The Talking Point : Creating an Environment for Exploring Complex Meaning 2nd Edition.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Flanagan, Thomas R.

Contributor:

Christakis, Alexander N.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dialogue analysis.

Group problem solving.

Communication.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (196 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Charlotte, NC : Information Age Publishing, Incorporated, 2021.

Summary:

"The Talking Point is all about how people learn within groups. People can be much smarter than crowds if you measure "smart" as decision-making speed. Crowds can be much wiser than individuals if you measure wisdom by depth of understanding. It is possible to understand a great deal of information yet (or maybe because of this) you can also be slow to make decisions. If rushed, crowds will make poor decisions in spite of their wisdom. So... to get good group decisions on a time scale that will keep pace with policy development needs and social necessities, groups have to be supported so that their decision-making process can be accelerated. Much has been said and written about this problem over the years. It is dangerous to have the power of groups without the wisdom of groups, and it is tragic to have the wisdom of groups without the power of groups. The Talking Point presents a meeting point for the wisdom and power of groups through the use of Structured Dialogic Design. With hopeful intentions, as a culture we have poisoned the well just when we need it most. We have touted design charettes and stakeholder processes as engagement vehicles and then ignored, marginalized or corrupted the very input that we swore to hold as sacred. This has created a myth that large scale collaboration is not possible, and the myth has led to considerable disillusionment among would-be participants and could-be sponsors. Structured Dialogic Design seeks to bust the myth about our limited capabilities to sustain boundary spanning collaboration. To bust this myth, Structured Dialogic Design needs to usher in a new wave of collaborative planning. Scholars have identified the Structured Dialogic Design methodology as the cutting edge of "third phase" science - where the reality of a situation embraces interactions between objective findings and subjective intentions. The Talking Point provides a window for observing how Structured Dialogic Design has been put into practice and paints a panorama of the issues that confront complex social system design. This book is itself a bridge between scholarship and practice, written to be accessible yet anchored to major themes in cognitive psychology, information systems, social systems, and models of group learning. The book is an invitation for transformational leaders and those who support transformational leaders to pick up a new tool in the essential quest to put our nation and our world back on track toward sustainable futures. The Talking Point is a fresh source of water in a world that is thirsty for new ways of solving complex problems"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

The Talking Point: Creating an Environment for Exploring Complex Meaning

Copyright

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION: A New Paradigm for Collaborative Language

I: THE PRACTICE

1: THE PHONE CALL: Working With Sponsors of Collaborative-Learning

THE CALL

WHAT HAS HAPPENED

ANOTHER CALL

THE LUNCH

FINAL WORD

2: THE DESIGN MANAGEMENT TEAM: Framing the Scope of Work

METADECISION-MAKING AS A DESIGN MANAGEMENT SKILL

ANTICIPATING THE CONTENT

ANTICIPATING THE PROCESS

FRAMING THE SCOPE OF WORK

PUTTING KEY ROLES INTO THE SCOPE OF WORK STATEMENT

Design Project Sponsor Side

1. The Sponsor Role

2. The Broker Role

3. The Site Logistics Role

Design Management Team Side

1. The Project Manager Role

2. The Stakeholder Researcher Role

3. The Dialogue Manager Role

4. The Recorder Role

5. The Production Manager Role

6. Optional Roles

BALANCING ROLES AMONG INDIVIDUAL TEAM MEMBERS

INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS IN THE DESIGN MANAGEMENT TEAM

3: THE PARTICIPANTS: Stakeholder Identification and Recruitment

THE FIRST PASS

WHAT JUST HAPPENED

A SECOND TAKE

WHAT HAS JUST HAPPENED

RECRUITING THE PARTICIPANT LIST

THE FINAL WORD

4: THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: Setting Up a Colaboratory

THE TACTICAL PLAN

REVISITING THE TRIGGERING QUESTION

5: THE WORK: Agenda and Activities

ENTERING THE ROOM

COMMITTING TO THE AGENDA

EXPLAINING THE TRIGGERING QUESTION

GENERATING LABELS OF IDEAS

CLARIFYING MEANING

CLUSTERING SIMILAR IDEAS

EXPRESSING PREFERENCES

WHAT HAS HAPPENED.

