Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change by Chris Ertel, Lisa Kay Solomon

Two leading experts on designing strategic conversations unveil a simple, creative process that allows teams to tackle their most challenging issues. In our fast-changing world, leaders are increasingly confronted by messy, multifaceted challenges that require collaboration to resolve. But the standard methods for tackling these challenges-meetings packed with data-drenched presentations or brainstorming sessions that circle back to nowhere-just don't deliver. Great strategic conversations generate breakthrough insights by combining the best ideas of people with different backgrounds and perspectives. In this book, two experts crack the code on what it takes to design creative, collaborative problem-solving sessions that soar rather than sink. Drawing on decades of experience as innovation strategists-and supported by cutting-edge social science research, dozens of real-life examples, and interviews with well over 100 thought leaders, executives, and fellow practitioners- they unveil a simple, creative process that leaders and their teams can use to unlock solutions to their most vexing issues. The book also includes a Starter Kit full of tools and tips for putting the book's core principles into practice. Editorial Reviews 12/09/2013 Strategic advisor Ertel and innovation expert Solomon want to make strategic meetings more valuable and inspiring to all involved. Designing these essential conversations should be a craft, not an accident. The results will feel like regular meetings or like brainstorming sessions, but they will get your team thinking creatively and emotionally. Ertel and Solomon identify the five key elements of creating a well-organized meeting: identify participants, assemble content, set the agenda, find a venue, and declare the objectives. Don't just throw people in a room, they caution; participants need significant preparation. The trick is to allow the right people to arrive at the meeting with the right materials, entering an environment that's conducive to the right kind of conversations. Chock-full of graphs and case studies from companies such as Natura and Facebook, the authors cover the essentials of engaging multiple perspectives, navigating alignment, framing key issues, and setting the scene. They finish with a substantive and comprehensive starter kit (60 pages) that, by itself, is worth the price of the book. Tightly focused on one particular area of leadership, this is a guide every frustrated meeting-goer should read, with advice they should all implement. Agent: Christy Fletcher, Fletcher & Company. (Feb.) - Publishers Weekly They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I say that's also a pretty good definition of the typical business meeting. If you'd like to short-circuit the meeting loop and energize your team's ability to solve real problems and create new visions, then Moments of Impact is the book you need. - Daniel H. Pink Stories ignite understanding and engagement on our most important strategic challenges. Moments of Impact reveals how to go beyond data-driven meetings to generate new insights that help change our world for the better. - Nancy Duarte Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon provide several useful tools for making sure all voices are heard-and empathized with-at strategy meetings. You can apply many of their tips to general meetings as well. Refreshingly, Ertel and Solomon remind readers that diversity comes in many forms-all of which are important in business settings. - Inc.com Strategy is one of the most over-used, poorly understood words in the business lexicon. Ertel and Solomon set out to make it meaningful again, drawing on decades of experience running real strategic conversations. - Clay Shirky If you are even remotely interested in 1) having a team that knows what each other is doing, 2) delivering a complex message in a clear way, 3) making sense of the mania that passes for so much of business thinking these days, you must read this book. - Dan Roam What if conversations at work actually mattered? Moments of Impact shows how they can, offering an actionable model for sparking creativity and driving change. - Adam Grant Ertel and Solomon articulate the purpose, principles and practices of well-designed strategic conversations and support their ideas with a lively, convincing mix of social science theories and research, interviews with organizational leaders, anecdotes and case studies, and an invaluable 60-page Starter Kit...to enable you to put the ideas to work immediately. - Success Magazine Solomon and Ertel get it. We need to move beyond the blah blah blah dominating our meeting rooms today. We need strategic conversations - this book shows you how to design them. - Alexander Osterwalder We've seen how the power of design can radically change experiences for the better. Moments of Impact shows how design can transform our strategic conversations, too. - So many times organizations go to the outside to develop and refine their strategic plans when the answers lie internally. Moments of Impact gives you a roadmap to unlock solutions that are literally in the room. It provides powerful examples and a step by step guide to creating intense engagement and encourages diverse and unique points of view. This leads to a powerful shared vision and strategic plan coupled with a pragmatic execution plan. And, as a bonus, it is a great bonding experience for all involved. - George Borst Conversations are how groups of people lear, collaborate and act together, but having powerful, coherent and strategic conversations takes active design and support. Chris Ertel and Lisa Solomon collaborators of mine for many years have provided a practical and insightful guide to shaping consequential strategic conversations. A must read for anyone shaping the decision environment of an organization. - Peter Schwartz We've seen how the power of design can radically change experiences for the better. Moments of Impact shows how design can transform our strategic conversations, too. - Scott Cook Ertel and Solomon articulate the purpose, principles and practices of well-designed strategic conversations and support their ideas with a lively, convincing mix of social science theories and research, interviews with organizational leaders, anecdotes and case studies, and an invaluable 60-page Starter Kit...to enable you to put the ideas to work immediately. - Success Magazine Sean Pratt's performance sounds engaged and relaxed-somewhat like that of a seasoned consultant offering advice and gently keeping everyone focused. His voice and emotional range fit this material well. The only snag listeners will notice is his use of pauses that sound unnaturally long within sentences, and pauses between paragraphs and sections that are not long enough to allow listeners to transition their attention from one idea to another. The authors say effective meetings and conversations require attention to five steps: defining purpose, preparing the right participants, framing the issues, selecting the right place and time, and creating an agenda that has energy. With vivid illustrations and interviews with 100 diverse leaders, this is intelligent analysis and step-by-step instruction on how to make important meetings more productive and enjoyable. T.W. AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine - NOVEMBER 2014 - AudioFile