How this helped:
It helped us avoid burnout when we tried to continually stay in a "expanding" phase for too long. When people were no longer on different phases than each-other our coordination costs decreased.
Structure
One Phase Expanding
For example one phase may be 2 weeks where teams are working externally:
a greater focus on the operations of the organization;
create new relationships, attend events, etc;
write and share code & articles, etc;
etc
One Phase Contracting
The contracting phase is of equal length and priority where teams work internally:
a greater focus to the people, purpose, and governance processes of the organization;
following through with existing relationships and build community;
