ABSTRACT

This chapter describes both LIFT’s evolution and that of the Forum’s design. Alongside LIFT’s internal changes, the Forum evolved in tune with external events, the changing priorities of large organizations, private and public, and those of the students and colleges with whom we worked. While wrestling with how to balance the interests of these groups, we needed to consider how to encourage business and public sector participants to sign up and pay for the Forum, thus resourcing everyone’s connections with one another. This meant being constantly alert to what made the Forum distinct from other management development programmes, such as business school courses, team-building ventures and motivational speakers. Experiments and adaptations made from 1997 to 2004 are described. In the early years, the Forum took place over the period of the Festival. In 2001, LIFT as a whole abandoned its 20-year biennial Festival format to embark on a change of rhythm. The Forum was compelled to adapt in turn.