The Inner Game of Convening

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The art, for the Convener, is in the recognition of the subtle shift of energy and in knowing what to do or not do in the moment. Our inner work, drawn from the initial aspects of the Convening Wheel, comes in handy here. Since we can't count on anyone else to have done the preparation or to be on the lookout for these vital signs, this is the moment when our skills of patience and discernment pay off. As the Convener, we are continually sensing the mood of the group. We assess the energy and the ability of the assembled to be connected--both personally and to their common future. This is usually the time to slow down the conversations and find common ground. At this stage, the participants may engage with one another, for the first time, in a meaningful way and begin to function as a unified "living system."

The phenomenon of the Arc of Recognition has been experienced many times in Thought Leader Gatherings (TLGs). Embedded in the design of each of the half-day sessions is the seed of Essential Conversation, which rarely fails to come to full blossom. Take note of the progression of the Aspects as you read about the TLG format.

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HOW THE GATHERINGS WORK

Each phase of the four-hour Thought Leader Gathering (TLG) is designed to bring the group an experience of the Arc of Recognition (see below for detailed description), which then stimulates and reveals the collective wisdom of the group in an effective and efficient, yet unhurried, time frame. We draw on ancient as well as modern group process models, borrrowing from the great cultural and organizational traditions.

The TLGs are held in beautiful venues that offer access to natural lighting and wholesome food. The format is designed to guide the 50-100 participants successfully through an interactive learning experience, from the conversation starter's opening remarks to the closing harvesting session. The hub of each gathering is the Community Circle, where the conversations begin and end.

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THE ARC OF RECOGNITION: The Ordinary, Extraordinary Shift in Seeing and Hearing One Another

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When we are invited to speak our name and what is true for us, and we hear others do the same, an energetic shift predictably occurs that is at once quite ordinary and simultaneously astoundingly transformative for the group. There is power in being heard. However, the combination of speaking and listening deeply in a safe container produces a remarkable shift within a group that may be imperceptible to almost everyone but the Convener. Simply put, we experience being heard and "seen" as who we truly are while simultaneously seeing and hearing others for who they truly are. This produces the effect of recognizing one another in an essential way. In the movie Avatar, the central social theme revolved around the indigenous Na'vi "seeing" one another. This sweet space in any gathering is a moment that the Convener watches for with great anticipation. It's the appearance of this Arc of Recognition that can enable us to succesfully enter Essential Conversation.

More specifically, something is happening in the group dynamics. Like much in life, it's the simple things that often have the greatest impact. When we are asked to speak from a place of meaning and allowed the space to do so, we become vulnerable and open to each other as witnesses to who we really are. This is true even if we are just saying our name, where we live, and a word or two about our present condition. Hearing others speak this way may have the effect of creating a shared experience--an arc across the room (or space)--that allows us to truly recognize our common humanity. With practice and deepening of our own awareness and skills, we facilitate this authentic engagement more and more. It may happen in the first Stringing of the Beads, or when we open to Essential Conversation, or perhaps further along in the engagement, if there is a seoncd Stringing or beyond. We then have the potential to experience interdependence and a common future. A very natural trust emanates from this awareness, allowing authentic engagement, leading to the potential for our collective wisdom.

SYNTHESIS

A very prominent teacher of meditation once said, when you drop the "I", it creates a bridge "_". When we experience a safe container some of our predispositions to hide are dissolved--allowing not only others, but certainly ourselves, to gain a very deep view of our authentic self. We mentioned the movie Avatar by no mistake--this hugely successful film hit a collective nerve in our world for many reasons--and we suspect that one of those key reasons was the way it depicts the indigenous people, the Na'vi, acknowledging or "seeing" one another, and simply speaking to that recognition authentically. Truly this would be a changed world if in all our meetings and interactions we allowed for that field to open up, and that for ourselves and others we step into the circle of true acknowledgement and unhindered safety that we are, indeed, very much a common humanity and each coming with such great gifts and incredibly profound stories to the table of life and work.

To Authentic Engagement!

Craig & Patricia

Photo Credit: Atomikphotography

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For more about TLGs and the TLG upcoming events, please visit our  website

Excerpts taken from Chapter 7: Essential Conversation: Meaningful Exchange in an Atmosphere of Trust. The Art of Convening by Craig & Patricia Neal and Cindy Wold. Get your copy or Kindle version at amazon.com here

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AoC book review- Qualitative Research Consultants' Association

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This review from the Qualitative Research Consultants Journal highlights the effectiveness of convening and authenti engagment within a very specific business applicaiton. click here for the entire review Download Book Review (02-Summer 2011) - The Art of ConveningTema-Lyn

The Art of Convening, by Craig and Patricia Neal with Cynthia Wold, is a jewel of a book, which should resonate well with research consultants interested in mastering both the inner and outer dimensions of convening meetings. The Neals bring an enlightened approach to preparing for and conducting meetings that are authentic engagements – a genuine expression of what is “true” for convener and participants. The Art of Convening provides a holistic, perhaps “spiritual,” perspective on meetings that can inspire qualitative research consultants in working with research participants and client teams.

