When faced with a crisis that threatened everything they stood for, 600 people from across the country representing all functions and levels of this organization came together to share their concerns and hopes for the future. As they listened to each other, participants quickly recognized how important it was to set aside their own agendas around “back home” issues and come together for the greater cause. By telling their stories and sharing their diverse perspectives through the four-day meeting, it was obvious that their fellow brothers and sisters shared many of the same concerns they were dealing with “back home”. Their sense of urgency was heightened as a panel of speakers painted a picture of the external factors (social, political, and economic) that threaten to dismantle what this organization has worked so hard to preserve for over seventy years. Futurists shared their ideas about what was on the horizon, e.g. trends, demographics, etc. and how the organization might be impacted. The cynicism and skepticism that prevailed when the meeting started began to dissipate. Rather than blaming and pointing fingers, the discussion quickly turned to “How do we combine our energy and resources to deal with our challenges? What are our priorities and what should we be focusing on right now?!” The group then turned its attention to discussing and enriching the proposed strategy for moving the organization forward. There was a buzz in the room as participants passionately debated the priorities for the organization and worked to consensus to give their input to the proposed mission, vision, values and strategic goals such as growing the organization’s membership and increasing its visibility. The leadership team along with volunteers chosen by their peers worked late into the night to revise the strategy incorporating the wisdom of the larger group in such a way that everyone felt heard and proud that they were able to influence the future of the organization. The re-write team presented their work the following morning and everyone rose to their feet in support of the new strategy and to show their appreciation. The next step was to begin identifying the actions that must be taken in support of the newly agreed-upon strategy. For each goal, participants looked into the future and brainstormed vivid images of what was happening, what they were seeing and hearing that told them they were making progress and moving the organization in the right direction. Next, hundreds of ideas for actions to move them toward the future they yearned for were generated at the tables and participants had an opportunity to vote for the ideas they felt should be implemented first. Laptop computers at each table enabled the data gathering in such a way that the results could be seen in “real time”. The entire room was able to quickly get a read on the direction they should be taking and what their individual and collective roles were in moving the strategy forward. When asked to brainstorm ways for taking the strategy “back home” and getting traction at the local level, participants again generated ideas in “real time” for sustaining the momentum that had been created. You could feel the excitement in the room as everyone watched the growing list on the huge monitor above the stage. At the end of the day, the evaluations reflected the hope and renewed energy of the crowd: “We have a new awareness of what we must do to stay alive!”, “I am excited that so many people from such diverse backgrounds and environment can come together and unite around our common threats!”, “I have new friends in [this organization] and we are now a working/cohesive unit…we must continue to focus, focus, focus!!!” and finally, “We’ve planned the work, now we must work the plan—keep hope alive!!!”
Best Practice Institute
Best Practice Institute is the research organization behind Most Loved Workplace® certification, the SPARK Model, the Love of Workplace Index™ (LOWI™), and The Workplace Report.
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The report format includes executive summaries, research-backed articles, company examples, methodology notes, and practical implications for retention, hiring, culture, leadership, and employee experience. New research and analysis is published on an ongoing editorial cadence at /workplace-report.