The World Cafe

Integrating…

by Ria Baeck | May 4, 2007 | Dresden

What is FUN here is that the facilitation team really took time and effort to integrate silence, and movement in a lot of different ways. It shows in the conversations, in the harvests after the different rounds, when we come back after the breaks etc. There seems to be a willingness, an awareness growing of the intelligence of the body, and that we need it for the kind of innovation that we really want.

This afternoon we started with this question: What needs to be present in me in order to see and experience the world differently? It was an inspiring and ever deepening dialogue, like a good Café should be, so I was engaged in it and didn’t take a lot of notes… here are my words…

The inner child integrated
more balance
Embrace the paradoxes

Out of silence, of burning questions, of peace, of grief etc…. we are
challenged or invited to expand and grow, to embrace more and more in
ourselves…

But: why does not much real innovation happens in the world???

Harvest is done in a new way… what echoes from the table
conversations?…. everybody closed their eyes…. different words spoken
by different people….

Why me?
Why not?
It is in the in-between space
The magic in the middle
Courage
energy
speaking new languages
dressing up as a clown
deep joy
breaking rules
rock and roll
… ….

What are the implications of what we have just discussed for our teams and organizations?

go to ‘other’ places, be it inside or outside…
scunkwork: in some way hidden work, outside the normal system
a walking or standing meeting
What did we learn in the last quarter?
Sit with questions

We don’t have time anymore to do it quickly.

Time for reflection and listening to the body; time for dialogue and dreaming.

Embracing paradoxes
and beyond: The possibility of co-existence of multiple realities.
Balance reflection and action

Sensing the Magic and keep it alive

Live as everyday is a holiday!

Spaces for creativity and timelessness
Accept blank and confusion

Less is more

What if?

by Amy Lenzo | May 4, 2007 | Dresden

During the harvesting of the Inviting Innovation process, I had a wonderful experience of the 4th Principle of the World Café: ‘Encourage Everyone’s Contribution’, which responds to the question, "What if your contribution is a key ingredient?"

I heard someone I’d not yet spoken to speak my own unique phrase when asked what she’d heard that had been most impacting to her. It moved me greatly that at least two people had thought my contribution was meaningful enough to pass on to others… and I couldn’t help but wonder about the ways, perhaps most of them completely unknowable, that we have all influenced and effected each other in these days of meaning/intermingling.

Who or what has influenced you in ways they may not know?

Confusion to yourself

by Hanno Langfelder | May 4, 2007 | Dresden

Would you expect a World Cafe on innovation to result in a table deciding that blankness and confusion need to be present to be innovative?

Well, that’s just what happened. Oh, by the way….other ideas were also mentioned:

Take the whole person
Time & Space for Dialogue and Dreaming
Embrace paradox
Let go!
Time for reflection and listening to your body
Remember nature!
Feeling well, checking that the team is fine.

And many more….

Do any of these concepts connect with you when you think about innovation?

Please share your thoughts and feelings.

Hanno

Innovation

by Ria Baeck | May 4, 2007 | Dresden

When you are a harvester the first thing you need to learn is to be able to hold frustration! More and more we learn that if we want to harvest these big events for the ‘outside world’ – in real time – we need a harvesting team next to the facilitation and organisation team. My frustration now is that I lost the posting that I made this morning… too bad for you readers!

Part of this morning posting was this picture, where you see we are hosted in a 125 year old ballroom that is protected. Actually the hotel of which this is part of now, is build around it! You see also Jeff, who introduced us into the theme of these one and a half day: Inviting Innovation!

What I remember also is his talking about innovate and design these inviting spaces where actually this innovation can happen. Jeff also gave us a puzzle that invited us to think outside the box. Not many people could solve it… We also got some toys, called ZOOB, which have different pieces in different colours. They can connect in different ways. Inspiration was taken from the DNA structure, it are all basic building ‘blocks’. Now you see structures appearing on the tables in all totally different shapes!

Our first question was: What kind of innovation needs do you face today?

What I recall for myself is: Do we see the whole? How can we go beyond our habit of seeing seperate things and persons? Somebody at my first table shared: What should I do how to bring out the new? What also struck me was the question: How do we connect with nature? Not only nature itself, but how to integrate the vital and the beauty in all what we do?

More blogging!

by Ria Baeck | May 4, 2007 | Dresden

Holger Nauheimer, who was here on the first day sent us the link of two postings of him. The first one is on this initiative as a whole, the next one is about the dialogue he participated in on Leadership and Change. It is really worthwhile reading, because he gives a good background of the initiative and he covers ground that we did not over here.

The Future of Education

by Hanno Langfelder | May 4, 2007 | Dresden

When an 11 year old girl stands up and asks for the option of deciding on her own "dream" subject or class, you know education needs to rethought. And this is what we did, together with a diverse group of students, administrators, teachers and parents, during the Future of Education Cafe on the afternoon of May 3 in Dresden.

What would your dream subject or class be about?

Hanno