The American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) hired KCRW in the fall of 2009 to facilitate their strategic planning process. The planning group comprised various Chamber execs from across the country representing chambers of different sizes, different budgets, and different kinds of members operating in different kinds of communities. Finding common ground required insight and patience and a real collaborative spirit between the facilitator and the committee members. The state of the national economy compounded the challenge and added a sense of urgency to the work. The outcome was a consensus plan that positioned ACCE as an integral part of its member chambers’ economic development and community leadership efforts.