By Laurie Tema-Lyn, Practical Imagination Enterprises,Ringoes, NJlaurie@practical-imagination.com

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A single intelligence... or the Ultimate Team

Photo Credit: Craig neal

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"At present, people create barriers between each other by their fragmentary thought. Each one operates separately. When these barriers have dissolved, then there arises one mind, where they are all one unit, but each person also retains his or her own individual awareness. That one mind will still exist even when they separate, and when they come together, it will be as if they hadn't separated. It's actually a single intelligence that works with people who are moving in relationship with one another. . . . If you had a number of people who really pulled together and worked together in this way, it would be remarkable. They would stand out so much that everyone would know they were different."
~David Bohm (physicist, philosopher, & mystic)
 

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Each Voice as Key

Photo credit: Craig neal

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P R I N C I P L E:

Each voice is needed to reveal the authentic wisdom in our engagement.

We often refer to this principle as letting go and let come. We let go of our preconceptions of who the others are in the gathering and we let come the truth, quality, and essence of each. We suspend judgment (certainty) so that we are open to the possibilities of others. We must know, internally, that we, and all the others who are here, belong here. Each is needed and is here to contribute to the potential wisdom and creativity that we want in order to allow for the best possible outcome. There are no mistakes or outisiders in the universe, or in our gathering.

We must know, internally, that we, and all the others who are here, belong here. Each is needed and is here to contribute to the potential wisdom and creativity that we want in order to allow for the best possible outcome. There are no mistakes or outsiders in the universe, or in our gathering.

When we acknowledge that each voice is needed, we recognize that we are gathering the parts of something, just as a gardener gathers tools, seeds, and soil in the creation of a garden. As in a garden, where these necessary elements come togather, it is so in our gatherings: every person contributes by coming together to create something new. We orchestrate the opportunity for each individual to participate, producing a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. When all of the voices are heard, everyone sees and is seen by one another. Authentic engagement has begun, and an organic whole begins to emerge. (93)

This principle lays the foundation for maximizing the capacity for possible outcomes that may surprise even the most savvy and creative facilitator (convener) or manager (way-shower, guide). What has been missing in most meetings is simply this very recognition. Coming at our Team meetings and interactions on a regular basis with colleagues, how can we ignite that spark that dissolves the "I" and bridges to the "We"? Once we let our self-interests and expectations down, it is amazing what happens in the Boardrooms and meeting spaces. A new capacity forms. Granted, there will be moments of noodling through the currents of control, ego, and multiple opinions and views. This is all well and good and can be deftly navigated when the convener and the convening circle is coming from this space of understanding--the understanding that All Voices are Key.

Enjoy a copy of The Art of Convening for 30% off list price! (Offer ends April 7th 2011)

Here's to Hearing All the Voices!

Warmly,

Craig and Patricia

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The Art of Intention

Photo credit: Craig Neal

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THE ART OF INTENTION

My deepest intention is always to serve, to encourage healing (in the meaning of fostering wholeness) and to embody love. I realized over time that by setting a clear intention for each gathering, for each day--I unleashed an energetic field which then drew the outer physical manifestation of that intention to me as I simultaneously was making my way towards "it".~Pele Rouge Chadima (quoted in the book p. 30 in chapter on "Clarifying Intent", the 'first' spoke on the Convening Wheel)

In The Art of Convening, one of the "spokes" or Aspects of the Convening Wheel is "Clarifying Intent". We ask ourselves foundational questions such as "What are my intentions?", "Are they in line with who I am?", and "Who are we to be together?"  These Essential Questions require us to remain in the "being" realm of convening. With these questions, we bring into play our relationship with others: who we are to be, and the how we are to be with one another. From these reflections flows the recognition of an intention that will have substance. With a clarified personal intent to be engaged, the design of the gathering and how it will be executed unfolds more easily. The Invitation, the third Aspect, is the logical next step in articulating our purpose and intent. If our intention is muddy, confused or ambiguous, it may eventually be revealed in a wishy-washy Invitation.

