Adam Kahane's Keynote Remarks

At our 2007 Conference, we were privileged to hear a keynote address from Adam Kahane, one of the world's foremost writer-practitioners of dialogue. Grounding his remarks in the story of his work with Vision Guatemala, Adam spoke of different forms of conversation and the need for leadership around reflective and generative dialogue.

Here is an excerpt of his biography from Reos Consulting:

Adam Kahane is a partner in Reos Partners, an international organisation dedicated to supporting and building capacity for innovative collective action in complex social systems. Adam is a leading organizer, designer and facilitator of processes through which business, government, and civil society leaders can work together to address their toughest challenges. He has worked in more than fifty countries, in every part of the world, with executives and politicians, generals and guerillas, civil servants and trade unionists, community activists and United Nations officials, clergy and artists. Adam is the author of Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2004). Nelson Mandela said: “This breakthrough book addresses the central challenge of our time: finding a way to work together to solve the problems we have created.” Adam’s second book, Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change, is forthcoming from Berrett-Koehler in December 2009.