Customer Reviews

The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations

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The Art of Convening is not just another "How to" book full of interesting but unusable theory, offering a quick burst of inspiration but soon relegated to collecting dust on the self. Rather the Neals have given us a clear and concise guide for gathering and holding people in authentic conversation. This book will be a constant companion for those who believe we have to rethink the we gather together.

Oliver Wendall Holmes famously quipped, "I wouldn't give a fig for simplicity this side of complexity but I'd give my right arm for simplicity on the other side of complexity." What one encounters in the Art of Convening is a artful simplicity born from the labor of living with complex issues. This is the magic of this approach that makes it absolutely translatable and applicable to every context. After reading this book and practicing the Convening Wheel I have gained a deep appreciation for the years it took to distill the complexities of human encounter to an almost archetypical template to guide our engagements.

Each of the nine aspects of the wheel are connected like spokes to the "heart of the matter," the "hub" at the center. So, like walking a labyrinth one cannot get lost. When the authenticity of our gatherings is compromised by any number of factors the convener can pause and return to the "hub." As the convener "travels" along the aspects of the wheel there are plenty of resources along the way to offer support.

My copy of the Art of Convening is already dog-eared and annotated. I plan on ordering more copies to use in leadership training. While I might not give "my right arm" for the wisdom offered here, I am very grateful for this wonderful tool to keep in my tool belt as a convener of people.

Wow! I just started reading The Art of Convening this morning - it is so well written, so full of heart and soul that it brings me back to the heart of what I am doing in the world. I had the privilege of taking "The Art of Convening" course with the Neals 8 years ago and have used their techniques in my work with groups ever since. This book takes convening to a new level.
It's full of wisdom and practical advice. All of my coaches will be reading this book, and it will become a guide for those we teach to convene peer learning communities.
Cheryl Alexander Stearns, Cheryl Alexander & Associates, Inc.

The Art of Convening is one of those brilliant books that is able to reach across the spectrum appealing to the connector and convener in us all. Whether you are a businessperson, manager, facilitator, Board member, or organizer of any kind you will find this book bringing you back again and again for sharp and useful tools that really work. You will discover transformations in your Boardrooms and executive teams. You will see from new eyes the key aspects of why things work and don't work when it comes to meetings and any kind of gathering. The principles are simple, the book is clearly laid out and comes from over two decades of research and actual practicing thanks to Craig and Patricia Neal's work in Thought Leader Gatherings and their work at Heartland, Inc.

If you don't have much time-no problem. This book is a quick read on that next flight from LA to NYC. It is something you'll find yourself toting with you to refer back to and will be highlighted and earmarked enthusiastically. You might also find the book's companion, the Convening Kit, of interest.

This book, The Art of Convening, contains wisdom kernels one can APPLY. Every page is crisp and authentic.

The authors are adept at navigating and bridging us from an operating space that is fairly mechanical to what I conceive as a vital "revival" of ancient practices. These practices are still applicable and allow for vivid-ness and more humanity to enter into our everyday discussions and meetings, and always with an eye toward RESULTS.

The authors dare us to ford this stream, in work and in life, as they supply steady, understandable tools to make it through the sometimes bumpy ride. The practice of "sit-on-your-hands-and-don't-say-what-you-mean" OR "be-a-dominator-rather-than-a-listener" has become too common. As the authors point out, neither of these is effective; neither operating stance is going to take us and our organizations to where we want to go.

I read it in one plane ride. The essence and aims of the three authors ring true on EVERY page, and the resource section is comprehensive without being overwhelming. Well done, and thanks!

LC
Corporate Communicator

I was reading Art of Convening precisely at a point when my co-facilitator suddenly became hospitalized days prior to a two-day workshop with 150 people from 45 different organizations. Culling wisdom from the book, I honed my intentions for the workshop and focused attentively on cultivating quality relationships with participants. The result: a more successful, highly-rated workshop than any we had conducted so far! I highly recommend this book for anyone who convenes gatherings of any kind. It will help you clarify your intentions for the meeting, facilitate deeper and more meaningful engagement among participants, and enable you to be more present to achieve the outcomes you and participants desire.

When I think of leadership, it is all about how you show up. Most of that showing up is in some kind of meeting or conversation. And most of the deep work of leadership is in the preparation and the quiet times well before the meeting - or long after the buzz of the meeting is gone and it still clear that more work has to be done.

The leadership practice of Convening addresses the essence of executive presence. Finding what the Neals call "the heart of the matter" is an invitation to tap into the power behind the power suit. Convening is an inner and outer framework for keeping on point, for allowing for the sometimes messy creative process that gets everyone involved in finding sustainable solutions. These new solutions are likely to be better than going it alone because they they tap into the collective experience, perspective and wisdom. Community sourced. Community sustained.

This book is an elegant, easy read that opens the leadership practice wide up. Jump in!

Few meetings, in the countless I attended, in my thirty year in business were met with a sense of accomplishment. My colleagues left these unfulfilled gatherings with a quip like, "That was a total waste of time" and I found myself longing for the opportunity to speak my mind about what was 'on the table' and have my co-workers do the same. But, that was 'inappropriate' protocol.

A few years before I ended my career, a friend told me about a new way to conduct a meeting. Authentically, getting to the heart of the matter and having all the voices heard...there was an organization...Heartland run by Craig and Patricia Neal. I called and spoke to Patricia...I started my training with Craig, in The Art of Convening.

Through the journey of Convening I came to see what was missing in the workplace, authentic engagement with my colleagues, honesty in sorting out the issues we were managing and getting to the heart of the matter. I think Warren Bennis (from an HBR Blog post) sums it up:

"People learn from dialogue -- it stretches them. I know that I don't know all that I know until I'm in conversation."

Business needs a 'conversation' to stretch with and it starts with The Art of Convening. Traversing the ground of this conversation is not easy. It's fraught with many hazards and having experienced guides like Craig and Patricia lead through their book, will certainly ease the trip. Whether clarifying your intention, creating the invitation, setting the context, or determining the essential question, they have been down the trail and call forth deep wisdom and experience through their stories and questions.

The Art of Convening is one of those unique books that actually delivers what it promises. Within the pages you'll find the practices and principles that lead to authentic engagement and a robust model to connect the pieces. The process in the book created by Craig, Patricia and Cynthia, conducts the reader through the ins and outs of Convening and provides real access to the power of the process. If you are looking for a meaningful transformation in your gatherings, meetings, or conferences, this is the book for you.

In this busy world, in IT particularly, we move fast. We want actions. We want results. This tool gives me an opportunity to tell my peers in the meeting "hold off your action and let's hear everyone's thought first." It is a very powerful pause. Usually we will reach consensus and identify efficient action items afterwards.

Need to tell my boss about this tool so he can use it for his weekly staff meeting.

Length:: 1:27 Mins

This book is a golden wand for anyone who convenes people, be it church, community or business. Thankfully, years of practice have been encapsulated in this easy to read book, full of immediately useable tools.

The thing that makes this book so much more than a 'how to run a meeting' guide, is its emphasis on the inner work of preparing to lead a meeting. The process of convening is broken down into nine 'aspects' and five of them take place before the meeting starts. I've been holding meetings several times a week for about 30 years, and I gained a new appreciation for the need to (and some ways to) clarify my intentions and get myself in the right frame of mind before I walk in the door. The writing is clear and direct, and there are exercises to make the principles concrete. There are ideas here that will be helpful to anyone whose job or life involves bringing people together to get something done.

Full disclosure: one of the authors of this book is my wife. But anyone who knows me would tell you that I wouldn't be here giving it a positive review if I didn't believe in it.