Magnifying the Strengths Revolution New Horizons in AI

Magnifying the Strengths Revolution New Horizons in AI Theory and Practice *** Building Positive Institutions Refracting Our Highest Human Strengths into the World

A Special Coming Together: The Symphony of Strengths in This Room Positive Revolution in Change Research An Unfolding Drama: 1. Strengths-Elevating 2. Strengths-Combining 3. Strengths-Extending Organizations Image Placeholder Theory “AI” and New Horizons: Innovation & Sustainable Design Tom Brokow’s “Greatest Generation” to our Most Privileged Generation? .

Context— The Most Exciting Project I Have Ever Worked On .

An AI exploration into: • Business as an Agent of World Benefit • Inspired by Classification of Human Strengths--VIA • Global Anticipatory Learning—Club of Rome Challenge Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit

Business as an Agent of World Benefit --More Than 2, 000 Interviews --100 s of Published Profiles “Positive Institutions” --see www. worldinquiry. org “Awe is What Moves Us Forward”--the story.

Business and Society Debate In today’s trust-starved climate, our market-driven system is under attack…large parts of the population feel that business has become detached from society —that business interests are no longer aligned with societal interests” --Klaus Schwab, President, World Economic Forum .

Harman’s Look at the Future: Other Side of the Debate Business, the motor of our society, has the opportunity to be the new creative force on the planet, a force which could contribute to the well-being of many…the modern corporation is as adaptable an organizational form as has ever been invented, so that in a time of fundamental change it may be expected to be on the cutting edge. ” --Stanford’s Willis Harman.

BUSINESS AS AN AGENT OF WORLD BENEFIT World Inquiry Interviews MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE LEADING POSITIVE CHANGE --Simply click www. worldinquiry. org 1. Download interview guide 2. Contact leading innovators in your community or country

Sustainable Value —From Obligation to Innovation Mindset (source: Chris Lazslo) Unsustainable (Value Transfer) Shareholder Value Sustainable Value Clean energy vehicles Stakeholder Value¹ Fossil fuel ICE Unsustainable (Lose/Lose) Unsustainable (Value Transfer). ¹ absolute standards or relative to competitors

BUSINESS AS AN AGENT OF WORLD BENEFIT MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE LEADING POSITIVE CHANGE .

AI at the UN World Summit With Business and Industry CEOs and Civil Society Leaders .

UN Global Compact AI Summit Results—and Surprises n Innovations: HP, Novartis, BP, Ericcson, Tata, etc n Vision of PRI Project: Goldman Sachs and Other Investment Firms, Representing $10 Trillion in Assets n Who Cares Wins— eclipse of “the great tradeoff illusion”—ESG issues move to the strategic core— 25% greater stock appreciation.

Results (cont. ) n 10 Stock Exchanges & Climate Change Initiative n 43 Local Networks…China n 100% Growth in Members by 2007 Summit n Companies Calling for New Leaders Counter-Summit Collaborative Innovation But Why? How? .

Appreciative Inquiry Involves a Shift “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. We must learn to see the world anew. ” “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ” – Albert Einstein .

Theory AI: Positive Change as Co-elevation Elevate-and-Extend n n n Spirit of Inquiry & Ethos of Appreciation Resonating Patterns of Positive Emotions High Quality Connections Broaden-And-Build n n n Pro-fusion of Strengths Magnification (analysis, synthesis) Savoring (ritual, story, meaning) Establish-and-Eclipse n n n Generative Imagination and Energy Doing & Undergoing (“undoing”) Upward spiral .

Theory AI: Positive Change as Co-elevation Elevate-and-Extend n n n Spirit of Inquiry & Ethos of Appreciation Resonating Patterns of Positive Emotions High Quality Connections Broaden-And-Build n n n Pro-fusion of Strengths Magnification (analysis, synthesis) Savoring (ritual, story, meaning) Establish-and-Eclipse n n n Generative Imagination and Energy Doing & Undergoing (“undoing”) Upward spiral .

Fairmount Minerals Story Birth of the “Sustainable Design Factory” .

Sustainable Design Factory Linking Ai, Innovation, & Whole System Strengths n Every Global Issue is a Business Opportunity n Design is All About Positive Intention & Boundary Leaping Inquiry n Experience the Configuration of the Whole-- Large Group: 300— 1000 people and more, with worldwide web & Ovation-Net Software n Power of the Frame & the Design Task: “How Might We…” n From Appreciative Inquiry to Rapid Prototyping — The Practice of Appreciative Intelligence n Eclipse Past Patterns By Experiencing 3 -Dimensional Prototypes n Co-designing Leaves a Legacy in Its Wake—a Culture of Innovation.

