The Five Core Principles For Having A Truly Strategic Conversation

Somehow, I missed reading this terrific book when it debuted 11 years ago. It is Moments of Impact by Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon. 

I read it this past week, and as you read the book you will learn how to design strategic conversations that accelerate change, using five core principles. 

Drawing on decades of experience as innovation strategists—and supported by cutting-edge social science research, dozens of real-life examples, and interviews with well over 100 thought leaders, executives, and fellow practitioners, Ertel and Solomon unveil a simple, creative process that allows teams to tackle their most challenging issues. 

“In our fast-changing world, leaders are increasingly confronted by messy, multifaceted challenges that require collaboration to resolve. But the standard methods for tackling these challenges—meetings packed with data-drenched presentations or brainstorming sessions that circle back to nowhere—just don’t deliver,” explain the authors. 

By contrast, share Ertel and Solomon, great strategic conversations can be powerful moments of impact that generate insights by combining the best ideas of people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. 

“Strategic conversations lift participants above the fray of daily concerns and narrow self-interest, reconnecting them to their greater, collective purpose, add the authors. 

The five core principles for creating a well-designed strategic conversation are the following, which are different from those of simply creating a well-organized meeting: 

1. Define the purpose instead of declaring the objectives.
2. Engage multiple perspectives instead of identifying participants.
3. Frame the issues instead of assembling content.
4. Set the scene instead of finding a venue.
5. Make it an experience instead of setting the agenda. 

You can become an expert at applying these principles by using the sixty-page Starter Kit section of the book, which provides tools and tips. 

“If you’ve got a big strategic conversation coming up and don’t have time to read the whole book, you can quickly find many helpful ideas in the Starter Kit that will increase your odds of success,” share the authors. 

Additionally, use the Starter Kit as a checklist where you can scan the details quickly and reabsorb their lessons. 

And finally, Ertel and Solomon recommend that the Starter Kit can provide a shared framework, process, and language that will enable teams of people at different skill levels to design better strategic conversations—and then learn from one another along the way. 

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me a copy of the book.