In his book, Conversation: How Talk Can Change Our Lives, popular BBC commentator and former Oxford Dean Theodore Zeldin opines, "conversation can change the world."

Believe it. Recent events dramatically demonstrate the importance of connecting with one another -- often across continents - in conversations that give solace and inspiration. When someone we trust leads such conversations, we can move beyond individual response, uniting in a call to action that changes everything.

Zeldin says, "Good conversation has become a measure of the quality of our private relationships," and is now taking a central place in our work. Thanks to advances in technology, there is no need to limit ourselves to folks around the water cooler; without leaving our desks - indeed, without leaving home - we can put in motion a conversation that goes beyond talk to transformation.

The impact is sharpened when the exchange is not solitary, but involves interacting with others, in person, in significant numbers. If we combine the two-gathering locally in groups while simultaneously involved, via satellite or other technology, in the same conversation with others around the world-we create a network with real power. A global Woodstock comes to mind. Advances in technology take these relationship-building conversations beyond talk, enabling both local and global conversations to form networks that reach beyond cultural, corporate and geographic boundaries, and are capable of action.

Wf360 is an organization conceived as just such a conversation: maintaining the intensity and intimacy of face-to-face contact, while engaging in dialogue on a global scale. In addition to year-round programming, by combining the networks of well-connected individuals, Wf360 annually brings together some of the world's most remarkable thought leaders in a one-day program entitled the MainEvent, to share their wisdom, inventiveness and leadership with people participating in audiences around the world, live via satellite. And because the gatering is conversational (no speeches!) and interactive, participants engage in a whole new conversation with exponentially powerful impact.

Wf360's focus is leadership. Check out www.wf360.com for the lineup of key participants. Mostly women (from Lillian Vernon, the direct mail maven, to Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, to Goldie Hawn, the actress/producer) and some men (Tom Peters, author and management guru, to General James Jones, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, to David Gergen, former White House journalist now at the Kennedy School focused on the study of leadership), these leaders engage in provocative, instructional, often inspirational conversation. They exchange views of the world of work, and how best to combine that world with the personal in order to lead a life that matters.

Never has such conversation been so timely. Recent events find us examining our lives, rethinking priorities to ensure that what we're doing has meaning beyond ourselves, that it somehow serves others.

Thanks to mass media, talk shows have become central to our pop culture. But they are often just talk. Conversation moves beyond talk. As Zeldin says, "Conversation doesn't just reshuffle the cards; it creates new cards." The MainEvent brings to mind rare conversations each of us has had with a mentor or leader, talk that changed the course of our life and career.

Each of us has the opportunity to spark such change. Through conversation, we can connect diverse individuals and organizations in an inclusive and enduring way that fosters unity rather than division; creates common purpose and shared achievement in the place of self-interest; and helps develop important leadership skills--the need for which current world events dramatize so poignantly.

We can begin where we work. Now is the time for employers to proactively promote connectedness and leadership not only among employees, but also with customers, vendors, and suppliers.

But rather than wait for an employer to take the lead, each of us can create a conversation among colleagues and friends on topics of importance and relevance. Plan a lunch meeting or dinner where participants "own" a topic they've researched and are prepared to jump-start the conversation. Invite people with diverse experiences, backgrounds, opinions and age. Take note of the group's comments and summarize actionable items participants can share with their own colleagues company-wide through an employee newsletter or email or in more intimate conversations around, yes, the water cooler.

Theodore Zeldin tells us "every new era changes the subject of conversation." Here's our chance. In following columns, I'll present specific challenges leaders face today, and offer the insights and best practices of world-class leaders as to how such challenges can be met for your work, life and community, as well as suggestions on how you can shape your own conversations around these important topics.