This book brings together cases from around the world of a breakthrough new approach to strategic planning, empowerment, consensus building, and whole systems improvement. Marvin Weisbord and 35 international coauthors show how all types of business, government, and nonprofit organizations are successfully using this approach to create shared vision, innovation, commitment, and collaborative action that exceed what people thought possible.

In this approach-called "future searches" or "search conferences"-people with diverse interests who have a stake in an organization or issue come together for two or three days to explore their mutual past, present, and future in a global context. Using a self-managing format, they seek common ground among their varied interests, invent ideal futures rather than work old problems, and generate creative strategies, action plans, and commitment.

• Copublished with Industrial Engineering and Management Press

Unleash Commitment, Initiative, and Innovation

In their decades of leading groups all over the world, Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff discovered they could get superior results by creating an unconventional approach to leadership. Leaders still need to get everyone aligned around the same goals. But to maximize energy, creativity, and productivity, they gain more by focusing on structure rather than behavior, enabling people to take responsibility and manage themselves. 

Lead More, Control Less describes eight essential skills for establishing a culture of autonomy and self-leadership. Using examples and case studies, Weisbord and Janoff describe how leaders can share responsibility, defuse group conflicts, show everyone the big picture, and more. With this approach, leaders truly gain more control by giving it up.

Presents often contrarian insights into how to design meetings that actually accomplish something Filled with case examples and exercises Draws on the authors' decades of experience working with businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies worldwide This practical guide details ten key principles that will profoundly change the way you think about, organize, and lead the meetings that matter most. Rather than trying to change anyone's behavior, Weisbord and Janoff show you how to change the conditions under which people interact. By doing less, you help others do more. With examples from around the world, and practical tips and exercises in every chapter, Don't Just Do Something, Stand There! gives you many new techniques for helping people discover common ground, make productive use of dissension, and take responsibility for action.

• Presents often contrarian insights into how to design meetings that actually accomplish something
• Filled with case examples and exercises
• Draws on the authors' decades of experience working with businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies worldwide

NEW EDITION, REVISED AND UPDATED Future Search is among the best-established and most effective methods for enabling people to make and implement ambitious plans. It has been used to redesign IKEA’s product pipeline in Sweden, develop an integrated economic development plan in Northern Ireland, and demobilize child soldiers in Southern Sudan. Written by the originators, this book is the most up-to-date account of this powerful change method. This third edition is completely revised, reorganized, and updated with nine new chapters. It contains new cases and examples, advice on combining Future Search with other methods, and a summary of formal research studies. The chapters on facilitating diversity provide a theory, philosophy, and method for working with any task group. Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff offer specific guidance for Future Search sponsors, steering committees, participants, and facilitators and new ideas for sustaining action after the Future Search ends. They’ve added striking evidence of Future Search’s efficacy over time, examples of its economic benefits, guidelines for making Future Searches green, and much more. They include a wealth of resources—handouts, sample client workbooks, follow-up methods, and other practical tools. If you want to do strategic planning, product innovation, quality improvement, organi-zational restructuring, mergers, or any other major change requiring stakeholder en-gagement, this book is your guide.

• The latest edition of the classic, definitive book on a change method proven effective worldwide

• Thoroughly revised and updated, with nine new chapters

• Provides a wealth of tools, handouts, and other practical aids

 

Future Search is one of the best established, most widespread and most effective methods for enabling groups of people to collectively move forward. It has been used all over the world for all kinds of purposes: to redesign an IKEA product line in Sweden, develop an integrated economic development plan in Northern Ireland, organize the demobilization child soldiers in Southern Sudan, and help a Hawaiian community reconnect with traditional values, This book, written by the originators of the process, is the most up-to-date edition of the definitive work on this powerful change method.

Incorporating input from the worldwide Future Search community, the third edition has been completely revised, reorganized and updated, including nine brand new chapters. There are new cases and examples throughout, as well as new material on using virtual technologies to hold Future Searches, combining Future Search with other change methods, and the growing global reach of Future Search. Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff have greatly streamlined the process, providing specific guidance for Future Search sponsors, steering committees, participants, and facilitators, and new suggestions for how to sustain action after the Future Search is over. Theyve added information on the economic benefits of a Future Search, striking evidence of Future Searchs efficacy, information how Future Searches can go green, and more.

Future Search uniquely enables people to take down the walls that keep them apart, and Weisbord and Janoff take you through every step of the process. They include a wealth of resources such as handouts, sample client workbooks, follow-up reports, and other practical tools.  If you want to do strategic planning, product innovation, quality improvement, organizational restructuring, or any other major change in a participative, whole system way, this book is your guide.

 

What sets this book apart from similar titles

• Other books in this field, such as Built to Change, contain a bias of top-down design which can make their suggestions unwieldy to implement. This book takes a more grassroots approach to searching for the future, where all stakeholders work cooperatively to create a shared vision of the future.  
• It is an optimistic, aspiring book, which describes the change process as "an emotional rollercoaster" which can be upsetting at times but is overall exciting and fun. The Heart of Change Field Guide focuses more on the difficulties and obstacles of leading change within an organization (how to "get around" the people who drag you down, hold you back, etc.)  Future Search's emphasis on both positivity and inclusivity sets it apart among change books.  
• Future Search methods are so successful, that thousands of people around the world have sought and received training from the Future Search Network: http://www.futuresearch.net/.