Interview with Jim McCarthy

• October 15, 2012• 3 min•

Earlier this year, Agile San Diego hosted Jim McCarthy to speak about his really interesting book, Software For Your Head.  Over the past few month, Agile San Diego arranged for Jim to visit San Diego from Dec 3rd to Dec 6th to host a San Diego Bootcamp.   For those of you who are unfamiliar, I conducted a short email interview with Jim in September asking him about Bootcamp and why it is important.

Carlton Nettleton (CN): What is Bootcamp?

Jim McCarthy (JM): BootCamp is a team formation and product development simulation. It is known for being a transformative experience. It is the best available means to learn how to get any team to a state of shared vision and multi-personal flow. It is also a great introduction  to the Core culture and protocols.

CN: What is the Core?

JM: The Core is a system of commitments and specified behaviors that, when adopted by a group (“booted”), will greatly accelerate the team’s connection, intensify their vision and ambition, and create a state of multipersonal flow.

CN: Why is understanding the Core important today?

JM: The Core is increasingly understood to be the most “state of the art” culture tech available. It is emerging as a common platform for cultural innovation, is the practical enabler of widespread culture hacking. It is one of if not the first designed, portable, replicable cultures, or at least the kernel thereof. If you haven’t mastered the Core over the next few years, you will be well off the mainstream path. If, on the other hand, you do, you will be happier, more effective and able to connect instantly and much more deeply with teams and people from all over the world. You will be able to realize many new opportunities likely to open up.

CN: Why should someone want to attend Bootcamp?  What new insights can they expect to gain?

JM: They will discover the magic of personal and team alignment; they will discover at a very deep level what they want; they will experience the exalted state of shared vision; they may well see the world they will spend their life creating. Most students report a genuine mountaintop experience and that they grew personally well beyond any expectations, or even any possible expectations. They will see how mature connection and heartfelt engagement creates abundant time and multiplies other resources that were previously understood to be in short supply. If they are smart and brave enough to bring spouses/so and children (as our guests), they will get an enormous hit of energy into those relationships.

CN: If I attend Bootcamp, what should I expect during Bootcamp?  After Bootcamp?

JM: You should expect to disclose what you feel think and want. You should expect to deal with your authority issues. You should expect to be vulnerable generally. You should expect to have to ask if you want answers. You should expect to learn all about asking for help. You should expect to create beautiful and ambitious things. You should expect to read a very good book, probably multiple times. You should expect that a small percentage of you peers may decline to participate, even after starting. You should expect to be surprised and even astonished.

Basically, you should expect what you should expect in a well-lived life J.

After BootCamp, you will have many more beloved friends, we hope including us. Everything will be different. We will help you. Not “taking it back”: is harder than “taking it back.”

CN: When is the next Bootcamp in San Diego and how do I sign-up?

JM: Dec 3rd-6th. This camp also includes a one-time only special experiment with contribution-based fee structure.  Also, we rarely personally conduct an open enrollment BootCamp. Please join us!

To attend, contact our brave, committed local host, Erik G.H. Meade (socalbootcamp-m_at_eghm.net).

For more information