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Preview
Notes on Forum 2006 With less than two weeks
before Forum 2006, the In2:InThinking Network shares its own
perspectives on the six days of exciting learning opportunities in
store this year from March 30th - April 4th.
REGULAR SECTIONS
Upcoming Events Book Review:
Openness Works! (By: L. Annie Barron)
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PREVIEW NOTES ON FORUM
2006 |
The Fifth Annual
Forum of the In2:InThinking Network will be here in less
than two weeks. This year's theme, "Daring to Explore - Creating
Possibilities Together," builds and elaborates on the
In2:InThinking Network's key message since its founding: "think
about the way you think." All organizations think a certain way, all
organizations have problems, and most organizations' problems could
be changed by the way they think. Dr. W Edwards Deming referred to
the common way that organizations think as the "prevailing system of
management." The Network offers an alternative viewpoint to the
prevailing system which we call InThinking.
Leading the exploration of our theme for Forum 2006 is a roster
of over a dozen speakers that includes a world renowned professor of
management science at the Wharton School, an acclaimed and
ground-breaking psychiatrist, a Director at NASA, and an insurance
company executive, to mention a few. We are extremely excited to
welcome each of them to Forum 2006 to share their thinking with us.
At the Forum, you can expect to hear a broad set of perspectives
(Forum
2006 Brochure PDF) that will connect to every major industry and
discipline, including all industries of business, education,
healthcare, government, and personal life. For example, Dr. Russell
Ackoff will deliver a keynote entitled, The Biggest Mistake
Managers Make. He'll describe a failure which is just as
relevant to aerospace and defense as it is to insurance and
financial services, or any other industry.
One of the hallmark strengths of the Forum has been this ability
to be relevant to companies in many industries, governmental
organizations, education institutions, and non-profits. The problems
and opportunities with thinking that are described in our Forum cut
across every form of organization, and the methods for confronting
these situations have broad applicability. Lessons about the
problems and proposed strategies from one industry can easily be
translated to another industry.
Our Forum has been described by previous attendees as "…an
intense experience," because it "…crams a lot into a short time."
This year will be no different. With over a dozen conference
speakers plus eight pre and post conference workshops (free with
Forum registration), Forum 2006 will be the longest yet- stretching
over six days. Based on feedback for more lessons in application,
we've continued to expand the availability of workshops that span
topics including Idealized Design, Resource Leadership, and a case
study in the use of better thinking to improve rocket engine
hardware design, fabrication, and performance.
We've also heard people say, "My time at the conference is
rejuvenating." The Forum provides a weekend retreat to step out of
the daily environment of your workplace. Its an opportunity to
escape familiar boundaries and the daily routine to confront what
many of us never even think of: the way we think and how that
thinking influences the way our organizations operate. Speaking to
the importance of taking this time out of our daily environment,
Fortune magazine recently ran an article Be
smarter at work, slack Off (Fortune Magazine, March 17, 2006) on
the darker side of our workaholic and execution-focused work
culture. Quoting the late management thinker Peter Drucker, "All one
can think and do in a short time is to think what one already knows
and to do as one always has done." The opportunity to spend a
weekend surrounded by stimulating speakers and colleagues exploring
new topics is a timely remedy to improve your effectiveness.
Part of the atmosphere of exploration comes from the enjoyment of
meeting people from across the world, and from diverse industries
and backgrounds who all share interest in the In2:InThinking
Network's message. Attendees have said they "…enjoy interacting with
the people who attend the conference," and "there's a lot of people
I can turn to for help with what I don't know." Alums of our Forums
find themselves plugged into a mutual support and exchange network
that continues to resource their professional and personal lives
after the Forum.
The Forum is a unique type of conference with broad relevance
across industries tackling a source of problems and opportunities
that most organizations don't even realize exists. What our
attendees get from the Forum is a renewed sense of perspective,
energy to use that perspective to engender change, and a Network
full of resources to support their efforts. The In2:InThinking
Network volunteers have worked hard to deliver this tremendous value
within a six day Forum for $300 per attendee. To find more
information on the full list of speakers and workshop and to register,
please visit our website.
We hope to see you at Forum 2006!
