This story comes from the acclaimed author Alan Briskin, as a contribution to the World Cafe’s 30th Anniversary:

Shortly after my book The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace was released in paperback (1998), I received a phone call I initially thought might be a prank.

“This is Kim. I’m calling from Investec, based in Johannesburg, South Africa.”

Wary, I offered a cautious “Yes,” and asked what this was about.

“We’re hosting a global gathering of our investment professionals this summer. We’d like you to give the keynote—on how one sustains the soul, both individually and organizationally.”

I hesitated. On the surface, I declined for scheduling reasons. But the truth ran deeper: I was afraid. I’d never given a formal keynote before—certainly not to a room of global executives convening in South Africa. And the question itself scared me. Sustain the soul? I was a consultant and a reluctant author, not a performer—and certainly not someone who could tell others how to sustain their souls.

Kim went on to explain that when she called her counterpart in London, she opened by saying she had found a book—and an author—she thought would be perfect for the event. Her colleague responded, “So have I.” They had both chosen me.

She encouraged me to reconsider.

While I wasn’t sure a keynote alone could carry the spirit of my book, I did believe something meaningful could emerge if the participants were truly engaged—if they could explore the question together. That led me to call David Isaacs, whom I knew through mutual colleagues. I asked if he would walk me through how to host a World Café.

With warmth and clarity, David described not just the logistics but the soul of the Café itself—the spirit of collective inquiry, the importance of asking the right questions, and the tone of invitation. He emphasized the power of simply listening: that even in the uncertainty of not knowing where a conversation will go, something generative and unexpected can emerge—if we trust the process.

That was the turning point for me.

I still wasn’t sure how my talk would land, but I knew the World Café experience would be meaningful for those who participated. And so, that’s how—at least to my knowledge—the first World Café came to South Africa.

Recently, as I was reflecting on this memory, I found my notes from the talk I eventually gave. Reading them now, they hold even more resonance.

You see, my understanding of soul has always involved contradiction—our highest selves alongside our basest instincts. Both exist in us. And to hold them requires great faith in the deeper wisdom of the heart. A faith I don’t always have.

But the Café, I believe, is a safe container—one that can hold our contradictions, our complexity, and our longing to be whole. It offers a chance to speak from the heart, in community, in inquiry.

Alan Briskin, author and co-author of The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace, Centered On The Edge, The Power of Collective Wisdom, and the upcoming Space Is Not Empty: How Hidden Fields Are Shaping Your Life and Our World, with Mary V. Gelinas