Crafting a Self-Sustaining Community Culture: The Power of Ritual, Purpose, and Shared Identity

Crafting a !Self-Sustaining Community Culture!

!The Power of Ritual, Purpose, and Shared Identity

!!!Emily Castor!Director of Community Relations, Lyft @emilycastor

As community people, we’re passionate about

1:1 connections

Authentic 1:1 personal connections are meaningful,

emotional, and sticky.

How do you scale this without hiring an army?

I have a confession.

I majored in Women’s Studies.

I studied feminism and other social movements

I never thought it would get me a job.

Neither did my parents.

I learned radical ideas about where

identity comes from.

Identity is something we perform

Every day, through thousands of tiny

actions, we create our identities.

Identity is produced by rituals.

We learn by watching others, then repeat

what we see.

Our rituals also shape our emotions.

!

(Smile and try not to feel happy!)

No puppet master is making it happen.

Rituals scale culture organically.

In P2P communities, culture matters a lot.

It forms the user experience.

How can we change how people feel about riding with strangers?

How can we change how people feel about riding with strangers?

How can we change how people feel about

giving rides to strangers?

Create a different ritual.

Create a different identity.

Create a different emotion.

The mustache is a smile.

Sit in the front seat.

Fistbump. (Don’t flump!)

Hang out.

Be creative.

Build a strong culture based on rituals your

community can repeat.

Powerful 1:1 interactions can happen without you.

Let community leaders be the shamans.

(They’ll come up with better stuff than you do!)

But why should they care?

You’re doing this because you want to

change the world.

Ask your community to join you in that mission.

Give them a sense of purpose.

Meaning. Impact. Recognition. More than material rewards.

Remember: Identity and emotion stem from our rituals.

Rituals people observe and repeat.

Learn the Ritual

Repeat it

Identity & Emotion

Teach rituals to build a meaningful

shared identity

An aspirational identity that lyfts people up to who they want to be

Where do !rituals start?!

Where do rituals start?!Your product.

Your CRM. Community platforms.

Communications. Events.

Connect your community to each other.

They will perpetuate and enrich your culture through 1:1 interactions

on their own.

Let the magic happen.

Crafting a !Self-Sustaining Community Culture!

!The Power of Ritual, Purpose, and Shared Identity

!!!Emily Castor!Director of Community Relations, Lyft @emilycastor