EXPLORING RELATIONSHIPS OF INFLUENCE

REVIEW THE INFLUENCE STRUCTURE

Review the Structure of Influence Among Preferred Ideas

AMEND OR AUGMENT THE INFLUENCE STRUCTURE

Augment/Amend the Structure of Influence AmongPreferred Ideas

CREATING A NARRATIVE FROM AN INFLUENCE STRUCTURE

FUTURE PHASES

6: THE RESULTS: Subjective and Objective Assessments

THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT

TEN YEAR IMPACT ON THE LAUNCH OF A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

TEN YEAR IMPACT ON INDIGENOUS CULTURE

TEN YEAR IMPACT ON NATION BUILDING

II: ANTICIPATING THE ARENA

7: ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY OF DIALOGUE: Words, Meanings, and Understandings

WORDS

MEANINGS

UNDERSTANDINGS

DIALOGUE

8: ABOUT CREATING MEANING: How We Think as Groups and Individuals

INDIVIDUAL THINKING

GROUP THINKING FROM THE BOTTOM UP

EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE SYNCHRONY

MIND MAPPING, DIALOGUE MAPPING, AND RELATIONSHIP MAPPING

AN EXAMPLE OF THE IMPACT OF COLLABORATIVE DESIGN FROM THE ARENA

FINAL WORDS

9: ABOUT THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIP: Power Politics Expressed in Dialogue

THE CHALLENGES OF REPRESENTING OTHERS

THE "REPRESENTATIVE-LEADER" DILEMMA

DIALOGUE-ENABLING CIVIC LEADERSHIP ROLES

POWER DISTRIBUTION AMONG CIVIC LEADERS

MANAGING POWER DYNAMICS IN GROUPS

LEADERSHIP-STYLE AGILITY

LEADERLESS STRUCTURES-STRUCTURELESS LEADERS

LEADERSHIP FOR CREATING EXPERIENCES OF NEW THINKING PROCESSES

LEADERSHIP FOR GROUPS WITH VARIED STAMINA AND CAPACITY

LEADING UNWIELDY GROUPS IN UNWIELDY TIMES

EXAMPLE FROM THE ARENA

10: ABOUT THE ART OF SENSING IMPORTANCE: Setting Priorities

CHOICE, DECISION, AND ACTION

FUSION OF EMOTION AND REASONING IN GROUP COGNITION.

RANKED-LISTS AS A MEANS OF SETTING MULTIPLE PRIORITIES

MULTI-VOTING AS A MEANS OF CONSTRUCTING RANKED-LISTS

FEATUES OF A REASONED PRIORITY

PERSPECTIVES AND PRIORITIES CHANGE AND EVOLVE IN DIALOGUE

11: ABOUT COLLABORATIVE LEARNING: Information Overload in Real Time

DEALING WITH THE DISTRACTON OF THE MIND'S NEVER-ENDING NARRATIVE

EMOTIONAL COSTS OF LEARNING, THINKING, AND UNTHINKING

COLLABORATIVE "LEARNING" FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION

THE CONTEST FOR THE OWNERSHIP OF DESIGN DIALOGUE

12: EPILOGUE: Why Do People Happily and Hopefully Struggle to Collaborate?

MANAGING COLLABORATIVE GROUPS (PROJECT MANAGERS)

EXPERIENCING AND PROMOTING DEMOCRACY (CIVIC ACTIVISTS)

TRANSFORMATIONAL SOCIETIES (ORGANIZATION CHANGE AGENTS)

FOSTERING COLLABORATIVE LEARNING (EDUCATORS)

FOLLOWING SPIRITUAL AWAKENINGS (VISIONARIES)

APPENDIX I: The Structured Dialogic Design Process

FACE TO FACE SESSIONS WITH STRUCTURED DIALOGIC DESIGN

Problem Definition Stage (1½ Days)

Designing Alternative Solutions Stage (1½ Days)

Action Planning Stage (1½ Days)

ONLINE SESSIONS WITH STRUCTURED DIALOGIC DESIGN

A BRIEF HISTORY OF STRUCTURED DIALOGIC DESIGN

APPENDIX II: The Institute for 21st Century Agoras (the AGORAS)

To Promote the Idea of Human Connectedness and Interdependence

To Promote Democratic Process

To Promote the Establishment of Colaboratories

HISTORY

REFERENCES

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Backcover.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version: Flanagan, Thomas R. The Talking Point

ISBN:

9781648026720

1648026729

OCLC:

1293247174