From: "Andy Symons"
Date: Mon Oct 1, 2001 4:07 pm

Subject: Personal Impressions of the Live Problem Page day 19 September Hampton Wick

PROLOGUE

Colston decided that New Intermediaries ought to have some kind of initiation rite for new members. He further conceived that this might consist of that member being given the job of writing up the first NI event he/she attends. Thinking this a lot less noxious than a rite involving a sacrificial goats at midnight under a full moon, I agreed.

I did not keep copious notes, so anyone wanting full minutes of the meeting will be disappointed. If, however, I can give the general flavour of the day, make the absentees slightly peeved that they missed it and encourage other new boys/girls on the block to attend the next one, then I shall be happy enough. Other attendees wishing to elaborate on any of the points should not hesitate to do so!

IMPRESSIONS

As I said, this Live Problem Page day was my first NI event. My only impression of NI until then was gleaned from the e-mail chat: a bit verbose sometimes, often going in unexpected directions, sometimes a bit "off the wall", but all the more challenging for that. Invariably interesting. Hmmmm, can't wait to meet some of these people...

The first impression of the meeting was the location: a cricket club on the edge of Bushy Park. Attractive view despite the rain. Quiet despite being in suburban London. "Clubby" (as you might expect a clubhouse to be). The heating is off to start with and Jill dons a handy umpire's coat, giving her the look of a scientist in a TV hair-products advert. Adds confusion for the newcomer...

The circle of chairs arranged in the centre of the floor signals the face-to-face discussion to come. The table covered in relevant reference books seems to signal the sharing of information to come. Apparently "patterns" are something of a theme. Was I supposed to know that? What are they anyway? I hastily note the details of the books for my next Amazon session, between introductions to the arrivals as they appear. Everyone (Jill, John, Hazel, Colston, Tony, Fiona, Yvana, Khurshed) want to say hello to me and I am made to feel welcome right away. I am the only one in a suit and tie (playing safe with a speculative dress code) and quickly lose the tie to fit in a bit. It's still too cold to take off the waistcoat!

THE DISCUSSION

Assured that "coffee is on the way" we sit on the chairs. Time to start worrying that I have not prepared a problem? Or that I know nothing of patterns? Not at all: it quickly becomes apparent that I am not alone and that no-one is going to be judgmental anyway... least of all Colston and Jill, who organised the event. The discussion is soon running, everyone contributes, we are learning on the hoof and I feel wonderfully at home right away.

Once or twice there are clashes on approach, or of opinion about what we are here for anyway. Do we sweep these under the carpet and retreat to safe ground? Oh, no, no, no; we thrash them out then and there. This is a tad scary the first time round, but I soon realise that this openness not only elicits more information from the protagonists and creates new meanings, but puts the me into a profoundly open learning state, so that I benefit fully from the experience. Yes, this is not just talk, it is an experience.

THE THEME

In some ways the theme (problem page / patterns) is "just" a framework for the discussion, but the value of that role should not be underestimated and I, for one, do learn about patterns 'en passant'. Colston and Jill are to be congratulated on their thorough preparation combined with a flexibility in chairing the event.

In my sub-group we settle on a real live change programme that I had about a year ago. It was fascinating to see how quickly the team -- with minimal information about the problem -- came up with a strategy for tackling it in such a short time, yet reassuring that I had not missed any major tricks, even if I took longer to get there.

CONCLUSIONS

My (very personal) conclusion to the day as far as the method was concerned was that one could make a valuable tool for getting a change workshop GOING. This could perhaps consist of coloured (cloud-shaped?) cards with just the title on the face side and a further explanation on the reverse. In a workshop setting with a client, these could be scattered on a table and physically arranged into a sequence (or process model) by the participants -- instead of copying to a flip chart as we did today. The patterns are fairly generic, so they need tuning to the specific situation in terms of language and relevance, BUT getting a workshop started is 90% of the work and such a tool would therefore be valuable to me.

My summary adjectives for the day: enjoyable, meaningful, experiential, educative, sociable, relaxing, encouraging, stimulating. And anyway it was worth going just for the lunch!

Thanks to ALL the participants. I look forward to the next one enormously.

Andy.

Andy Symons

Director / Consultant

Tel (office): 01538 398 685