Seattle, Washington Here at the Systems Thinking in Action conference doing a variety of things, including playing with my friends Teresa POsakony, Tenneson Woolf, Peggy Holman, Gabriel Shirley, Nancy White, Amy Lenzo and Anne Stadler. We are together co-hosting a conversation space here at the conference which is a place for amplifying the questions and insights that re flowing from the plenary and breakout sessions. This morning, Teresa, Tenneson, Gabriel and I practiced a new form of keynote harvesting. Debra Meyerson, author of “Tempered Radicals” was speaking on her work and we passed around a laptop and recorded …
William van den Ende posted this really nice diagram that helps to think about the relationship between websites, users, conferences and content. I’m working with a number of clients at the moment who are struggling to marry their work to the web, and especially to the social web. THey are all not-for-profit organizations (or for-benefit, as I have started saying). This diagram is very helpful, if for no other reason than it gives us a context in which to offer specific conversations.
I’m happy to announce that this coming June 22-28 I will be teaching with my dear friends Toke Moeller and Monica Nissen at the Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership in Nova Scotia. We will be teaching a module called “The Art of Hosting and Harvesting: From Strategic Conversation to Wise Action to Systemic Change.” We would be delighted if you would consider joining us and the other great teachers who are assembled for the 2008 programme.
Putting a bokmark here for the idea of social objects, which has much to do with some of the thinking we are doing on harvesting these days. Social objects are, if I understand them correctly, exactly the kind of powerful collective harvest that we can help co-create with a well designed conference, or other social initiative. More to come…and thanks to John Dumbrille for turning me on the idea while he stood next to me at a Hallowe’en disco party last night dressed like a Kitsilano steroid monkey.
Tomorrow I am facilitating the Open Space portion of the “Live in Public:the Art of Engagement” gathering in Open Space. In addition to the event running in meatspace, there is a live site on which you can follow along and play. The site is the primary harvest point for all that is happening at the conference and is a great example of a real time harvest. See you there, either in person, or online!