The Wisdom Council "Next time you're in a meeting, watch the rituals of business: the dueling egos, turf protection, talking-without-listening. Maybe it's time for a different kind of ritual. Something old." Fast Company Magazine, How to make decisions like a tribe. The Wisdom Council has its roots in the earth wisdom teachings of Mayan and pre-Mayan cultures. Over thousands of years these peoples studied how whole systems, including nature, animals and the universe, stayed in balance and sustained themselves. They applied this learning to human systems, both our internal processes and what is needed to live together in harmony. These teachings have been kept alive and passed by oral tradition down through the generations. The Wisdom Council enables wise and sustainable decision-making by looking into an issue, challenge or question from eight distinct perspectives that make up a sequence of wholeness. By evoking the individual and collective wisdom, a more profound understanding of the whole system and deeper insightsare generated, leading to more balanced and informed decisions. We use the Wisdom Council to help individuals, teams, organisations and communities to find solutions to important and urgent issues that call for a higher level of thinking than logic and analysis can offer. As the issue is explored from each perspective in turn, the collective wisdom is released resulting in profound shared insights, and 30+ new actionable recommendations emerge as a launch pad for the next steps. In the Council process, we learn to see quickly and deeply into: what is needed; what is missing; what we need to remember to act powerfully, and what the likely outcomes of a given plan are. It teaches us to think and act systemically. The Wisdom Council is a process whose simplicity and wholeness are easy to grasp, and yet it is worthy of a lifetime of study.  It is capable of holding the enormous complexity of the whole without getting lost in the details. The design of the Council remains visible, accessible and guides us to a place of clarity - a clarity that is in harmony with our highest aspirations. The Council Process   Ways we use the Wisdom Council During a one day Wisdom Council participants learn the deeper meaning behind each of the eight perspectives, their practical application and how they interconnect. They have the opportunity to identify and agree their important and urgent questions, using an novel '10 Stones' approach and then take one or more of these questions through the Wisdom Council process to generate deeper shared understanding and 30+ actionable recommendations. A Wisdom Council works for one person with challenging question as well as for 500+ participants. On a second optional day we introduce the Decision Council and Proposal Process to enable the group to use the recommendations from the previous day and work effectively in task forces to develop actions plans for moving forward. A Wisdom Council programme enables a group or organisation to hold 4-6 Wisdom Councils in a 12 month period and be supported in their learning and application in between events through a combination of 1:1 or group coaching and an online or intranet based learning and implementation community. This is tailored to the needs of the organisation.   “The Ancient Wisdom Council is a deep process that enables participants to step back from the pressures and demands of any situation and open their minds and hearts to listen, to consider, and to source wisdom from deep reflection.  It begins with a question that the person, group, community, or team surfaces that affects the well-being of the whole." Read more WindEagle and RainbowHawk, Ehama Institute,  from the forthcoming The Change Handbook: Group Methods for Shaping the Future, 2007 Benefits of a Wisdom Council Avoids duelling egos Reveals deep insights Addresses deep conflict Releases collective genius Connects hearts and minds Encourages system thinking Develops deeper relationships Respects everyone’s contributions Avoids people fighting their corner Generates over 30 recommendations Develops more profound understanding Heightens energy for progress or completion Case Histories A wide range of organisations have experienced or applied the Wisdom Council including General Motors, AT&T, Unisys, Northern Telecom, Bank of Boston, Aetna, McKinsey & Co., the World Bank, Lucent Technolgies. Here are some examples of application of the Wisdom Council: Young & Rubicam/Texaco A new agency/client team met for the first time to share their collective wisdom on what was needed to create brilliant work together. They produced over 30 actionable recommendations to improve the quality of their collaboration. "The Wisdom Council has really helped us to find the team spirit we needed to get started on this budget. It has lead us all to go deeper into our feelings and thoughts, reveal our true "us" as a team but also as individuals in this team. This has been a great experience we wish we can use again to go the step further." Philippe Bonnet, Account Managing Director, Y&R Europe Institute for