Fill the muffin baskets – it’s time for another meeting!
The word meeting sometimes carries with it a negative sentiment, an anticipation of inefficiency. Meetings can be associated with a waste of time or a battle between attention-seekers to get their voices heard. On the other hand, meetings are an essential stage in the creative process, generating ideas through the collaboration of participants that would not otherwise exist. On a broader scale, public and community meetings can be an indispensable way for people to network with each other and share ideas; Design Assembly being a perfect example of this. If we don’t think carefully about how we structure and conduct our meetings, whether in business or society, then we risk perpetuating the negative view held of them.
For designers, meetings are unavoidable, whether they be amongst staff or with clients. It is important to give thought to how the process of meetings is managed and what tools are used to make them as effective and efficient as possible. But is there a danger of descending into more time-wasting activities by putting too much thought into meeting structure? At some point the line needs to be drawn between preparation and execution. At the very least, it is crucial for the meeting manager and all attendees to have a clear idea of the purpose of the meeting and what is to be achieved by the end of it. How much thought does your company put in to how meetings are run? A forum such as this one, is a useful platform to share strategies and tools for improving business practice, so don’t hesitate to contribute to discussion.
In modern business theory, much emphasis is placed on ‘closing the knowing-doing gap’ in order to ensure that real action is being taken and progress is being made, once insights have been shared. By placing focus on this principle, those involved in the meeting are likely to come away with a sense of momentum and achievement; a positive outlook towards the effectiveness of the meeting and its purpose. What occurs after the meeting is just as important as the meeting itself. Follow-up on decisions made or responsibilities assigned, has huge significance for how effective the meeting is perceived to be.
Community meetings, where members from society come together to interact and share ideas, perhaps amplify some of these issues due to the larger audience they involve. Unlike a business setting, there is less emphasis on instrumental outcomes; and they are more likely to exist for reasons of socialising or entertainment. However, they still need to be aware of the purpose they fulfil and create a sense of being an efficient use of time. Pecha Kucha, a tri-monthly seminar series held in Auckland and around the world, uses a unique format to structure its presentations. Speakers have 20 seconds to talk about each of 20 slides, which are chosen largely for their visual impact. This is an interesting method to ensure momentum within the presentations and engage the viewer. However, the format doesn’t quite deliver when it comes to the follow-up or ‘knowing-doing’ aspect.
Design Assembly is perhaps more inclusive in that it provides opportunities for the audience to question and contribute. Breaks and provision for social mingling is an important aspect of the event, and provide an opportunity for people with a common interest to make connections. But perhaps this could be improved on even further? What ideas do you have to make the format of Design Assembly the best it can be? Can we bring in practices employed in our own projects and businesses to further the success of DA?
Finally, it is interesting to consider the place of meetings within the increasingly virtualised nature of society. With people meeting more and more online through the use of social networking sites and internet communication, there becomes more of a need to justify the reasons for meeting face-to-face. But perhaps, on the other hand, that is also an argument for ensuring face-to-face meetings continue to occur. DA blends both types of meetings with the use of its online contributions and forums. This gives people a chance to follow up on the meeting and make comments in an anonymous and pressure-free setting. The videos and speaker profiles build on the presentations that occurred in the meeting, or help those who missed it to keep up to date. So what do we gain by actually attending the Assembly? There is definitely a positive answer to this, and the response may be different for different people. If we can reflect and identify what it is, then we can help to make the experience even better and celebrate DA for what it contributes to our community.
Sep 29th
2010
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