How to plan for a one-day meeting to sustain the IV of hope conversations
Dear Friend,
The recent summit in New York
offered a powerful example of how the Images and Voices of Hope conversations
can ignite a shared commitment to transformation.
For those of you who are starting conversation or who are puzzling over
how to keep momentum going, I'd like to reflect with you on the key aspects
to opening and sustaining a successful conversation. I think there are five
key aspects:
- The role of the core team
- Great questions
- Commitment of a full day
- Open Space methodology
- Communication Architecture
The Role of the Core Team
It takes a close and committed core team to hold the focus of a sustained
conversation. The role of the core team involves:
- Recruiting/inviting people to the conversation who are interested in or
at least available for this conversation. Remember that powerful movements
rarely start with the establishment in the status quo. They almost always
start with visionaries at the periphery. (At one point Bill Gates, Lech
Walesa, and Ted Turner were all dismissed by IBM, the Soviet government,
and CBS respectively.)
- Holding a welcoming space conducive to in-depth conversation
- Keeping in touch with participants before and after the conversation.
A strong core team emerges most often from regularly scheduled meetings
over a number of months. During these meetings the team develops a deeper
understanding of the subject, resources, related issues, Appreciative Inquiry
methodologies, etc.
Great Questions
Dave Cooperrider is fond of saying, "We live in worlds our questions
create." Great conversations are generated by powerful questions that elicit
positive history and invite participants to look at the inner qualities they
want to conserve and expand in the world.
The questions for the 2001 summit address the umbrella question: "What
would it be like if Media were an agent of world benefit?"
AI questions do not ask, "how did it get so bad?" "What is the cause of
our fear?" etc. The principle here is that whatever we ask about (how it got
bad, fear, etc.), we get more of that.
The Summit Questions are attached here (coming soon).
Commitment of a Full Day
This is probably the biggest leap of faith. Remember with IV of Hope, our
intention is transformation. Transformation rarely begins with a short post
dinner conversation. It begins because people have an experience that moves
them. Many of the most powerful conversations (The
Summit, the
Santiago retreat,
Rhode Island), were twelve
hours or more.
The schedule for one day might look like this (although if you have more
time for walking and reflection, it will make for a much nicer day!):
- 8:00 Breakfast
- 9:00 Opening remarks
- 9:30 - 11:00 Interviews
- 11:00 Break
- 11:30 - 12:30 Small groups introduce partner, talk about themes
- 12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
- 1:30 -- Plenary session to hear from groups
- 2:30 "open space" - people post ideas they want to work on. (If
too many, combine some together)
- 3:30 Groups gather around ideas they want to work on with others
- 4:30 Break
- 5:00 Present ideas to plenary
- 6:00 Final chance for groups to plan next steps, exchange
contact information, etc.
- 6:30 or 7:00 Close
Support for a day such as this requires:
- Questions for each participant
- Worksheets for task groups (copied and distributed with one extra copy
for a core team member.)
- Flip Chart paper and markers for open space (2 to 3 large pads is best)
- Core team agrees to follow-up with different members supporting
different groups.
- Create and distribute contact list.
Open Space Methodology
In a traditional AI intervention in an organization, the core design team
will work with the organization to create a dream and an explicit design to
transform the standard practices and systems of the organization. In a
"public conversation" people come from various sectors of a community because
of a shared commitment to a bigger idea. The diversity of these groups
requires that they have time to begin to create rapport and share some ideas
so that a clear direction can be formed. Open Space methodology provides a
way for this to happen.
In Open Space methodology, each person who wants to champion an idea
writes it on a flip chart and announces it to the room, inviting others to
join him/her in a specified location in the room. If there are too many
ideas, time is allowed by those convening others around an idea to broker
among themselves as to how to combine similar ideas so as to have a larger
group to work on each idea.
The group is given a generous amount of time to talk through the idea and
a task sheet to fill out that captures key points.
When the group has filled out the task sheet, a member of the support team
makes enough copies for each person in the group and one person from the core
team and hands them back to the group leader to distribute. This assures that
everyone in the group is on the same page as they make their plans to go
forward.
Communication Architecture
The key to sustaining these conversations is providing a support for their
ongoing communication. Some aspects of this are:
- Genuine interest, outreach, and participation by a core team member.
- Creation of a listserve to facilitate communication among the group. (listserves
are sometimes a part of a website package.)
- Follow-up meeting dates for groups to meet.
Some unseen aspects of a successful conversation:
- The use of silence (short, reflective spaces) in which people can
internalize what is going on for them.
- The use of films. (We have several available) and art to deepen the
experience
- Time for the group to engage socially and to network with one another
- Reading materials that may deepen their understanding of a subject.
- There is a network of AI consultants around the world who may be
willing to make themselves available to help with your conversation.
I hope this helps with your conversation. Please keep us informed of your
progress.
With warm regards,
Judy Rodgers
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