OUR MINNESOTA: BUILDING A STATE OF TRUST CASCADING CONVERSATIONS BLUEPRINT All of us at Minnesota Rising are excited to be a part of “Our Minnesota: Building a State of Trust.” Begun in 2011, “Our Minnesota” connects people through a cascading conversations tour, which collects the ideas of thousands of Minnesotans from across the state through one-on-one, group, and speed networking conversations. These conversations spark fun, engaging opportunities for people to discuss their values and visions for Minnesota’s future and to share how they could make that future a reality. The number of conversations and places in which those conversations occur grows exponentially. Each person invited to participate is asked to continue the conversation with another person or group, growing an ever-expanding network of people who will ultimately build “Our Minnesota” together. Our objective is to strengthen the network and capacity of emerging leaders in Minnesota and to work toward a shared vision for the future of our state. While we cannot develop a strategic plan for our generation, we can be strategic about our intentions for the Minnesota we create together. The cascading conversations tour is an attempt to discover what we have in common, to learn about what’s working in Minnesota that we can build on, and to uncover how we can work individually and collectively to achieve the future we desire. We invite anyone and everyone who thinks this matters to join us in these conversations!
INCLUDED IN THIS BLUEPRINT A QUICK BREAKDOWN: HOW TO PARTICIPATE……………………………….……....…...…...….Page 2 ONE-TO-ONE CONVERSATION GUIDE AND FEEDBACK FORM...………………….………………Page 3 GROUP CONVERSATION GUIDE AND FEEDBACK FORM.…………………………………….……Page 6 SPEED NETWORKING CONVERSATION GUIDE AND FEEDBACK FORM…………………………....Page 9 WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE’RE DOING………...……………………………………….………...Page 10 Page 1
Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
A QUICK BREAKDOWN: HOW TO PARTICIPATE STEP 1: Invite an individual or a group of people you want to know better to join you for a conversation about our generation and Minnesota’s future. STEP 2: Use the corresponding conversation guide to frame your discussion. Spend time talking through each question. Write down your conversation partner’s ideas and stories using the feedback form provided. At the end of your conversation, invite that person to host the same conversation with someone else (this is how conversations will cascade)! STEP 3: Following your conversation, share what you learned. You can do this online through our website, via text messaging, or through good old snail mail. STEP 4: Follow Minnesota Rising (minnesotarising.org) to see how your conversations have contributed to the themes, values, and hopes emerging from young Minnesotans across the state. DESIGN + LOGISTICS Setting Up Your Conversations We encourage you to think about inviting people you want to know better. You can invite your friends, but consider reaching out to somebody you don’t know very well. This is a great opportunity to pick the brain of someone you’ve been meaning to reach out to for a while! If you are talking to a group, plan more time so everyone has a chance to provide their insights and stories. During Your Conversations ● Use the conversation questions provided for script guidelines and note-taking. ● Listen for the deep values and creative ideas embedded in the stories and capture those through quotes and summaries of what you hear. ● Cultivate curiosity about the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the person talking. ● Let each person tell his/her story. ● If the person talking doesn’t want to answer a question, that’s okay! ● Keep an open mind. Let the person speaking interpret whether the questions apply to work, school, or personal situations. ● In group conversations, don’t worry about asking everything – let the group move towards the questions they want to discuss. ● Here are some possible questions to use and probe further: Tell me more? What was your contribution? Why was that important to you? How has (an experience) changed you? Following Your Conversations: All of us can learn from this project if everyone who participates shares their insights after each conversation. This will allow us to identify emerging themes, common values, and shared hopes across the state. It will also allow us to map where and how often the conversations are happening. Sharing your insights after your conversation is easy…just choose the most convenient method for you and take 10 minutes to submit the highlights from your conversation using the feedback form!
Online
Text
Visit www.minnesotarising.org and click on “Contribute to Our Minnesota.” Enter your feedback in the online form! Scan or fax your completed feedback form to minnesotarising@gmail.com.
Text the responses to the Feedback form to 612.454.0924. Start text stream with #MRCC, share names and contact information, then feedback form responses by number!
