
  do they seem like they would be easy to work with?  Possibly even leadership material?
  are they gonna hang around for a couple of weeks or many years?
  are they already on the bootcamp waiting list?
  do they bring mad skills to the table?

And then there's ethics:

  this person would sorta be cutting in line ahead of other people on the waiting list
      - but in the last call on the waiting list, did we ask for four people and got zero?  In which case, there would be no cutting
      - maybe we asked for four and exactly four people stepped up - so there would be no cutting
  this person clearly has more skin in the game by buying a ticket to the event, so that is easily justified to people on the waiting list

This is a lot of variables!  

Probably the biggest issue right now is managerial load.   Some people come and magically make things easier on the managers.    And other people come and make things harder on the managers.  Too many people come and say they make things easier on the managers, but really they make things much harder.  

The odd thing is, you would think knowledgeable people would universally make things easier - but it is usually the opposite.  It is lovely, thoughtful people that tend to make things easier:  Showing up on time, accepting difficult or less-fun tasks, paying attention, respectful and patient communication, paying attention to instructions, paying attention to surroundings, thinking of safety, working to get along with others ...

In the end, it sounded a bit like the managers would like to visit with such a person during the event(s) and make a decision.  

It would also be more ethical to the environment for someone already there to stay rather than traveling across the country only to come back some months later. I think many would be ok with that. Maybe it could be worked into the program sometime in the future: Going to an event equals kinda like PIE status for the bootcamp list.

I agree that having someone who is on the boot camp list if they’ve already had interest and invested their fees, should get first dibs. Then if there is no one who steps forward, the ‘cutting in line’ comment, then yes, someone like myself who is taking a course and wants to be a part of the community and share skills, could step in. I’ve already paid my boot camp fees and looking forward to leaning into a cooperative environment with others. I bring excellent deep listening and communication skills. I’m living in northern Maine at an intensive yoga retreat where all the help is work-trade, all meals are communally prepared, and regular daily check-ins keep the flow steady from guests to staff. There seems to be a great opportunity to learn at the labs, yet, working/living cooperatively for 5 years I understand the dynamic of folks who maybe feel they are helpful but are not. I think the key is keeping clear dialogue and fantastic leadership in projects.