Although the Company of Friends passed the 150-cell mark some time ago, it's still finding previously uncharted territory to enter, and it's still finding previously untapped enthusiasm to build upon. In March, two longtime members of the FC community launched a CoF cell in Morristown, New Jersey -- the first ever in the Garden State -- and the cell has taken off at a dizzying rate of acceleration. More than 75 people joined the cell within two months of its launch, and right from the start, the group found itself designing innovative event formats.

With the help of founding coordinators Dave Buck and Maria Sariego, the cell's 12-member 'design team' organized several activities in very short order. At the launch event in late March, the group watched and discussed 'Good to Great,' a videotape of a presentation at an FC RealTime gathering by Jim Collins (author of the best-selling business classic Built to Last). In early April, the group took part in a 'living article' conference call with FC senior editor Charles Fishman, who talked about his recent cover story on customer service ('But Wait, You Promised?. ,' April 2001). And in late April, the group met with Bill Jensen, author of Simplicity, to help him develop ideas for his next book, tentatively titled 'Work 2.0.'

Equally impressive, cell members have already established a set of design principles for their organization -- principles that any networking group, or any team or company, should take seriously. Fast Company spoke with Buck and Sariego about the group dynamics of this dynamic group.

Don't forget: Names matter

At its inaugural meeting, the cell's planning team decided not to call itself, well, a 'planning team.' Team members also decided to avoid the term 'steering committee.' Instead, they dubbed their group the 'design team.' 'Designing is way more fun than steering,' says Buck, 39, a consultant and coach in Hopatcong, New Jersey. 'And being on a team is way more fun than being on a committee.' Similarly, members of the cell don't just ask FC writers to meet with them in a 'conference call'; they invite writers to participate in a 'living article.'

Don't overstructure success

'We're careful not to overengineer the cell,' says Sariego, 39, a free-agent personal coach in Bedminster, New Jersey, who also works as a change consultant at Avaya Inc. Buck adds that too much structure can quell creativity. 'Our cell has a slogan -- 'Doing cool things with cool people' -- and the key word there is 'doing,' ' he says. 'The group should be a place where people can experiment.'

Don't just listen -- learn

In its events, the group strives to go beyond passively absorbing information from a speaker. Take the living-article format. 'It's not about getting an author on the phone to talk about an article,' Buck says. 'It's about getting 50 people on the phone to explore themes from the story. Instead of just listening to someone speak, we focus on promoting discovery and creation.'

Coordinates: Dave Buck, dave@davebuck.com; Maria Sariego, maria@workandsoul.com