The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) models the use of a widely-accessible but still-underutilized power in any sector or company: convening power. As leadership shifts away from hierarchical decisions-at-the-top-slowly-cascading-downward, to social networks and self-organizing, knowing how to use convening power becomes critical. Anyway, Bill Clinton is no longer the U.S. President, so how can someone without formal authority have a huge influence?
CGI has a big goal — to get traction on significant global problems, including jobs and the economy, resource consumption and climate change, education and the empowerment of women and girls. What’s brilliant is that President Clinton provides the platform and enlightening speakers, but other people do the actual work of change. CGI uses a pledge model: Get members to make commitments using existing capabilities.