In this new four-part blog series, we’re diving deep into the Rockefeller Ethic — our guiding process inspired by the life and leadership of Winthrop Rockefeller. Each post will explore one of the essential principles that define this equation.
First up is Collaborative Problem Solving. Sarah French, a member of our conference services team, reveals how the power of collective input fuels meaningful change, transforming not just our workplaces but our communities and state as well.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Carrying forward the legacy of a visionary philanthropist who dedicated himself to reforming state governance, advancing civil rights, attracting industry, and transforming agriculture is a monumental task, even for the entire Institute.
Yet even a man as imposing, compelling, and connected as Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller knew he couldn’t move the needle on his passion projects alone. His funds and grit wouldn’t get it done; he needed collaboration. Here at the Institute, we spend our days continuing his quest for constant improvement in the complex issues facing Arkansas and the nation. Much of our work is done by hosting groups devoted to tackling such problems.
Gov. Rockefeller famously said, “Every citizen has the duty to be informed, to be thoughtfully concerned, and to participate in the search for solutions.” Fortunately for us, creating transformational change is frequently a compilation of small changes. The Institute offers a location where people can come together not just to “be” together but to learn from and celebrate one another. As groups spend time together talking, eating, playing pickleball, or walking around Lake Abby, human connections lead to trust that builds and creates networks that each part can count on when collaboration is called for.
Our team of conference planners at the Institute is honored to be of service to those changemakers, the groups convening on the mountain in a long and growing tradition of making time to collaborate in service of a better Arkansas and beyond. Within my team, we often lean on the word “unburden.” My team wants all guests to feel unburdened by the million small parts of daily life, to slip out of daily cares to focus on the issues they have convened to tackle.
Many of the amenities at the Institute are offered to create opportunities for conversation, collaboration, and being present in the moment. Guests may choose to take advantage of the firepits, bocce ball court, pickleball, kayaks, baggo, and other amenities so that when your team convenes in a more formal setting, the pump is primed for having more productive conversations about how you can solve your problems collaboratively.
Of course, many teams don’t already have the tools or skills to have the most productive meetings possible. To address this gap, the Institute offers several professional development and team building workshops, in addition to on- and off-site facilitation and meeting design services.
Collaborative problem solving can be invigorating. It can also create feelings of nervousness or trepidation about the unknown. Every transformation requires the end of what was before it, the letting go of the old and embracing of the new. By making big decisions together and by knowing your conclusions are a result of the time you spent together with us on Petit Jean Mountain, you can be confident that “the new” will be transformative and lasting.
Sarah French
Conference Plannersfrench@rockefellerinstitute.orgIf you have a need to bring people together, we want you to do your important, collaborative work here. The first step is to fill out our brief Conference Application Form!