I just opened space here for 550 people at the Food and Society Conference. This was the biggest OST gathering I have ever facilitated, and it’s huge in importance as well. There must have been close to 100 sessions proposed for today and I’m just gathering my energy for a long day and night ahead of compiling the proceedings document. I’m a stranger to the good food movement in the United States, and so it’s hard for me to know what the agenda looks like, but like all Open Space events I trust that it is what is needed right …
Taking a moment here in the newsroom to blog a little about the WK Kellogg Foundation Food and Society 2008 gathering here in Phoenix. It is halfway through day one of this two-plus day gathering to look at connecting and inspiring leadership in the good food movement across the USA. For the past nine months my Art of Hosting colleagues Tim Merry, Toke Moeller, Tuesday Ryan-Hart, Monica Nissen and Phil Cass and I have been working with the Kellogg Foundation and their partner Winrock International to craft a conference that was fundamentally different from the previous eight conferences that have …
I had a lovely conversation the other day with Rob Paterson and Johnnie Moore as we discussed three videos that are lovely examples of living systems in action. It was all recorded and uploaded at The Phoric, and I encourage you to go there and have a look and listen to our conversation. Thanks to Rob and Johnnie for the invitation. What fun!
From a conversation with Tenneson this morning, we were playing with a pattern of shifting systems that flows from skilfully hosted conversations. A simple pattern emerged, which is about bringing people together, shifting power and developing and hosting emerging beauty. In a linear form it goes like this: Gather people together from wholeness, including inviting the deeply personal into the work. Understand and work with a willingness to shift power. Cultivate curiosity: what could we really do together? Harvest what our Navajo friends call “the beauty way” a way forward that serves life and keeps people engaged in …
A great quote from a fun article on knuckleballers: “Throwing a knuckleball for a strike is like throwing a butterfly with hiccups across the street into your neighbor’s mailbox” – Willie Stargill.