The HRC thanks Sarah Griswold for serving as guest author for the following entry. Sarah has been working in the museum field for nearly 20 years as a curator and director. She is currently an independent consultant and is working at the Gunn Memorial Museum in Washington as curatorial assistant. Sarah is part of the Connecticut Peer Advisor Network through the Connecticut Commission of Culture and Tourism and is a consulting principal for Ericson Business Group, a management consulting firm. She has most recently worked as Collections Manager for the Lebanon Historical Society and Project Director for the Pomperaug Plantation History Project for the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition. Sarah has just completed an eight year term on the board of the Connecticut League of History Organizations, where she was secretary, and she continues to volunteer on committees for that group.

The World Cafe by Juanita Brown, with David Isaacs and the World Cafe Community, is a book that can help you learn how to use structured conversations to move a group of people from an assortment of individuals with ideas to a community of people working toward a common purpose. The community can be as large as your entire organization, with board, staff and stakeholders, or as small as a committee or other sub group.

Using many case studies, the authors state that the best, most useful ideas are those that already exist within a group. They suggest that those great ideas, solutions to problems, or insights into situations, are often missed because the conversations addressing them are flawed. They have developed a process by which those great ideas can be 'harvested', as they call it, and used to create meaningful, positive change.

The World Cafe makes a couple of assertions that have the potential to change the way you think about how your organization works, and how you can begin to move it in a positive, constructive direction. First, they assert that conversation is action. By simply talking about a situation that needs to be changed, change can begin to happen. Second, you already hold the answer to whatever you are exploring. It exists in the wisdom of the group and just needs to be uncovered.

How the conversation is conducted will determine whether the change is positive and moves the organization or group forward to action or not. How the conversation is conducted will unleash the wisdom of the group, and move it toward solutions and actions. The World Cafe approach is the how of constructive, positive conversation.

The World Cafe approach can be used for a wide range of issues, from planning an exhibit to developing a strategic plan for the organization as a whole. It can be used as a way of getting staff, board or the general public talking about your organization and what works or doesn't work. It can be a way of testing the waters with a new idea, or as a way of generating those ideas.For consultants, it can be another effective tool to put in your tool box as you help clients move through their issues.

The World Cafe is an approach that has evolved and been tested by groups large and small and can bear demonstrable fruits. This book is a guide to understanding the power of conversation and learning how to apply it for positive, effective change in your organization. It is written in a clear, easy to follow format, with a good mixture of case studies, philosophy, and guidelines for conducting your own conversation.

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