Discovering common ground : how future search conferences bring people together to achieve breakthrough innovation, empowerment, shared vision, and collaborative action

This book brings together cases from around the world of an approach to strategic planning, empowerment, consensus building and whole systems improvement. Hundreds of organisations and interest groups in business, government and the nonprofit sector have used this approach to create shared vision, innovation, commitment, and collaborative action that exceed what people thought possible. In this approach - called "future searches", "search conferences" or simply "searches" - people from all walks of life who have a stake in an organisation or issue (employees, managers, customers, suppliers, owners, and community and government groups) come together for two or three days to explore their mutual past, present and future in a global context. Using a self-managing format, they seek common ground among their diverse interests, invent ideal futures rather than work old problems, and generate creative strategies, action plans, and broad-based commitment to implement strategies and plans.