Transformation in Turbulent Times - November 17, 2008.pdf

Transformation in Turbulent Times - Bibliography.pdf

T3 - Interests & Reflections.pdf

An_Organizational_Ecocycle[1].pdf

Meeting Summary

The monthly meeting began with 30 minutes of social gathering time.  The group then watched a clip from the movie “Smoke.”  The clip involved the owner of a Brooklyn smoke shop who allows a writer dealing with grief, as well as the audience, to look beyond the seemingly unchanged day to day occurrences on a local street and to really take notice of the little details of life that we often miss. 

The group then spent some time with what insights the movie clip provided about organizations.  This was done through personal reflection followed by time spent in pairs or small groups for discussions.   There was some discussion about the importance of taking time to slow our pace down and to notice when we do that, we see things that we didn’t notice before.   

The discussion then moved to sustaining organizations, what sustainable organizational practices are, and what makes an organization sustainable.  The group discussed why certain organizations decline and the causes of decline.  The group explored the role of management, adjustments that need to occur within organizations, and shared strategies that would allow us to help organizations.  This included methods such as: Appreciative Inquiry, Future Search, Open Space Technology, Theory U, World Café, etc.

We then transitioned to looking at the Cycle of Organizations.  There was a visual representation provided on the back wall of what this cycle would look like which seemed to look much like the infinity symbol.  The group discussed the various stages from the beginning stages through stages of crisis to charismatic leadership and beyond.  There seemed to be good energy around this through to the close of the meeting.