What matters and what counts are imagination and inspiration, a "Hail Yes!" we can attitude, and a roll up our sleeves movement of such magnitude that the future can hear us coming with our heads held high above the cloudy predictions and our knapsacks filled with our gumption and our grit, our gifts and our gratitudes-the building blocks of new cornerstones of possibility. ~Minx Boren (quoted on p. 32)

Intention is like an ignition point where ideas come closer to form, and where the numinous begins to come into reality. It provides us as individuals and groups the opportunity to slow and reflect carefully, and opens a field of gratitude and insurmountable momentum and equanimity--qualities that support success and the deepest form of accomplishment on all levels.

May your convening be full of clear intention and inspiration,

Craig, Patricia & Cindy

PS: Publisher 30% off list price limited time offer in either hardcopy or e-book. Go here to purchase for only $13.97: http://bit.ly/ebAQiw

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The invitation is about participation

Photo credit: Craig Neal

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In our new book "Art of Convening", Diarmuid O'Murchu speaks eloquently to the key aspect of the Invitation. He says, "the invitation is about participation, not mere observation. We are not journeying in the universe but with the universe. We are not concerned about living in an evolving world but co-evolving with our world. We are parts of a whole, much greater than the sum of its parts, and yet within each part we are interconnected with the whole."

This line of understanding our role as a part of a Whole living universe correlates very deeply and directly with Indigenous worldviews, and brings us circle back to understanding we are inspiringly a part of a magnificent co-creation, and that each of us has a voice and unique "fingerprint" unlike any other. When we gather in a convening circle, we deepen our ability to be productive, open to possibilities, and to acknowledge each individual's key role when we come from this lens.

Art of Convening is a very special journey full of tools and steps for authentic engagement. We'd be honored if you'd consider writing a review at amazon.com, and also if you haven't yet a copy, our publisher Berrett-Koehler is offering a 30% off discount for a few more days--both for the hardcopy as well as e-book. Here is the UPDATED (as of March 31, 2011) link to buy a copy for 30% off--offer expires April 7, 2011. Thank you, Bolsa, for flagging this.

All the best wishes to you and your circles,

Craig & Patricia

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Craig & Patricia Neal offers live intvw webcast on Power of Communication

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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Craig & Patricia Neal offers live intvw webcast on Power of Communication Today 1p EDT http://bit.ly/dWr1qW @ArtOfConvening

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Meetings not getting anywhere?

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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Meetings not getting anywhere? Have you tried Stringing the Beads? Find out more plus get 30% off @ArtOfConvening http://bit.ly/ebAQiw

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Are you Facilitating instead of Convening?

Photo Credit: Craig neal

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Are you Facilitating instead of Convening? Find out the difference and transform your Conversations & Meetings!

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Shoveling Snow With Buddha

photo credit: craig neal

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Shoveling Snow With Buddha
 
In the usual iconography of the temple or the local Wok
you would never see him doing such a thing,
tossing the dry snow over a mountain
of his bare, round shoulder,
his hair tied in a knot,
a model of concentration.
 
Sitting is more his speed, if that is the word
for what he does, or does not do.
 
Even the season is wrong for him.
In all his manifestations, is it not warm or slightly humid?
Is this not implied by his serene expression,
that smile so wide it wraps itself around the waist of the universe?
 
But here we are, working our way down the driveway,
one shovelful at a time.
We toss the light powder into the clear air.
We feel the cold mist on our faces.
And with every heave we disappear
and become lost to each other
in these sudden clouds of our own making,
these fountain-bursts of snow.
 
This is so much better than a sermon in church,
I say out loud, but Buddha keeps on shoveling.
This is the true religion, the religion of snow,
and sunlight and winter geese barking in the sky,
I say, but he is too busy to hear me.
 
He has thrown himself into shoveling snow
as if it were the purpose of existence,
as if the sign of a perfect life were a clear driveway
you could back the car down easily
and drive off into the vanities of the world
with a broken heater fan and a song on the radio.
 
All morning long we work side by side,
me with my commentary
and he inside his generous pocket of silence,
until the hour is nearly noon
and the snow is piled high all around us;
then, I hear him speak.
 
After this, he asks,
can we go inside and play cards?
 
Certainly, I reply, and I will heat some milk
and bring cups of hot chocolate to the table
while you shuffle the deck.
and our boots stand dripping by the door.
 
Aaah, says the Buddha, lifting his eyes
and leaning for a moment on his shovel
before he drives the thin blade again
deep into the glittering white snow.
 
