The New Volunteerism Project

The Archival Collection of
Ivan Henry Scheier

How to Tell if You're in a Think Tank

A September, 1992 outline by Ivan Scheier

@ -- permission for use-with-acknowledgment

My name is not Noah Webster so I cannot insist you define "think tank" my way. I can only hope you'll consider my conclusion based on fifty or so sessions I THOUGHT were think tanks. The process differs markedly from typical workshops and problem-solving meetings, offering special opportunities for growth and enrichment. Therefore, the process deserves its own label and identity.

So, how can you tell if you're in a think tank (sometimes also called "reflection pool") rather than a regular-type workshop or meeting? Here are some ways I think you can. Individually, they may be mainly a matter of degree; taken together they amount to a qualitative difference.

• Teacher-student, chairperson-member or other hierarchical distinctions are blurred. EVERYBODY is a resource person and everybody is equally a learner, at one time or another. Seriously.
• Related, there are few enough people so every individual has ample opportunity to participate, not only in sub-groups but, at least periodically, in the group as a whole. For a process facilitator as modestly skilled as I am, that means a ceiling of 25-30 people, preferably fewer.
• Creativity is more cherished than criticism. Blue sky thinking supersedes earthbound plodding. Fresh, unconventional ideas are affirmed with hope even when they shock, puzzle or scare us.
• Reaching agreement is NOT a goal; there is no push for consensus or common ground. At the end of the process, we may differ as much as we did at the beginning -- maybe even more. The main yield is more understanding and respect for other viewpoints and perhaps for our own position as well. Be suspicious if you end up with a joint communiqué conveying well-compromised group positions.
• We worry as little as possible about time limits (though in the real world we always have to worry somewhat). In a think tank you will never find strict time allotments for given subject areas, e.g., "We will talk exactly 15 minutes about subject X. "Instead, if we get hot on subject X, we may go an hour or more on it; otherwise we might pass over it in 20 seconds. We watch the clock as little as possible and there are no STOPwatches.
• The atmosphere is very informal, including pillows on the floor, talking while walking in the park. If you find yourself all dressed up in a formal classroom setup or anything like it, you're probably not in a think tank.
• There is no pre-set agenda, or meeting objectives, strictly speaking. Especially, the sponsor or convener does not set the agenda for you. The most we have is a general framework or context, within which a virtually unlimited number of subjects may be chosen by participants; for example, "voluntary action in pursuit of quality of life," or "career change and enrichment." Within such very broad frameworks, the "agenda" consists of participants' questions, issues and themes. Their exact nature is basically unpredictable beforehand; serendipity is our only expectation.
• Moreover, the "starting question" in any segment of a think tank is unlikely to be the ending questions. For the process concentrates at least as much on getting a better question as on getting better answers to the old (starting) questions. Therefore, a think tank session can be an excellent preparation for traditional problem-solving by making sure we begin with the best possible question(s).
• Even for the "good questions" produced by the discussion, the dialogue tends to evolve and transform rather than focus narrowly. A discussion of mandated community service, for example, might somehow "follow its nose" to a theme of political expediency vs. altruism -- related but still somehow "off the subject." Think tanks are always getting "off the subject" in this way. The difference between a well-organized workshop or problem-solving meeting and a think tank/reflection pool is something like the difference between walking on the sidewalk towards a definite destination vs. taking off your shoes and walking through a meadow in the spring. The latter is often more renewing, and prone to discovery. But, strollers must beware of thorns!

Clearly, think tanks aren't for everyone. But for some of us, they are a valuable enrichment and are even, in some strange way, productive.

Ivan Scheier
VOLUNTAS
2884 State Highway 14
Madrid, NM 87010-