DAOs as Playgrounds for Growth and Development

Infinite vs. Finite: Are you playing to win or playing so that you can keep on playing? Finite games are games that come to an end; these are the everyday games we play with the goal of winning. Infinite games are played with the goal of continuing play, requiring players to invite others, explore the boundaries of what’s possible, and when necessa... See more

one of the most promising aspects of guilds is their ability to provide opportunities for personal growth and professional development by taking advantage of the natural human instinct to explore our curiosity and engage in play.

Games with Positive Externality: There are certain games we can play that result in a positive externality where both the individual and an increasingly wider set of people benefit from the outcome. An example of positive externalities is when a gardener produces a bountiful harvest that can support themselves and feed their community, while also p... See more

DAOs are playgrounds for exploring design challenges in areas like governance, organizational structure, community incentives, personal sovereignty, and professional development. But even with an emphasis on exploration, creating engagement is hard; it requires an opt-in system and self-directed members who are accountable and striving to level up.

While online courses can promote and encourage growth-mindset-type learning, they fall short for developing soft skills that are required for human flourishing and development. This is the hard work of leading, sharing an idea, collaborating with others, building a team, and showing up with preparedness and readiness. DAOs are the ultimate playgrou... See more

Lessons from MMORPGS: You define your role. You are responsible for creating your own adventure and customizing your role. In these games, players assume an identity, which in DAOs means carving out and defining your role and its responsibilities.

Regenerative Games: Regenerative games are designed to regrow, renew, or restore systems, especially those that are damaged or lost like the environment, financial systems, and the well being of society. Regenerative initiatives are frequently designed for environmental and biological systems, but can also occur at the individual and organizational... See more

It is important to take on tasks and roles , and then continue to develop and grow into other roles. Explore the edges of your comfort zone. Cultivating a growth mindset is critical to thrive in DAOs and is required to create an active, engaged community around a shared mission or purpose.

Zero Sum: Modern culture loves to play zero-sum games, where one person wins and everyone else loses. We see this in our sports, politics, and yes, in our careers. Our education systems have been designed around these zero-sum games where the goal is to plug you into the system as a ‘good worker’ in order to keep the corporate machine (and the econ... See more

Positive-Sum: Positive-sum games are win-win games that occur when resources are increased and an approach is designed where the desires and needs of everyone involved are satisfied.