Business as an Agent of World Benefit: A case study investigating tipping points created through app

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Business as an Agent of World Benefit A case
study investigating tipping points created
through appreciative inquiry

• Mary Grace Neville
• Doctoral Candidate
• Dept of Organizational Behavior
• Case Western Reserve University

David Cooperrider Professor Dept of
Organizational Behavior Case Western Reserve
University
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Business as an Agent of World Benefit is a global
inquiry about the positive intersections of
business and society.

• Creates a landmark inquiry into the best of human
  potential, positive visions, and organizational
  structures
• Calls on best past experiences and most hopeful
  visions for the future
• Lifts the voices of positive change leaders of
  all relationships to the topic
• Seeks global inclusion of voice and difference

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BAWB is anchored in principles of Appreciative
Inquiry, both for methodology and guiding
philosophy.

• Constructionist Principle
• Principle of Simultaneity
• Poetic Principle
• Anticipatory Principle
• Positive Principle

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The organizational architecture emerges from
chaordic principles that yoke chaos with order.

• Common purpose or intent binding community
• Principles of aspiration and fundamental beliefs
• People act on behalf of members and potential
  members of the community
• Relationship defined conceptually by visualizing
  what enables pursuit of purpose
• Structures embody the purpose, principles, people
  and concept in written document the legal bind

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The BAWB pilot dialogue was semi-structured and
highly leveraged.

• Semi-structured principles and objectives allowed
  us to prioritize activities while honoring what
  didnt fit in the short term, such as
• Convening partners agreement of principles
• Piloting what would roll out over time, without
  clarity about what it would become over time
• A temporal container a pilot launch date and a
  conference end date
• Trying on many individuals objectives
• Leveraging serendipity created powerful
  movement, such as
• September 11 terrorist attacks
• His Holiness the Dalai Lama intending to
  participate
• Funding foul-ups
• Convergence of personal journeys

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A new launch is scheduled for February 2003
integrating learning from the pilot.

• Going global with regional nodes that link to a
  core which is governed by representatives
• Focusing activity via a menu of objectives
• Inviting people to imagine involvement
• Reinventing a technology network for
  communication and idea exchange
• Capturing best stories for dialogue, rather than
  all stories for research

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We expect to learn about fanning flames of
inquiry to reach tipping points in dialogue
across complex systems.

• Questions that Compel our Work
• How do individuals internalize an inquiry
  experience such that it is compelling enough to
  share with others?
• How can we best understand idea and inquiry
  contagion patterns throughout systems and across
  boundaries?
• What environments and structures effectively
  create business as an agent of world benefit?