thanks for sharing these, it is very useful.
Denise
On Jun 3, 2010, at 11:12 AM, Ralph Copleman wrote:
Harrison and all,
I've had a few that sort of fell flat.
One involved a group concerned about availability of services for
senior citizens across an entire US state. Two-thirds of the room
consisted of seniors themselves and, frankly, a lot of them ran out
of energy about an hour after lunch. So they sat around, a number
slumping in chairs with eyes closed.
Another involved an exploration of customer service issues for an
airline. Lots of corporate leaders from the airline present, along
with their booking agents (this pre-dates internet booking sites),
frequent flyer customers, and corporate travel execs who make
travel policy for their companies. A great mix, actually. We were
set to go from 8:00 a.m to 4:00. About 2:00, a group of
participants more or less seized control of the meeting somehow (I
wasn't in the room when it occurred) and got everyone to agree to
shorten the meeting by a full hour. When I returned at 3:00,
someone simply informed me, and asked that I begin the closing
circle. So that's what I did. I never found out what actually
happened.
Not sure how to think about that last one, since I never found out
how it all developed, but the following one is more like a true
failure.
I was asked to convene a two-day open space gathering for about 200
folks from around the US. It would be the annual meeting of an
association of a certain type of public health officer (cannot
recall the details). The whole thing was pretty dead from the
outset –– I mean 200 people posting a total of only 15 sessions for
two whole days!? I found out the theme was all wrong. The
planning committee chose an idea that turned out to have no juice
for the association's members. I had spent hours in conference
calls with the leadership group and the planning committee, and
they'd assured me that the idea they chose was at the heart of the
challenges facing them and their organizations. Turns out that was
dead wrong. Nobody else cared. I don't know how I might have seen
through this situation ahead of time.
I essentially agree with you, H. If the conditions are
appropriate, it will work. But, if the three experiences above
teach me anything, it's clear that stuff can always happens.
Ralph Copleman
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