~ Billy Collins ~

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The Art of Convening

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AOC BOOK ON FACEBOOK

Welcome to the world of convening: the art of gathering and "holding" people for the sake of authentic engagement.

We welcome you to try the Art of Convening, beginning wherever it makes sense for you, and to discover the gift of convening in all of its simplicity and power.

-Craig, Patricia and Cindy

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Paper or Plastic?

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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Conservation is something you and I must engage in on a daily basis, and if everyone helps out a little we will eventually see a worthwhile change.

So when you go to the grocery store, why are you still asking for plastic?

Yes, it turns out that to help save the planet, you actually have to do something. Something as simple as bringing a reusable bag next time you go to the supermarket...

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A Blessing for the New Year

Photo credit: craig neal

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A Blessing for the New Year

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.

And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the fiber frays
in the canvas boat of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

~ John O'Donohue ~

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On Peggy Holman VisionHolder call

photo credit: craig neal

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I did enjoy this eye-opening call with Peggy Holman. I am inspired to read her book.

My impressions:

• that creative change engages diversity both of persons and of practices;

• that disruption, disturbance, the sense of things "falling apart" can be befriended for a new start;

• that the context of "we" , rather than "I and the other" challenges my sense of responsibility;

• that belonging differs from conformity and

• that an emerging community holds the imperative that each brings forth their best gift for the well-being of the whole.  

• (correlates with Peter Block's COMMUNITY...)   

Several years ago I participated in a seminar here with Harrison Owen's Open Space Technology. I was pleased to hear Peggy note this in her research. Harrison then reported on his successful work with US West in Phoenix.  
Lately I have been involved with the SHiFT community here and keep thinking that an Open Space event would be beneficial for those in transition.  After I study Peggy Holman's book, bringing it to the attention of others in my group, who knows what ideas may emerge?
Marie Thielen MA LP CPCC
Third Quarter Design
Coaching for What's Next
612-722-6760

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11/16-Interview: Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity

photo credit: craig neal

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Thanks to all who joined us on the call last night!

Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. -Vaclav Havel

Last night Peggy Holman, master change method chronicler and author of the new book, Engaging Emergence, was our VisionHolder conversationalist with Craig and the community. Here are some snippets from Peggy.

I choose to be curious about chaos and breakdown. It offers me the best chance of more than just surviving. As things fall apart, it creates the space for something good to happen. Chaos creates a diversity of opportunity for people.

Two hallmarks:

• The notion that people care: people do care and want to make a difference
• Welcoming disturbance: there is a shift, an acceptance, the knowing of your own fear.

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We’re hospicing the old; midwifing the new. -Margaret Wheatley

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Conversations that matter: Conversation that help us see ourselves in context. experience the "we", experience ourselves in the whole.
How do we take this to scale?

2 pieces of the puzzle:
macroscope: creating the tools and mechanisms (tech and internet will create the vehicles)
microscope: many of us doing this work, stretching ourselves, as often as possible. share our stories to inspire others.

-how do we bring people together in holistic way to create scale?
-visual metaphors: even though you might think a large corporate system is immovable, as soon as people can step away from the immediate focus to the larger context, something does shift.

When the structures of how things are becomes so bad for a sufficient portion of the population, it's time to look at the principles and ideas for what supports people. What evolves is more complex systems that can handle more diversity.

One of my major ah-hahs is: there is a deep human need to belong, and an unspoken cultural assumption is that to belong you must conform. Instead of conforming, consider:

• take responsibility for what you love as an act of service.
• pay attention to what you deeply love, and bring it forward. it may be disruptive, but in the higher order of complexity, our uniqueness, the larger whole emerges.

http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=P17ee1365e5335e7e5da5fb9f08a17624YFh9R1REZmtx&buffer=5&shape=6&fc=FFFFFF&pc=666666&kc=009900&bc=CCCCCC&brand=1&player=ap26
 

MP3 File

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10/20 Interview: Love Leadership: a movement is launched

Photo credit: Craig neal

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Talk about vision in action! Last night's VisionHolder Interview with John Hope Bryant was a message of hope and fierce claiming of love as a transformational power and a movement to reclaim capitalism as a foundation that works for all. Leading from love...

As a special advisor on finance and economics to the last 3 Presidents (Clinton, Bush, Obama), we found John's message at once transformative and yet very practical. Imagine the courageous conversations he invoked as he speaks about the Five laws of love-based leadership and as a financial advisor, saying, "Love makes money and Vulnerability is power." It's the beginning of transformational change in the halls of institutional power.

order the book here

Five Laws of Love-based Leadership:

1. Loss Creates Leaders (there can be no strength without legitimate suffering)
2. Fear Fails (only respect and love leads to success)
3. Love Makes Money (love is at the core of true wealth)
4. Vulnerability is Power (when you open up to people they open up to you)
5. Giving is Getting (the more you offer to others, the more they will give back to you).

