Category: Engagement

Time Stands Still

I started writing this post at 11pm on my last evening in New York City. I may have had a few drinks.

Today has been great, useful fun. The good people of Thomson Reuters have turned up to their unconference and questioned, participated and contributed to the max.

We’ve articulated our anticipations and anxieties, shared raw, personal stories, and worked our way through awkward silences. Most importantly, together we’ve delivered a day that is truly about the people in the room and those who are important to them.

In particular I want to reflect on an uncomfortable moment when having shared many ideas, the group were trying to distil them and get to grips with the questions they wanted to explore next. This process can be difficult, frustrating even – something doesn’t always emerge immediately, particularly when trying to form ideas from such a wealth of initial output. A question was asked along the lines of ‘So what is it we should be talking about?’. It seemed a perfectly reasonable question and I’m pretty sure many others were thinking it. In the moment I turned the question back to the group and on the 30th floor way above Times Square, time stands still.

What followed was a short period of awkwardness before, after some more bouncing of ideas – we got to somewhere useful. I know it was somewhere useful because the blast wave of conversation that followed was pretty much unstoppable. Even more importantly – in that moment the group clearly saw the purpose of their gathering was all about them. They matter, their views and ideas matter.

I’ll share more from the day when I get home. For now I’ve got to pack up and leave my apartment. Thanks to everyone who has made my stay so much fun, I’ve learned loads while I’ve been away, and boy….I’m ready to come home.

Room to Roam

Today’s work is all about encouraging people to articulate their aspirations and anxieties, to talk about ‘The Way We Work’ and how we can make it better, together. It’s not about pointing the finger at others and saying, ‘If only those guys over there would listen/think/do differently’, it’s about taking responsibility for the things we can influence.

For today to work well, people need to feel comfortable to let their minds and their feet wander so that they might share their experiences and learn from as many people as possible.

Kids do this best of all so to help the day along I’ve built a PowerPoint presentation to help describe what room to roam looks like. That’s it up there. I hope it works, I’ll let you know tomorrow.