PDI has over 15 years experience designing and faciliating Whole System change conferences.

What is a Whole System Conference?:

The number of people are sufficient to represent all groups, but small enough to discuss matters as a whole. Typically, this ranges from 20 upwards, sometimes to several hundred, although 50 may be a more normal number. It is also important that there are people from all areas who can make serious decisions and take away actions with them.

The format and content may vary significantly, but here is a common framing.

Past

The first day is focused on the past. Delegates tell stories of success and struggles. The older members of the company tell about its beginnings and the 'wild days'. Younger members tell how it was to join more recently. The past is honored and recalled with its full range of emotion, from nostalgia to humor and also to the less comfortable times. Depending on the age of the company, this section may be shorter, but it must not be made too short.

Diversity may be understood from the growth and variation within the company, such as the setup of different divisions, the establishment of overseas organizations, functional groupings and growth from acquisitions.

Attention to the past also can be used to take a view of the culture of the organization, understanding its roots and why it holds its present form.

Present

The next day is focused on the present. The external forces on the organization are explored. Competitors, new legislation, technical changes, environmental effects, the pressures of globalization are all looked at openly. Customers and markets are also considered, with information about how market share is going up or down, how products and services are faring, what customers are saying about the company (quotes and examples are good here). Focus then moves further in, to how the organization is responding to these forces, how it is coping, how it is structured. Strengths and weaknesses are explored, in all departments as well as in the leadership.

A very common concern here is to remove blame, fear, defensiveness and other negative emotions from the scene. Typically this is done with a discussion about this early on. It may also be done as a cathartic exercise, where, when it first appears, it is named and openly discussed.

Culture may also be revisited in the light of the present-day context. Parts may be shown to be as strong and valuable as ever. Other parts may be seen to be as less valuable now, or even a hindrance. There may even be discussion about how the culture has been corrupted from its original purpose.

Future

Finally, on the third day, the focus is on the future. This may well start with a visioning exercise to determine a desired future state. This vision is shared and developed and given local meaning for all involved.

Plans are then built to reach from today to this desirable future. These may start with overall strategic thoughts, developed collaboratively, then broken down into more localized plans that are discussed in smaller groups.

Blocks on this path are identified and discussed, seeking a way over, under, around or through them. Risks are also explored, with effective ways of reducing the risk or preparation to handle them planned as appropriate.

Finally, the management structure for how the changes will be assured is identified, for example with a regular re-convening of key members of this group and perhaps less frequent full conferences to re-synchronize and re-plan as needed.

Our Whole-system Planning confereneces are custom designed based on a wide range of methodologies including: "Open Space Technology". 'Search Conference', 'Future Search' and 'Real-time Strategic Change'.