the Future - USA The Institute for the Future, a 30-year-old American company that develops 'foresight' reports for international corporations, employed the Wisdom Council several times as part of their strategic planning process. The challenge was to create an environment in which the directors, all academics, would share recommendations for the way forward in a way that built on and supported each other. "The experience was the best directors offsite meeting we have ever held. I am impressed with the Wisdom Council process. It is simple yet profound. It kept us out of our sometimes-dysfunctional communication styles with each other. "We worked the issues, we listened to each other, we had more equal participation across the whole group than we typically do with other meeting styles." Bob Johansen, President, Institute for the Future Social Entreprenuers Group "The Wisdom Council offers an extraordinarily powerful system for focusing the mind and encouraging innovative thinking in diverse groups. I was impressed by the beauty and clarity of Mike and Patricia Bell's Wisdom Council workshop, which draws on ancient knowledge but is equally applicable to the modern boardroom, NGO or market focus group.   “Business consultants often claim that 'Management of change is the biggest challenge for organisation'. The Wisdom Council offers extraordinary tools, thinking and approaches which have been used throughout the history of time to make decisions and come to consensus on group vision and action in a non-confrontational and inspiring format.” Brian Davis, Director, Creative Dream Company and senior business journalist for magazines including The Manufacturer, Professional Engineering, Chemical Week and many other publications.   Community Intelligence Ltd “Mike and Patricia Bell created a Wisdom Council for our senior team as we were launching Community Intelligence Ltd. The opportunity to explore our questions in this innovative way gave us new insights and helped us become more connected as a team. Mike and Patricia provided a very supportive atmosphere and guided us through the process very well without getting in the way of our work.” George Por, CEO, Community Intelligence Ltd   Lucent Technologies Lucent Technologies brought 460 of their Marketing people to Miami at the beginning of April 1997 for a Wisdom Council sitting led by Ehama Insitute, which included the entire management, during which corporate targets were decided and team building developed. "Most of the people learned to listen and ask questions instead of approaching a problem with a prepared answer", says Kathleen Baier, Quality Manager of the $23 billion multi-national. An independent questionnaire by the University of Massachusetts found that the staff thought the experience was challenging and that it released energy that improved relationships and communication. Association for Management Education and Development The Scottish Branch of AMED met to learn about the Wisdom Council and, in doing so, used the Council to help them resolve an issue they had been facing for several months. The, then, Chairman said afterwards: "The atmosphere was one of calm and tranquillity, and everyone commented on how a complex problem had inroads made with no talking down, no interruption, and true use of the talents in the room." AMED Conference 1998 "Wise decisions start with effective listening and countless misunderstandings indicate that listening is extremely difficult in any situation. The Wisdom Council seems powerful, practical and profound method of ensuring that the often unheard talent in a room is given the air to enable well-considered, balanced outcomes to emerge." Terry Gibson "Its an interesting way of looking at complex decisions and probably helps to reduce some of the confusion and tensions around issues that generate quite a bit of heat. A lot depends though on who leads the Wisdom Council and what they bring" Andy  Leigh "It was amazing how an analysis and a possible solution emerged so easily and quickly. The strength of this method for organisations is that there are a number of perspectives which can be considered and combined" Sandra Clyne Knight Ridder - USA Senior executives of this national newspaper corporation experienced a Wisdom Council as part of a one week leadership programme. They used the Wisdom Council to look into the future of their industry and developed deeper insights into their role and value.  One participant said: "I liked this unique way of posing this question. It helped us to look at the issue from different perspectives. It was enlightening for me. Thanks!" Energis Squared plc As part of a company reorganisation that required greater cross-functional working and creativity, over 30 managers came together in a circular conference space at the Earth Center near Doncaster, England.  They used the Wisdom Council to explore the questions 'what is needed to create a culture of vibrant innovation in an organisation?'. They arrived at over 30 recommendations which helped inform further work on the topic. Top © The Wisdom Meme 2008