Connecting for the Common Good

Cincinnati, Ohio - May 4-6, 2026

Where Connection is the Content and the Common Good is the Point.

Connecting for the Common Good is a declaration of what becomes possible when relationship supersedes content, enough replaces scarcity, and local action overtakes distant systems.

Connection for connection’s sake is not the point. What we want to do is elevate the work of connectors as the condition that makes transformation possible.


"Whatever the interest or passion, we accelerate commitment by the way we gather in the moment.”

- Peter Block

At A Glance

  • Join a two‑day gathering hosted by Peter Block and a growing circle of connectors in Cincinnati that treats connection not as a way of facilitating when we are invited, but as the essential determinant for improving our world.

    This is not a conference where you will be talked at or expected to consume information; it is a circle of co‑creators, conveners, hosts, relational activists, and storytellers who want their work, neighborhoods, and institutions to embody another kind of economy, one measured in trust, belonging, and the beauty of what we can make together.

    Leading up to the event, we will host three online sessions to explore the themes: Departure, The Age of Connection, and The Creative Economy. These sessions will serve as an on-ramp to our time together in May.

    If you cannot join us in Cincinnati, we welcome you to join the lead-up events.

    • Practice the discipline of Connecting: learn and embody the mindsets and skills of connectors. This includes practicing listening over knowing, asking powerful questions, convening small groups, hosting spaces where welcoming strangers is the point, and joining to produce possibilities rather than solve problems.

    • Gather in exploration: together step out of the dominant system of scarcity, scale, speed, and control into a shared experiment in “enough,” localism, and relationship, using our meeting in Cincinnati as a living laboratory for what growing social capital can look like in our neighborhoods, organizations, and communities.

    • Discover and shape new narratives: explore the emerging language of Connecting for the Common Good, grow our interest in creative and gift economies. We come to build the narrative arts as an alternative to explanation and critique. To join in crafting stories of celebrating what is already occurring and possible in our communities and organizations.

  • If you feel restless with the old scripts of professionalism, exclusionary leadership, and programmed change—and are ready to treat connection as an everyday practice—this gathering is for you. Neighborhood organizers, public servants, social innovators, journalists and storytellers, faith and civic leaders, foundation staff, artists, educators, facilitators, and anyone who convenes or communicates with others in service of the common good are welcome.

     

    Come whether you see yourself as a seasoned connector or are just discovering that this is your work. If you are seeking more companions, language, and practical protocols for leaving behind consumer culture and stepping into a creative, relational economy in service of the common good, Connecting for the Common Good is for you.

  • We are offering the full learning journey at the early-bird price of $495. These fees are intentionally priced to cover event costs only. Online Lead-Up Events Only: $45 Per session (Register for Online Only Here [insert links to online sessions]

    As a note:

    This gathering is offered on a cost-recovery basis, not as a profit-making event. 

    If you would like to sponsor someone else's attendance, that would be awesome. 

    We do not want cost to be a barrier to this event. If the above price is a barrier to you coming, please contact us via the form below. We will do what we can to have you join us.

Online Events

All-Access Pass

Get your tickets to Cincinnati in May, plus access to all three online lead-up events.

*you will be redirected to Designed Learning’s Shopify Storefront for purchase.

Contact Us

Are you interested in joining this learning journey but have doubts, questions, ideas, or just want to say hi? Reach out via this form. We would love to hear from you.