I've been quiet for the last few weeks for a variety of reasons, one of which is that I've been rather busy.
And one of the things that kept me occupied for a short time was the facilitation of a group of internal communicators from England's East Midlands.
Black Belter Clare Venn from Alstom Power decided some months ago that she'd like to know what her peers from around the Derby area were up to - so she invited a dozen or so to a morning show and tell session at her offices. She attracted some really good people from a range of organisations including Rolls-Royce, Peugeot cars and Barclays. And she was careful to find a group of in-house people who all had something to share with each other.
She roped me in to talk about change, but mainly to hold the ring so that people could debate their issues and experiences. She's been thanking me quite profusely (so I'm not admitting how much I enjoyed myself in case she thinks of charging me next time).
I think the session worked because Claire created an environment where people were willing to share real problems and discuss solutions that worked for them.
The local branch of Communicators in Business also chipped in with a bit of sponsorship which was very good of them (and enterprising of Claire to get hold of).
I know Claire has been thinking of this for some time and that she and one or two other people had to invest some time in bringing the group together. However, it seems an excellent idea.
Rather than waiting for one of the professional associations to arrange an event outside London or Birmingham or look at a topic that interests you, why not put on your own workshop? Invite the people that interest you and, hey presto, you're up and running!
Looking at where Black Belt alumni come from...I think I'll start working on the people in Basel as there are dozens of them there and they should certainly be ganging together!
Liam





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