The term “echo chamber” often has negative connotations. That’s not the case for me, as I reflect on the inspirational and spirited ideas I heard at our conference among one thousand participants – including nearly 130 on scholarship.

Our gathering kicked off with a plenary on “Risk, Failure, and Breakthroughs” featuring Andrew Hargadon from the University of California, Davis. He described the ‘great man theory of innovation’ as a fallacy and mentioned inventors like Edison and Ford who failed many more times than they succeeded. His message resonated with the audience -- one participant urged us to “stop driving by using the rear view mirror” and instead seek out new strategies for new times.

Ben Rattray of Change.org echoed this theme when he spoke to some 160 nonprofit professionals under the age of 40. Ben encouraged our NGen-ers to see risk taking as an integral characteristic of leadership. In the hallways afterwards, some wistfully added that our sector’s financial models don’t allow for experimentation – much less failure.

During an interview with New York Times reporter Stephanie Strom, Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation offered invaluable guidance in the public policy arena. Risa encouraged organizations to gather measurable data and wrap it “in a sacred bundle of stories” as a way to communicate our impact to elected officials and communities everywhere. 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined us briefly and shared his three priorities of safe streets, strong schools, and stable finances – and the need to get government working on behalf of the people. He talked about the value of longer school days in Chicago and held up the Tribune with a headline stating as much – people applauded his efforts to get education back on track.

In my remarks, I shared my deep concern that America’s social compact is unraveling – and we heard from many different voices on how to solve this problem, including a call from Ronn Richard of the Cleveland Foundation to limit Presidents to a single six-year term. For my part, I suggested four ways the charitable community can help restore our social compact. We can:

• Spark a dialogue to explore the kind of society and government we want;
• Rewrite the social compact in a way that reflects our highest aspirations;
• Get people talking about the key issues of our times; and
• Mobilize people to vote and engage more fully in the democratic process.

In this plenary, the phrase that appeared to strike a chord was the idea that the most powerful weapon in our sector’s arsenal is mobilizing grassroots communities.

a rapid-fire format that allows big ideas to be shared concisely by five discussion leaders using 20 slides with pictures only.

This was the third year that we used interactive breakout sessions to maximize participation from the audience. Doing so offered memorable moments, such as hearing from one fellow who had been part of Arab Spring. The audience sat on the edge of their seats as he shared events as they unfolded minute by minute in the streets of Cairo. We also heard from technology gurus who encouraged us not to be slave to our computers, but to use them to leverage networks and social ecosystems to impact change. While most people responded favorably to the interactive formats, others wanted to hear more from the experts.

During the conference, we honored two sector leaders with the Gardner Award and American Express NGen Award, respectively: Bill Drayton (Ashoka) and Ai-jen Poo (National Domestic Workers Alliance). Their determination to make a difference despite all odds was remarkable. One Tweet scrolling across my cellphone said listening to them was “worth the price of admission to the conference!”

That evening, we enjoyed classical, blues, and hip hop music. Throughout the conference, we also watched a muralist capture highlights from the sessions. Performers from Redmoon Theater, dressed as skeletons, led us in a wily procession through historic Millennium Park to the Art Institute of Chicago for our host reception. And we witnessed several performances by artists-in-residence, Sojourn Theater. What words echo in my mind about art at our conference? Amazing! Powerful! More!

Whether you want to network with sector leaders, improve your public policy outreach, or share ideas about solving social problems, I invite you to join us next fall in the Bay Area. Our theme is “GameChangers.” If you attended the conference in Chicago, I’d like to extend a hearty thank you and urge you to share your feedback with us. We want to make our next gathering even better. And if you didn’t attend, please send us your thoughts on what you’d like to see on the program in 2012.

See you there!