Phase 3: Design

The design phase of the AI process is about creating initiatives and building prototypes to bring those dreams to reality, Cooperrider told the participants. “This is in your hands,” he stressed. “This is not the typical, ‘Thanks for the ideas. We'll take it from here' meeting. It's yours to create.”

Individually, or in teams if they wished, participants were asked to reflect on what they heard in an open-space environment for 20 minutes and to develop concrete ideas on which to build an initiative. It could be an idea they came up with, or it could be something they heard in one of the presentations. It could be a big idea, a small idea, or something in between.

In the middle of the room sat stacks of blank paper and black markers. Those who had ideas would grab a sheet and write them down in big letters. The initiatives didn't have to be fleshed out in great detail — that would come later. For now, broad outlines would suffice. In a few minutes, they would be asked to present them to everyone. Cooperrider said he wasn't sure if there would be a handful, a dozen, or 50.

He ended up with more than he had dreamed: About 75 people lined up to present their proposals. Some of these proposals were simple, like establishing social responsibility guidelines for all associations; some were quite ambitious, like creating an international clean water initiative. The large number of projects surprised everyone. “There's an enormous amount creativity and sense of purpose in the room. We're going to come out with some substantial projects and initiatives.” Added Sarfati: “People were incredibly energized. I thought 10 to 15 people would come up.”

Of the 75, there were many overlapping ideas, so as they were presented, similar ideas were lumped together. When the cavalcade was over, there were approximately 23 different initiatives posted around the room. (See sidebar on page 24.) People were asked to vote with their feet — that is, gather around the initiative that they would most like to work on. There was fairly equal distribution of people around each of the 23 projects.

These 23 teams convened individually on the third day of the conference to brainstorm and develop actual prototypes and models. “The idea of prototyping is to bring concept into visual form,” Cooperrider said.

After 90 minutes in group discussions, each group gave a detailed report on their initiatives — what they will be called, how they will work, what they will look like, what the objectives are.

Phase 4: Destiny

Cooperrider explained that the “destiny” phase is about drafting a specific action plan to launch the initiative, much of which will happen after the summit.

The 23 project teams will meet on their own to flesh out their ideas and develop action plans. ASAE will oversee a committee made up of representatives from these 23 groups to determine a plan going forward.

Meanwhile, the groups will meet on their own and at the annual meeting in August. The iCohere Web site, where the virtual portion of the conference took place, will be kept open as a resource and meeting place for attendees. In October, Cooperrider will facilitate an online follow-up summit where specific action plans will be presented.

“Our community embraced this in an enthusiastic way and I think there's a lot of excitement going forward,” said Sarfati. The summit — which Sarfati called “just the beginning” of a social responsibility movement — was a leap of faith in some ways. “People wanted to know exactly what this is,” Sarfati told participants at the conclusion of the summit. “The answer is — it's exactly what you want it to be.” And that is one of the strengths of appreciative inquiry.

Hits and Misses

The summit surpassed Expectations in many ways, and ASAE president and CEO John Graham says that “appreciative inquiry worked very well.” And it did, especially for those participating live at the Gaylord, who were largely energized and engaged. “On the second day, when people lined up to talk about their issues, it was amazing,” says attendee Joan Eisenstodt, chief strategist, Eisenstodt Associates, Washington, D.C. “There were so many issues and such a commitment from people to take them on.” Another attendee, posting on a message board after the conference, called it “paradigm-shifting, mind-blowing, and leadership-enrolling.”

However, the idea of bringing in the 19 connected sites from 14 U.S. states and five international destinations — including Singapore, Dubai, Brussels, Shanghai, and Australia — did not go as well as planned.

A big frustration at the connected sites was the video feed, says Gary LaBranche, CAE, president and CEO of the Association Forum of Chicagoland. The feed kept buffering for the first few hours, making it harder to focus. Nonetheless, the group of 10 in Chicago went into their own group discussions around the questions posed by Cooperrider, but there was a disconnect there, too, he said. Because the breakout groups were so small — two to three people each — the discussions were over quickly, so there was a lot of waiting. Then the breakout groups reported to the group at large, followed by lunch, which made for more waiting. By mid-afternoon, the group voted to adjourn. Chicago was the only site of the 19 scheduled to participate all three days, but that plan was scrapped too as many participants opted to log on virtually on days 2 and 3, instead. Other connected sites reported similar experiences.

LaBranche says that people in his group were interested in learning how appreciative inquiry works. He also thought it was a good tool to use for this meeting, even though his group didn't feel as connected as they had hoped.

Virtual participants seemed to have a better time of it because there was no expectation of face-to-face interaction, unlike those at a connected site who may have had an expectation of being fully engaged. Plus, virtual participants were in the comfort of their home or office during downtime.

Practical Application

While AI creator David Cooperrider, has done most of his work for corporations, he believes the method has great potential for association meetings. The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland offers an AI facilitator certification program. There is also an online certification program. If there is enough interest from the association community, Cooperrider says they can customize a program specifically for association executives.

AI summits could be incorporated into an annual meeting in a blended fashion, he says. He's done them where half of each day is spent in a traditional meeting with lectures, breakouts, networking, etc., while the other half is an AI summit. Associations could also organize a standalone summit.

For more information on appreciative inquiry, go to The Appreciative Inquiry Commons at http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu. The site is full of articles, models, case studies, discussions, and tools related to appreciative inquiry. It also has a database of hundreds of questions that can be applied in an AI summit. Those interested in contacting Cooperrider for more information can e-mail him at david.cooperrider@case.edu.

Initiatives

Here's a Sampling of the 23 projects that developed from ASAE and The Center's Social Responsibility summit:

• The Seven Wonders of Social Responsibility. A marketing effort to communicate the Seven Wonders of the SR World — prosperity, social justice, innovation/technology, peace, education, health, and environment — to show how they affect the “triple bottom line of people, profit, and prosperity.” Would like to see AI Summits convened around each “wonder.”

• International Clean Water Initiative. A plan to pool the vast resources of associations to bring clean water to poverty-stricken areas around the globe.

• Guiding Principles. An effort to establish guiding principles, a code of ethics, around social responsibility for association to adopt into their charters. The idea is to partner with the United Nations Global Compact to develop these principles.

• The SR Toolbox Project. A virtual toolkit where association executives can find tools, articles, research, and insights into how to help association adhere to the principles and show the benefits to members and stakeholders of SR.

• Educational and Intergenerational Leadership. An initiative to bring SR education to all associations, be it live or virtual, to make associations the global leaders in social responsibility and prepare future generations.

• Public Policy Think Tank. Create a vehicle through which associations can influence public policy around social responsibility.

• Global Connections. A virtual clearinghouse that would match needs, ideas, and projects with solutions that associations can apply. One group dubbed it the Bright Lights Network.

• Freecycle. Sort of like a trading post for association resources where associations can donate or recycle unused materials or goods for other associations to use.

• Energy and Sustainability for Meetings. Produce a resource for associations on ways to reduce fossil fuel emissions and carbon footprints at association events. Also, establish an initiative outlining strategies to reduce waste at meetings.