There is a fierceness to his message of love as action and claiming of true power. Love is not this new-agey thing, but work, action. Fear is a punk. Fear is lazy. John spoke to rainbows after storms, not letting a good crisis go to waste. The time is now to speak this truth to create real power.

Many thanks to John for his words, his courage, and his commitment to activism through love.

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The Art of VIRTUAL Convening- 10/25

photo credit: craig neal

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The Art of VIRTUAL Convening

Authentic Engagement in a VIRTUAL environment

With Craig Neal, co-author of the upcoming book The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations

A Free Virtual 1-hour Workshop

TLG members

You may spend hours on the phone each day, in meetings and conversations. Are they heavy on the transactional, while light on the relationsional?  Join me while we learn and focus directly on virtual convening in this one-hour is a FREE Maestro TeleConference Workshop! (registration links below)

This could be a great opportunity to learn the aspects and practices we've been using in the current Art of Convening trainings and outlined in the upcoming book.

When: Monday, October 25,  8am or 7pm (Central Time)

Who should attend? Anyone who conducts teleconferences or conversations over the telephone or internet. We who know the challenge and frustration in bringing a true sense of connectedness and authenticity to a virtual environment where people cannot see each other and are often multitasking or reluctant to jump in. This 1 hour workshop will demonstrate how to bring a sense of community to a virtual environment using the principles and practices of the AoC Convener. (read more on our webpage)

Craig

REGISTER NOW for 8am CTREGISTER NOW for 7pm CT

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10/19: "It's what you don't know that you don't know that's killing you, but you think you know..."

photo credit: craig neal

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10/19- HOPE Oakland Financial Literacy Empowerment Forum (see below)

Heartland's next VisionHolder interview is with John Hope Bryant, author, LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World. Breaking news: Operation HOPE Founder and Business Bestselling Author John Hope Bryant Attends World Economic Forum in Tianjin as a Young Global Leader.

Patricia first heard John speak on MN Public Radio and was just enthralled. The genesis story: In 1992, at the age of 26, John was running a successful financial services business in LA when the riots broke out. After the chaos subsided, John saw that his community needed a hand-up, not a hand-out, so he founded Operation HOPE. In Love Leadership, John chronicles his story of transformation from a teenager growing up in South LA to the leader of one of the most impressive antipoverty organizations in the country.

What is the secrete to his leadership success? LOVE 

Read on for more information about John and HOPE.

  HOPE Oakland Financial Literacy Empowerment Forum: the Rebirth of America, the Future of the Financial Services Industry and the Effect on Underserved Communities, Post Economic Crisis

  HOPE Global Initiatives
 John's Mission Statement

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"HOPE Global Initiatives was developed out of the organization’s leadership role in hosting Ambassadors and Heads of State visiting Southern California, as well as the founder’s former role with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva, Switzerland, as their first ever goodwill ambassador to the United States."

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The role of HOPE Global Initiatives is to promote and advocate the benefits of economic empowerment as a tool for vastly improving the quality of life in developing countries, with a particular focus on developing countries on the African continent. The role has expanded to serve underserved communities throughout the world.

Hollywood comes to Soweto - Rwanda Rising - Operation HOPE - South Africa  Global Dignity

John''s Mission Statement:

"There is a difference between broke and being poor. Being broke is a temporary economic condition, but being poor is a disabling frame of mind and a depressed condition of your spirit, and you must vow to never, ever be poor again."
My vision for the poor, the under-served, and the wealthless of the world is to help them see themselves -- differently. We can do this by helping to expose, to educate, to empower, and ultimately to inspire them. To help them become "dreamers, with shovels in their own hands," quoting my friend Dr. Dorothy Height.
To see themselves for what and who they truly already are; rich in spirit. Assets, and not liabilities on the world's global balance sheet.
Because, I have seen, time and again, that given an informed choice, the poor do not want a hand out, but simply a hand up. They want the dignity that comes from doing for self.
That education is the ultimate poverty eradication tool, and when you know better, you tend to do better.
Moving from civil rights to silver rights. From integrating the lunch counter, to integrating the dollar too.
That low-wealth communities, the world over, represent future emerging markets waiting to be born. That one person can make a diference, and we are that one person. That we are all accountable and responsible for the world we live in, because it is literally the world we create. A little hope can make the difference.

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