Tuesday Conversations are informal get togethers around a topic proposed by anyone in the organisation. It's a brown bag lunch setup, so whoever wants to come just comes along to listen over a sandwich. The speaker can be from within the organisation, or you could have an invited speaker. The format is max. 30 mins of presentation, then 60 mins for discussion. The rules for participants are (1) you can come and go at any time. If you are not getting what you want just leave. (2) a host manages the discussion, if you want to intervene just indicate it. there is no hierarchy so the managing director has to wait his or her turn just like anyone else. (3) we appreciate and thank those that organise the session, the speakers and all who intervene with a round of applause at the end.
The Tuesday Conversation is a tool to break down hierarchies and silo thinking, one conversation at a time. It is extremely simple but powerful. If you can get up to one a week, it will have an impact on the way people relate across the organisation.
I've run almost 70 Tuesday Conversations at my work place so far, and would like to hear from anyone else trying this out.
What is new? Who would have thought that a good old conversation had the power to cross the organisation boundaries, up and down, and across?
I've seen this work effectively in organizations, especially where it was tied to some theme that generated a natural community of interested folks -- say, women's issues at work or current affairs. Sometimes the group facilitators offer reading ahead of time so that everyone comes with the same data set to approach the conversation. Obviously, this raises the ante for attending which could be good (everyone who comes is already more informed and engaged) or bad (fewer people bother to come).
Not to complicate it, but I wonder if something like the "Ignite" programs would be interesting in this context. Ignite is O'Reilly's name for a series of evenings where anyone can speak on any topic, but the format is rigidly enforced: 5 minutes, 20 slides that advance automatically. The speaker obviously has to do a fair amount of work, but it's a service to the folks who are watching. Their slogan is, "enlighten us, but make it quick." Here's an interesting one by designer and Wired alum Jeff Veen, "Great Designers Steal."
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I assume that to prevent this from becoming too hierarchical, the host rotates/changes over time? How did you manage to get enough people interested in organizing sessions as opposed to just coming for them? Could you give a couple of examples of topics that have been covered in your discussions?
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Interesting idea!
A few thoughts:
How do you remove dominant voices from conversations? How do enforce decisions people make in these meetings?
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I went to something similar once and it had a huge impact on me. It was a 'debrief' of the first online shopping site in SA 'in the bag". The team that was part of the initiation were interviewed as a panel, instead of a presentation, and the rest of the time was for questions and comments. It was fascinating!! lots of people attended. I remember having to pay a minimal amount for the sandwich, but the actual conversation was awesome! It was the kind of info that was not normally shared in an organisation.
This particular conversation was an open one and not organisation specific, which was also great. I can imagine though that having conversations like this within an organisation must be powerful!
I am keen to know how learnings are recorded? Are conversations recorded and archived?
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