Simply complete the feedback form below and mail your feedback to: Minnesota Rising P.O. Box 403 Rochester, MN 55903
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Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
ONE-to-ONE CONVERSATION GUIDE Introduction Thanks for joining me today, and for agreeing to take part in “Our Minnesota!” Before we get started, let me take a minute to share why I want to have this conversation with you. [Share your reasons for participating in “Our Minnesota,” and why you want to build a better future for Minnesota]. Beginning in 2011, young Minnesotans are talking to other young Minnesotans—high-schoolers, college students, emerging leaders, young professionals, and Millennials. Do you have any questions before we start? Conversation Questions 1. Tell me about a time in your life when you were involved with something that was meaningful to you (either at work, in school or elsewhere). What or who contributed to your experience? Which of your core values were expressed and made this meaningful? 2. Imagine it is some time in the future and people you care about, love and respect (maybe your grandchildren) are being told a story about you. What are you most proud of that you would like them to hear about? 3. Think about a time when you went through a process of building trust (i.e. at home, in school, place of work or community). What specifically did you and others involved do to build an environment of trust? How did this strengthen your relationships? How did you know an environment of trust was present? 4. In order to foster a stronger environment of trust within our organizations and communities, what next steps could we be taking today? 5. Describe a time when you played a role in an effort bigger than yourself (i.e. the big picture of your organization, community, etc.). What did you learn about how to create shared vision with a team, group of peers, or whole organization/community? What do you see today (not future possibilities, but beginning to happen right now) that gives you hope for the future of Minnesota? 6. The future of Minnesota is in our hands. What would be the most meaningful thing we could do as a generation for Minnesota? 7. What was this conversation like for you? What did you like? Were there any challenges, and if so, what were they? Closing Thank you for contributing your ideas and stories to this project. In order to continue the cascade, we’re asking everyone invited to participate if they’d be willing to help keep this alive by inviting someone else or a group to have this same conversation. A blueprint that outlines each step of the process is available online. Would you be willing to continue the process by hosting this same conversation with one other person and then sharing your feedback? Page 3
Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
ONE-to-ONE FEEDBACK FORM Capture the following information from your conversation. Date of conversation: [_______________________________] Conversation partner’s name: [_______________________________] Conversation partner’s email address: [_____________________________] Conversation partner’s phone number: [_____________________________] Conversation partner’s zip code: [_____________________________] Background questions Thanks again for taking the time to have this conversation today. I have a few background questions that I’d like to ask you to help Minnesota Rising gain a better sense of who is being reached through the Cascading Conversations and to help guide its work and future planning. 1.) What is your age? __________ 2.) What is your gender? Male Female Transgender Gender nonconforming Self-identified (Specify: ____________________)
3.) What is the highest grade or year of school you have completed? 8th grade or less Some high school High school graduate or GED Trade school (Vocational, Technical, or Business School) Some college or Associate’s degree (including Community College) Bachelor’s degree Graduate or professional degree
4.) Which of the following best describes your current work situation? Working full-time Working part-time Stay at home caregiver Currently unemployed, but actively seeking work Not working for pay (e.g., unable to work, full-time student)
5.) What is your sexual orientation? Bisexual Gay Heterosexual Lesbian Queer Self-identified (Specify: ______________________) Prefer not to answer
6.) How would you describe your race/ethnicity? ______________________________
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Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
ONE-to-ONE FEEDBACK (Continued) Capture answers to these questions as you listen during your conversation. Share your initial answers to each question with your conversation partner (e.g., “Some of the deep values I heard you share during our conversation were…”) in an effort to ensure that what you heard and are recording is accurate and clearly conveys what your partner shared.
1. What deep values did you hear about during your conversation?
2. What ideas were shared that could contribute to leaving a generational legacy in Minnesota?
3. What was the boldest, most inspiring vision for Minnesota’s future you heard during your conversation?
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Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
GROUP CONVERSATION GUIDE Introduction Thanks for joining me today, and for agreeing to take part in “Our Minnesota!” Before we get started, let me take a minute to share why I want to have this conversation with all of you. [Share your reasons for participating in “Our Minnesota,” and why you want to build a better future for Minnesota]. Beginning in 2011, young Minnesotans are talking to other young Minnesotans—high-schoolers, college students, emerging leaders, young professionals, and Millennials. Do you have any questions before we start? Core Conversation Questions 1. Tell me about a time in your life when you were involved with something that was meaningful to you (either at work, in school or elsewhere). What or who contributed to your experience? Which of your core values were expressed and made this meaningful? 2. In order to foster a stronger environment of trust within our organizations and communities, what next steps could we be taking today? 3. The future of Minnesota is in our hands. What would be the most meaningful thing we could do as a generation for Minnesota? Suggested Conversation Questions 4. Imagine it is some time in the future and people you care about, love and respect (maybe your grandchildren) are being told a story about you. What are you most proud of that you would like them to hear about? 5. Think about a time when you went through a process of building trust (i.e. at home, in school, place of work or community). What specifically did you and others involved do to build an environment of trust? How did this strengthen your relationships? How did you know an environment of trust was present? 6. Describe a time when you played a role in an effort bigger than yourself (i.e. the big picture of your organization, community, etc.). What did you learn about how to create shared vision with a team, group of peers, or whole organization/community? What do you see today (not future possibilities, but beginning to happen right now) that gives you hope for the future of Minnesota? 7. What was this conversation like for you? What did you like? Were there any challenges, and if so, what were they? Closing Thank you for contributing your ideas and stories to this project. In order to continue the cascade, we’re asking everyone invited to participate if they’d be willing to help keep this alive by inviting someone else or a group to have this same conversation. A blueprint that outlines each step of the process is available online. Would you be willing to continue the process by hosting this same conversation with one other person and then sharing your feedback? Page 6
Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
GROUP FEEDBACK FORM Assign each person to capture the following from another person in your conversation. Date of conversation: [_______________________________] Conversation partner’s name: [_______________________________] Conversation partner’s email address: [_____________________________] Conversation partner’s phone number: [_____________________________] Conversation partner’s zip code: [_____________________________] Background questions Thanks again for taking the time to have this conversation today. I have a few background questions that I’d like to ask you to help Minnesota Rising gain a better sense of who is being reached through the Cascading Conversations and to help guide its work and future planning. 1.) What is your age? __________ 2.) What is your gender? Male Female Transgender Gender nonconforming Self-identified (Specify: ____________________)
3.) What is the highest grade or year of school you have completed? 8th grade or less Some high school High school graduate or GED Trade school (Vocational, Technical, or Business School) Some college or Associate’s degree (including Community College) Bachelor’s degree Graduate or professional degree
4.) Which of the following best describes your current work situation? Working full-time Working part-time Stay at home caregiver Currently unemployed, but actively seeking work Not working for pay (e.g., unable to work, full-time student)
5.) What is your sexual orientation? Bisexual Gay Heterosexual Lesbian Queer Self-identified (Specify: ______________________) Prefer not to answer
6.) How would you describe your race/ethnicity? ______________________________
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Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
GROUP FEEDBACK FORM (Continued) Capture answers to these questions for that same person as you listen during your conversation. Share your initial answers to each question with your conversation partner (e.g., “Some of the deep values I heard you share during our conversation were…”) in an effort to ensure that what you heard and are recording is accurate and clearly conveys what your partner shared.
1. What deep values did you hear about during your conversation?
2. What ideas were shared that could contribute to leaving a generational legacy in Minnesota?
3. What was the boldest, most inspiring vision for Minnesota’s future you heard during your conversation?
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Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
SPEED NETWORKING CONVERSATION GUIDE and FEEDBACK FORM Your name: [_______________________________] How does this work? Ask each person a different question. Please record their first and last name. When recording their responses, focus on the deep values, interesting insights, and inspiring visions shared. No need for the specifics of the stories! Conversation Questions 1. Name: [_______________________________] When have you been involved with something that was meaningful to you (either at work, in school or elsewhere)? What made it meaningful to you?
2. Name: [_______________________________] Imagine it is some time in the future and people you care about, love and respect (maybe your grandchildren) are being told a story about you – what are you most proud of that you would want them to hear about?
3. Name: [_______________________________] Think about a time when you went through a process of building trust (i.e. at home, in school, place of work or community). What specifically did you and others involved do to build and environment of trust?
4. Name: [_______________________________] In order to foster a stronger environment of trust within our organizations and communities, what next steps could we be taking today?
5. Name: [_______________________________] What do you see today (not future possibilities, but beginning to happen right now) that gives you hope for the future of Minnesota?
6. Name: [_______________________________] The future of Minnesota is in our hands. What would be the most meaningful thing we could do as a generation for Minnesota?
Now what? Thank you for contributing your ideas and stories to this project. We invite you to have a deeper conversation on these topics with somebody you met tonight. Or, if you met a whole bunch of people you like, to host a group conversation. Guides for these conversations can be found at http://www.minnesotarising.org/p/contribute-toour-minnesota.html. Page 9
Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE’RE DOING ABOUT MINNESOTA RISING Founded in 2009, Minnesota Rising is a network of emerging leaders in Minnesota. Minnesota Rising works to build relationships, trust, and a shared vision, and works to develop the collective capacity of the rising generation to impact Minnesota’s future. Our efforts include a blog and online media presence, an annual Un/Conference, the “Our Minnesota” Cascading Conversations Tour, and the Collaborative Competence Learning Labs Series. Using geography and generation as uniting values, Minnesota Rising is creating the conditions for emerging leaders to work together in a new way so that we can build a Minnesota that works for everyone. Learn more about us at www.minnesotarising.org Inquiries can be directed to Diane Tran at minnesotarising@gmail.com or 612.454.0924 BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND The “Our Minnesota” Cascading Conversations Tour kicked off with a collaborative design session at the Minnesota Rising 2011 Un/Conference, launching in November 2011. The stories, hopes, and dreams shared through these conversations are collected through the Feedback Forms, and our data analysis team studies the feedback in real-time. We seek to share back publicly, with participants and interested organizations, the emergent themes, a dynamic map of where the conversations are taking place, and how what we learn will inform the future work of Minnesota Rising. We have designed this process so it can continue to evolve as we learn, so we anticipate that the guide and conversation questions may continue to be revised over time. Thank you to everyone who believes that this matters enough to participate!
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Minnesota Rising | Cascading Conversations Blueprint