Whole System Sustainable Value Design The Democratization of Design Thinking External Stakeholders: n Customers n Suppliers n NGO’s n Neighbors/Communities n Board of Directors Internal Stakeholders n Operations n Administration & Corporate Services n Customer Service n Engineering n Logistics n Quality n Sales n Technical Support / R&D n Imagine 300 Stakeholders —designing new products, services. .

Images of the Sustainable Design AI Summit .

Initiative Samples: From One Sustainable Design Summit n Spent Sand: Recover, Recycle & Re-Use: $mutlti-million new business unit n Sustainable Resin Packaging: Reduce landfill waste, reduce fuel, saves labor: $300, 000 annual savings n Truck to rail conversion: Conserves fuel, satisfied neighbors, – $125, 000 annual savings…MUCH MORE .

Initiative Samples: From One Sustainable Design Summit n Fast Track site development: Transparency, environment, community impact: – $6 million (one year of early operations) n Bo. P Initiatives—example: water filter prototype: whole new market partnerships n 38% Increase Sales Growth. ALL empowerment measures up “valuing and recognizing my strengths” n 2007 #1 Corporate Citizen Award, US Chamber of Commerce .

Fairmount Started with Appreciative Inquiry in 1990 With a Focus on Empowerment 40% CAGR Past Four Years .

Signs of a New Magnitude Change Readiness? A Question for You: Which organization will help save more lives in the next five years than any other— children, women, and men—who are picking cotton in toxic and chemically treated fields all over the world—fields that are so toxic that when you touch the cotton it feels like an electric jolt around your fingers? .

n It employs 1. 9 million people n Its serves 138 million people per week. n It has approximately $350 billion in sales n It’s attracting the most brilliant and radical environmental minds e. g. Amory Lovins n It’s raising many eyebrows .

Wal-Mart’s Early Steps Many are Watching. . 1. Be supplied by 100% renewable energy 2. Create zero waste 3. Sell products that sustain the environment

Call to high purpose, sustainable value creation turns on an entire workforce--strengths come alive .

Implications of Packaging Eco- Innovation & People Turned On n Prevented millions of pounds of trash from reaching landfills n Across the supply chain, the initiative will save 667, 000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere n Equal to taking 213, 000 trucks off the road annually, and saving 323, 800 tons of coal and 66. 7 million gallons of diesel fuel from being burned. “The packaging is renewable in 90 days instead of 90 million years”.

Implications of Packaging Sustainable Value Innovation Broadening this initiative to 255 items in Toys: n This employee driven initiative saved 3, 425 tons of corrugated materials n 1, 358 barrels of oil annually n 5, 190 trees n Millions of dollars in transportation costs.

The Organic Cotton Project n One of 12 Sustainable Value Creation Networks n Involves the purchase of 10 million pounds of organic cotton n organic vs. conventional, will keep 3 million pounds of synthetic chemicals from entering the environment. .

James’ interest: moments of extraordinary positive experience—and how these ignite “explosive” change: n Emotional occasions, especially violent ones, are extremely potent in precipitating mental rearrangements. The sudden and explosive ways in which jealousy, guilt, fear, remorse, or anger can seize upon one are known to everybody. n Hope, happiness, security, resolve, emotions characteristic of conversion…however, can be equally explosive. And emotions that come in this explosive way seldom leave things as they found them (James, 1902, p. 163 -164 ).

The Heart of Change? James went on…we truly need a new language for the kind of change that happens when things are: “hot and alive within us, and where everything has to re-crystallize about it” (James, 1902, p. 162). .

Understanding Positive Change: Why Would (Inquiry Into) Strength Connected to Strength Create Change? Positive Core: A kind of “Organizational Yoga” Inquiry link to all past, present and future lifeempowering patterns .

Theory AI- Positive Change as “Co-Elevation” 1. Elevate-and-Extend 2. Broaden-And-Build 3. Establish-and-Eclips .

Magnifying the Strengths-Revolution Strengths-elevating Strengths-combining/amplifying Strengths-extending organizations .

The Strengths-Revolution— Beyond Self to Multiple Levels of Coherence and Magnification The Elevation of the Human Strengths of the Other The Concentration of Connected Strengths The Organizational Extension & Refraction of our Highest Strengths Into the World .

Three Ways to Understand Positive Change .

Appreciative Inquiry Levels & The Beethoven Factor n Inquiry into the spectacular. n Inquiry into the ordinary. n Inquiry into the tragic. .

Why is Positive, Strength-Based Change So Easy? Science of Human Strengths n Seligman and Peterson’s Encyclopedic Human Strengths n Jonathan Haight’s Research into “Elevation” n Suresh Srivastva’s Series on Executive Wisdom, etc. n Wayne Baker’s Work on the Activation of Positive Energy Networks n Richard Boyatzis on Resonant Leadership n Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory Strengths do more than perform. They transform. .