The Influence of Culture in Search Conferences

This paper analyses an outbreak of fight/flight in a Search Conference. Knowledge ofBion's work, neglected of late because of an expedient belief in our poor communication skills, is essential for Search designers and managers. His basic group assumptions rarely appear in the Search Conference today because it is specifically designed and managed to prevent them. However, cases, commonly of fight/flight, can still occur. They usually involve mistakes in either design or management. This case also involved culture which has also been a relatively neglected dimension of Search Conference theory. Two cultural factors affected the progress of this Search. The first is a trend towards dissociation in the USA and the West generally, and the second is the culture of educated elites, including consultants and academics. Its lesson is that culture should be considered in design.