The Search Conference : A Powerful Method for Planning Organizational Change and Community Action (Jossey-Bass Public Administration)

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Summary: Searching for Participation and Community
Review: The Search Conference: A Powerful Method for Planning Organizational Change and Community Action
By Merrelyn Emery and Ronald Purser
Copyright 1996 by Jossey Bass, Inc. Publishers, San Francisco, CA

As we look more and more to encourage participative processes for creating community plans and improving business strategies, the Search Conference offers a design developed to maximize common ground and community building. The book written by Merrelyn Emery and Ronald Purser, The Search Conference: A Powerful Method for Planning Organizational Change and Community Action, provides an easy to comprehend, outline of the psychological theory and background that are the basis for the design of the process and reasons for its effectiveness. This isn't just a book about theory, however. It is a step by step assistant to managing successful Search Conferences and generating participative democracy. When managed correctly, participants in a Search Conference agree to take on the responsibility of committing to be a part of the collaborative solution.

Purser and Emery use real examples of Search Conference designs and results to illustrate the necessity for certain elements of the process and where others can be readily adapted as needed. The "Pointers" and "Pitfalls" section reinforces specific elements that effect the outcomes of the Search Conference event. The section, "Some Rules of Thumb for Search Conference Managers" (Page 233) is especially helpful. Having experienced a Search Conference with an improperly trained process manager, I would hope that more managers would read this book and stop sliding into the "pitfalls" that can easily be avoided if you guide the process according to the documented suggestions.

The book is published in hard cover with easy to read text. 306 Pages. Interesting insight and epilogue by Fred Emery.

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Summary: How-To for Professionals
Review: This is a good book if you are planning or facilitating a strategic change effort. The Search Conference is a very specific way to plan change. It brings together a cross-section about 25 to 40 people from inside the organization (or community) for an intense two-night, three-day meeting, usually in a remote setting.

Fred Emery, who wrote the epilogue, is best known as the Australian who helped pioneer the concept of self-managed work teams in the 1950s and 1960s. His wife Merrelyn is a co-author of the book.

I have used a Search Conference to help a major food manufacturer optimize its supply chain. Governor Roy Romer of Colorado used the technique to help resolve a regional conflict over water resources, and Microsoft used it for planning in a very creative product development group.

This approach is especially well-suited to more introverted, analytical types of people (engineers, software developers, etc.)

For those who have strong experience as facilitators of interactive meetings, this book is all you need to plan a good conference. If in doubt, it would be a good idea to use an outside resource, because this is far different than the typical conference where people stand up and give speeches.

The book tells you what to do and why to do it.

For larger groups (up to 1,000 or more) it would be advisable to use a technique like Real Time Strategic Change. For more creative groups, a Future Search might make more sense.