Test Time Here’s how to earn your CEU hour. Once you finish reading the three articles in this CMP Series package (pp. 54–78), read the following material:

“One on One With Richard SaulWurman,” a provocative, in-depth interview with the founder of the TED conference from the September 2011 issue of Convene, available at http://bit.ly/wurman-TED.

Then, to earn one hour of CEU credit, visitwww.pcma.org/convenecmp to answer questions about the information contained within the package of CMP Series articles and the previous Convene article.

The Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) is a registered trademark of the Convention Industry Council.

eight people. All the research seemed to con- firm it. But the research did not ask the key question: most effective for what? If our goal is to tap the collective intelligence of the whole, then maybe a group of 500 is more effective. If our goal is to have 1,000 ambas- sadors for a given change, then maybe 5,000 people in the room planningand designingand leading for a winning future is most effective. In the past, we were focused on what was wrongwith

CERTIFICATION MADE POSSIBLE

How can people who are unable to be there in person participate? That’s a real breakthrough you brought to ASAE at the Global Summit on Social Responsibility [in 2008], where participants from sites throughout the world joined in the dialogue. The combination of face-to-face

organizations. It was a deficit-based mentality.We are on the verge of moving change agendas forward using a strength- based philosophy.

When the 10,000 people convene again the next year, would this process be used again? Yes, the underlyingprocess unfolds. Each year, the topic and the task is elevated and taken to a new level. Every confer- ence is homegrown to whatever the strategic agenda is at that time.

What kind of planning timeframe is required? About a year in advance. Coming together for collective action, for something strategically important to that industry, requires real task clarity. The best thingthat associations can do is invite people to be designers of their future.

Five Steps to Creating the Complete Convention

1. Identify big-picture issues affecting the industry or profession your organization represents. 2. Engage the entire community of participants each morn- ing to provide input on these issues. 3. Offer the typical keynotes, breakouts, networking events, and entertainment each afternoon and evening. 4. Conduct a debriefing each morning with the whole com- munity of attendees. 5. Develop follow-up action plans to be announced at the end of the convention.

—Susan Sarfati 70 pcmaconvene December 2011

and remote participation that you pioneered, with software collaborative tools, allows thousands of others to participate. Our partner I-Cohere developed a software [program] to allow people not able to attend the face-to-face conference to still participate across time zones and countries.

What is your highest accomplishment using AI methodology? Two immediately come to mind. The first is a worldwide ini- tiative that is bringing millions of people from all religions together with the goal of ending religious violence. It was an honor to work with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and extraor- dinary people such as Bishop [William] Swingand Rev. Charles Gibbs [on the United Religions Initiative] that now has over 400 centers around the world. Here I am, a simple management-school professor, working with leaders from across the world’s great religions. My learning curve soared as I learned that there will be no peace among nations until there is peace among the religions, and no peace among religions until there is dialogue. The second is withWal-Mart and the strategic-planning

firm Blu Skye, where we introduced AI methods to help move whole industries to develop a sustainability index. This life- cycle index will be used across many industries—much the same as nutrition information is provided on all foods—with 65,000 suppliers in everythingfrom textiles to electronics. Association leaders are part of [the AI] effort. It’s a proj-

ect that could change the world more than anything I’ve ever worked on. I wish everyone could see the positive energy and enthusiasm that happens when large groups co-design. The most common comment I receive when doingthese events is “How did we end up getting such amazing people at the conference?”

Susan Sarfati served as CEO of the GreaterWashington Society of Association Executives and was the founding CEO of The Center for Associ- ation Leadership and executive vice president of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).A Fellow of ASAE, she received ASAE’s first Lifetime Achievement Award. Sarfati is currently CEO of High Performance Strategies, where she can be reached at susan@ssarfati.com.

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