Saturday, November 1, 2008

What is the Graduate Reinvention Initiative?

In the Spring of 2006, some Landmark Forum graduates got together to create a conversation about the future of the Landmark enterprise. At that time, the Landmark enterprise had not yet began the inward review that would lead to the current process of reinvention and the leadership was still committed to pre-existing ways of doing things.

Instead of dropping out or waiting for the organization to find its way, we set out to inspire the community with new possibilities, unique perspectives on why Landmark was "stuck", and specific policies to renew the enterprise as an extraordinarily effective vehicle of the conversation of transformation. Just as the reinvention conversation recognizes the value of building from the existing structure and capabilities of Landmark, our graduate-led initiative sought to renew and build from the existing Landmark framework. A graduate-led "reform conversation" was born. You can read about the original reform conversation at www.reformers.blogspot.com.

One of the ways of doing things around the enterprise has been to complete issues by discussing them locally and taking them up the chain of command as appropriate until completion. This process of "getting complete" remains key to being responsible in the new framework of reinvention. Before we began our graduate-led initiative three and a half years ago, it was in this spirit of responsibility and completion that we discussed issues that had Landmark "stuck" with course leaders, center managers, Landmark headquarters (a.k.a "Harry's office"). But as we know, getting complete involves saying everything there is to say, but not necessarily achieving a specific, real outcome relating to the issue at hand.

What is one to do when one is complete in their communication, yet real issues impacting the Landmark community and its objectives remain unresolved? This is a question that many Landmark graduates will be confronting soon as they move from being "heroes" who silently overcome to being responsible at the level of enterprise, having completion conversations, and making choices from the clearing of completion. We faced this question at a time when Landmark leadership had not yet acknowledged that Landmark was "stuck", and we found that being powerful is not in following the leader, but in taking the initiative as a community with the power to make a difference.

Responsible and powerful graduates will recognize that there are more powerful choices than simply going back to prior ways of doing, waiting for the redesign, or even dropping out (when completion does not provide a result consistent with an individual's chosen range of actions). The Graduate Reinvention Initiative recognizes that the graduate community, when united, has the power to realize our vision of the future of Landmark. We will not simply provide suggestions or wait indefinitely for redesign. We are here to take the initiative to create to the future of the enterprise. We are the Graduate Reinvention Initiative.