-The In2:InThinking Network |
Openness
Works! Review by: Bill Bellows |
Openness
Works! Author: L. Annie Barron Publisher: HopeWorks
Publishing Length: 140 pages
On December 11, 2002, I was invited by a friend within the
In2:InThinking Network to spend a day at the offices of R.W. Lyall
& Company in Corona, California. The occasion was a one-day
lecture by Professor Oscar Mink, someone I had heard a great deal
about, but had not yet met. In short order, we met and I was touched
by his wit, wisdom, and humility. By week's end, we had exchanged
mental models- his "open organizations" and my "Red and Blue Pen
Companies." The similarities were astounding and a partnership was
formed. A friendship that started in December 2002 continued to grow
until he left us far too soon, in September 2004. Before his death,
I was introduced to a number of Oscar's graduate students, both past
and present. Among them was Annie Barron, with whom he planned to
partner with on a book on "openness", with R.W. Lyall & Company
as the featured example of organizations who have embraced Oscar's
model of open organizations.
In this, her first book, Annie delivers a fast-reading
explanation of Oscar's "Nine Windows" model, juxtaposed with vividly
documented examples of its application at R.W. Lyall & Company.
As someone who has visited their Corona facility on several
occasions and spent time with members of their executive team, this
book is a delightful account of the application of Oscar's model in
the transformation of R.W. Lyall. To those who would like to be
among the frequent visitors to R.W. Lyall, this book will serve as
invaluable guidebook for planning your visit and interpreting your
findings. To those who cannot visit, this book will be the next best
thing to spending a day, if not more, at R.W. Lyall, with Annie as
your tour guide.
Early in the book, the reader is reminded that the current state
of exemplary openness at R.W. Lyall was not always the case. Many of
those employed there know well that the recent past included bouts
of "exceptional quality," along with excessive inventory and the
deadly diseases of "closed communication and a lack of structure."
From this initial condition, Annie unfolds Oscar's three layers of
openness in chapter-by-chapter formats - Individual, Team, and
Organizational; each chapter ends with a reflective assessment of
the reader's state of openness. As the story develops, Annie
provides us with accounts of real-life struggles along the
transformational journey through interviews with inspired employees.
The book ends with interviews with delighted customers and
reflections on the future from the executive team, a future clearly
in line with Oscar's vision of "…a future more wonderful than you
can possibly imagine at this moment." I highly recommend this book
to all who share in Oscar's vision of the future and would like to
take a leadership role in transforming your organization.
Buy this book NOW
directly from the author!
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FORUM 2006 |
DARING TO EXPLORE:
"Creating Possibilities Together"
March 30 - April 4*,
2006 Los Angeles, CA
ONLINE REGISTRATION Register
online now!
FORUM DETAILS Go to our website to find our brochures
on the Forum,
and workshops
or visit the Forum
homepage.
IN2:INTHINKING NETWORK SCREENSAVER Download
our free screensaver
ORDER DVDs Pre-order a DVD online
and save $30 off the regular price.
DONATE Contribute
a tax-deductible donation to support scholarships for those needing
financial assistance to attend the Forum. You can donate online by
adding a donation to the online shopping cart when you register, or
contact bill@in2in.org for more
information.
SCHOLARSHIPS If you would like to self-nominate for a
scholarship, or know someone you would like to nominate, please
contact scholarships@in2in.org for
more details about the scholarship program and how to apply.
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NETWORK
RESOURCES |
ONLINE BOOKSTORE Browse the online
bookshelf of the In2:InThinking Network at Powell's, our online
bookselling partner.
GET INVOLVED The In2:InThinking Network is
all-volunteer operated. If you are interested in getting involved,
please contact us at contact@in2in.org |
UPCOMING EVENTS |
- The Ongoing Discussion for March will feature Sherry
Immediato, upcoming Forum 2006 keynoter, discussing her keynote
presentation - Learning from (and for) the Future Together -
Building Capacity for Inspired Performance. A two-hour
conference call will be held with her on March 24th. For call-in
information, contact bill@in2in.org
- UK Deming Forum to be
held May 23-25 at the Robinsons Centre, Wyboston, Bedfordshire
- The 50th Annual Meeting of the International
Society for the Systems Sciences to be held July 9-14 at
Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California
- The 16th Annual Pegasus
Conference, "Leading Beyond the Horizon - Strategies for
Bringing Tomorrow into Today's Choices," to be held November
13-15, Waltham, Massachusetts
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