Neither Rain Nor Sleet Nor Snow!

In spite of approximately 30 inches of snow falling at the foot of the SoL offices on January 23-24, 2005, the SoL consultant community snatched victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to the persistence of a committed design team that evaluated action alternatives and kept all interested parties in the loop, the inventive work of Marilyn Darling and Jean Tully, who huddled together at Marilyn's place managing a torrent of data and calls, and a lot of patience and logistical effort by a variety of others! A particular tip of the hat to SoL staffer, Frank Schneider, who offered to walk four miles to the SoL office if a group was determined to proceed with the in-person conclave, as well as to Grady McGonagil, SoL Consultant, who was willing to make it to the SoL office on Sunday to deliver his Capacity Lab on Practice Models for even 1 person. Also, to those hardy few who succeeded in making it to Boston, only to find themselves in their rooms at the Sonesta Hotel on a conference call, those of us who live in Boston promise you: it is not always like this!

Twenty-five people had originally planned to meet face-to-face on these two days for two capacity building sessions and a Consultants Convergence. Instead, nineteen of us spent about four hours on a conference call and two hours doing reflection and homework during the using Signet Consulting's Emerging Learning Map technology to reflect on how the Consultants' Community had evolved over the past 12 months and consider opportunities for action during 2005 based on that analysis.

Madeline Nold, a design team member and participant in the convergence recalls the experience: "What I remember best is the concern which the team had about whether to meet in person at the SoL office in spite of the blizzard conditions or to reconstruct our design and meet virtually. There were literally many calls between myself, Jean and Marilyn (at the same phone) and Michael, regarding this dilemma. We had formed a phone tree and contacted everyone we could locate to learn of their preferences and to update them. When we (Jean, Marilyn, myself, Ellen, and Michael) finally reached an agreement to hold the meeting "virtually," the participants, particularly those from out-of-town, were very appreciative and relieved. I think that the virtual meeting itself was a great success, and we really "pulled a rabbit out of a hat!'" with that decision and implementation of alternative plans. Marilyn made the EL readily understandable and accessible to all of us, by phone and simultaneously online. Thanks to Marilyn! Even after all the "blizzard soul-searching" of our design team, the "to be's or not to be's," or perhaps because of that collaborative team effort (and strong intention for it to happen no matter what!), it turned out to be a great learning opportunity for all of us. Hail to the team, Hail to all the participants, and especially to everyone's commitment from start to completion!"

The EL Mapping process moves from (a) a field of "Ground Truth" about what actually transpired over a defined amount of time in the past-in this case one year (similar to Chris Argyris' "directly observable data" found at the bottom rung of the ladder of inference); to (b) recollection and aggregation of individual and collective insights about how those past activities contributed to intended outcomes; to (c) a combination of opportunities and hypotheses, which sets the stage for the community to continue to learn through future action, using "After Action Reviews" (AAR) to test and refine the group's thinking and action.*

In this instance, hypotheses emerged about how we gather, how we work together and how we market organizational learning. the Opportunities generally clustered around a few stand-out hypotheses:

• If we regularly schedule meetings, we will grow the community and the community's knowledge.
  
• If we focus on producing real work results for real clients in real time, then we will create more tangible value as a community.
  
• If we continue to develop our awareness of what each person has to offer, it will help the community make offers that involve each other.

The upshot of the conference call is that a lot of work is proceeding based on the thinking that was done:

1. The EL Map has been sent to all who had wanted to come to the 1/23-24 meeting and is now posted on the SoL website. Click here to view the EL Map.
   
2. Michael Sales is talking to Marilyn about times for brief conference calls for her to help interested parties understand what we discovered in this year's EL Map and to think through its implications and tweak our thinking and action over the course of 2005.
   
3. A Convergence design team is hard at work on the plans for a 4/4-4/5 face-to-face meeting. It will include Grady McGonagill's workshop on building a theory of one's consulting practice, which was a casualty of the January snow storm. It will build on the January Convergence to explore how we can use the EL Map to learn our way through 2005, plus learn more from Marilyn (who created EL Maps with her partner, Charles Parry) about how to use them. We will hold a "speed dating" event to help everyone meet and learn about everyone else's work, and conduct a survey of attendees that will build our knowledge base about each other. Bottom line on this: It's going to be a hot meeting; so, be there!
   
4. Madeline Nold, Jean Tully, Ellen Walton, and Michael Yacavone have submitted a proposal to the 2d SoL Global Forum on "Transformative and Shape-Shifting Questions as a Genesis for Change."
   
5. The SoL Liaison Officer's previewed the Consultant's EL Map, just prior to populating their own EL Map, at their meeting in February.
   
6. Deborah Reidy and Cynthia Way are hosting a capacity building lab in Holyoke MA on March 7th on the topic of Asking Transformative Questions. There will be space for twenty participants in an exploration into what makes for a truly great question that probes a client's present and shapes their desired future. Please call Deborah (413-536-9256) or Cynthia Way (301-779-1764) for further information.

So, the snow proved to be only a minor hindrance to our high level of motivation in support of the SoL Consultants' Community. Stay tuned and get connected! It's your SoL!

View the consultants' Emergent Learning Map.

For more information on the consultants' activities, contact the writer of this report, Michael Sales, or the consultant representatives on SoL's governing council Julie Arnold or Heidi Sparkes Guber.

*NOTE: An AAR explores whether or not 1) we did what we said we were going to do; 2) our thinking proved out; and 3) what we need to do to tweak our planning (action or thinking) for the next time. If we have important hypotheses that don't seem to be linked to events, we might need to add other events to our calendar.

Consulting Convergence members enter here