No Agenda Breakfast on 26.6.

Hello!

We had an interesting No Agenda -session, it really feels good not to know in advance, where the discussion is gonna go. We covered almost all aspects of life, I won't try to cover it here. Ismo Saario visited us, and we're hoping he would become a regular member.

Here are some thoughts considering what we have been doing so far, especially in the beginning, and where we might be heading next fall.

Looking back at Goodtimers; some early findings and previous topics

Have a look these notes the group made after the first period, in 2003 (click on the picture, and you will see the notes more clearly):






Here are some topics that we have discussed earlier - perhaps we should look at some of these again?

First period (June 2003 - December 2003):

- Me-me vs. work-me
- Tipu Ake model: the Maori way of looking at things
- Building meaningful relationships
- Unlocking the inspiration, energy and genius within
- Visioning
- Living life fully

Second period (January 2004 - June 2004):

- Building relationships
- What have we learned?
- How to build winning teams?
- DISC; different personality types
- Facilitation
- Leadership pill

Third period (August 2004 - January 2005):

- Why are we less than we could be?
- Changing impossible situations into gold
- A tapping technique to remove what's stopping us
- How to develop sales skills?
- Meaninmg of life; writing personal mission statements

... and so on.

I have a question for all of you: Does any of these topics make you go "vow, I wish I had been there / I wish I would remember that session"? Should we try to tackle the same topic with fresh forces and have a discussion around it, together? We have the old notes of these sessions, so we could read them through, ask the guest speaker (most of these early presentations were given by Chris) to give a new version of his thoughts... would you like it? Especially the newer members might enjoy that? Please let me know what you think.

Another idea considering our future programme was that we could have more of these personal jump-stories or other ways of getting deeper into our everyday life. Anyone in the middle of a big change process (external or internal) is interesting, and the group might be able to help by being present and listening deeply. Also if someone is passionate or deeply involved in something (astrology, yoga, taiji, ancient Rome, body painting, diving, poetry, whatever), it would be interesting to be exposed to that passion - it might be easier to tap into one's own life interests after having seen someone so excited?

Let's see how things proceed. Have a great summer holiday, and see you in August!

Regards, Pekka

No Agenda Breakfast: 26.6.2009 at 8:30, Park Hotel

I've received some replies indicating that a No Agenda meeting might be fun, so I feel this Friday we will have breakfast at Park Hotel's yard, listening to birds singing and discussing whatever comes to mind. Perhaps some reflections on what we have been discussing during the past years is a good idea - I might print out some old topics and we might just browse them through and see what comes to mind?

See you at No Agenda breakfast!

Pekka

"The Language of spaces" by Anna Sperryn; 29.5.2009

We can all read the language of spaces. It is natural, easy and happens without thinking about it. It's a language of our bodies and senses.

We are always in some sort of a space (not quite the same as tila in Finnish, better translations welcome!). All spaces also "happen" at a certain time. In a way, we are the spaces we are in. Winston Churchill said "First we create our buildings, then our buildings create us".

I consider both natural environments and built environments to be important to include in this understanding. We should remember that between 75-95% of all communication is non-verbal, and our environments are affecting us in powerful ways.

The dimensions of space (tila) as a phenomenon are: social, physical and virtual. The social aspect is probably the most important, so spaces should be created with understanding the behaviours that the space encourages/discourages. Form is intensified meaning that human beings read subconsciously. So be aware of the meanings inbuilt in your surroundings. If the meaning supports you and what you want to achieve and become, you've got a powerful friend on your side. If the opposite is true, something is constantly working against you and tiring you out.

This starts to sound pretty much like Feng Shui. And I believe our western Environmental Psychology is close to the fundamental teaching of feng shui, if you look beyond the evil spirits and "how to be rich" -type of teachings. But who am I to dismiss evil spirits, maybe I am just beginning to understand the "invisible world" ;-)

The "invisible world" is also what I have been learning in my Design studies (International Design Business Management for Professionals). In a way, designing messages, or meanings into forms (e.g. a cider bottle) is the essence of any design act. Design can be made in a way that seeks to serve "what wants to be" or in a "hero" mentality. Serving what wants to be is a selfless act, where the designer(s) carefully studies and engages the real users and other stakeholders in the process, fully letting go of "what should be" (culture) and being extremely sensitive to what wants to happen in this space, for these people, at this time, serving these aspirations.

The hero designers (that the media seem to love) use a different approach, which may result into a great item, but quite often their designs are "monuments", because the meaning inbuilt is "someone has done the thinking for you, now admire it".


A good design (as I understand) gives a meaningful form that serves the intended OR desired behaviours BUT leaves room for change. IDEO, the world's most famous product design company for example believes that spaces certainly are a factor of innovation, but the fewer rules the better. Let people create their own spaces rather than give them a focus group-influenced compromise design from the real estate or IT department.

I could go on and on about this subject - which was noticeable also on Friday. Apologies for cramming our time together with a lot of information. I had a great learning experience preparing, giving and now documenting this talk. I enjoyed the discussion that according to my memory covered at least: the social aspect of spaces, being in the flow or not (and helped/not by the physical surroundings), spaces as "tipping points", space being a participant in a group setting, space being one of the teachers in Montessori -thinking, helping people open up to other people, innovative and creative virtual spaces, timing of meetings, locations being important, more inspiring corporate offices, the psychosis-inducing environments, environments that are good for us, education...

The conversation was intriguing, and I would like to hear about your insights (oivallukset). Please contact me or let's speak at the next Forum.

The books that I referred to, were:

Talojen kieli by Kaj Nyman, Rakennusalan kustantajat 1998
• this book is a very thought provoking book based on the author's Doctoral Thesis. He takes the view of the built environment and architects. Very readable and lots of drawings. I got it from the library.

In the Bubble. Designing in a Complex World by John Thackara. The MIT Press 2006.
• equally thought provoking, but Thackara covers many kinds of design: products, spaces, services, education, business etc. Read this, if you want to understand how design thinking and practices relate to your life, the environment and the global challenges we are facing. No drawings at all, but well written! I ordered it from Amazon.

Thank you!

Anna Sperryn
"annasperryn@yahoo.com"