At first, this sounds like an insurmountable task. The author does not believe so. Collaboration within an organization can be learned by doing so. They jointly develop visions, long-term strategic plans, and concrete action plans. A search conference is designed to provide a learning environment where all perceptions are valid regardless of source and hierarchical status, and where participation is equal and open.
Action plans are an outcome of search conferences.
As opposed to traditional action plans set up by managers for their employees, these are set up by the people themselves. Chances are, that they carried through. In participative design workshops, people design their current work structure and redesign it as a building block of a Business Reengineering project with a collaborative cultural attitude. Managers who think, that people will not be aggressive enough regarding the change of processes and structures, have to ask themselves if they want people to participate at all. The answer is yes, given that management embraces the idea of a collaborative culture wholeheartedly.