So, come Monday morning, I was pretty apprehensive and nervous about what the week was going to bring. I assembled sheepishly with the rest of my group (Team ABBA- don't ask!) after a quick introductory session and soon found myself presenting "Me"- this included my strengths, weaknesses, an anecdote and a pretty shit stick man drawing. It all got pretty deep and I found myself confessing my deepest darkest worries (something I rarely do with my friends let alone a bunch of randomers), the funny thing was... everyone else was doing exactly the same and we were all happy to share. I dished out and received feedback and finished the first day feeling pretty positive but still a little bit sceptical.
Tuesday, I learnt the importance of reflection in altering future behaviour. This involved drilling into my well of knowledge and driving past just reviewing previous behaviours and trying to understand the why behind them. Don't worry, I know you're probably thinking "WTF?! she really is in a happy clappy tree hugging cult", and I suppose before starting this course I would have thought taking 10 minutes to 'understand yourself' was complete bullshit as well, so I don't blame you! What I will say is try it...
Tuesday brought an interesting talk from Mark Comerford (a self-confessed arsehole apparently) who basically after dropping the 'C' bomb, a few 'MF's and a whole heap of other profanities got to his point that "Change will fuck you up". He was right, change is disruptive and if you are prepared for it, it will reduce the disruption and basically reduce the fuckage. If you don't disrupt yourself, someone will come along and disrupt you and it has always been the most adaptable of the species that has survived this.
One thing I took away from Mark's speech was that we as an industry see the digital world as some airy fairy non-tangible phenomenon, but need to realise that there is now no difference between the real world and the digital world. We need to look at the trajectory of these developments we are seeing and understand that now is then and make strategic decisions about where it's going to go (all very hardcore I know).
Tuesday also brought a talk from Ade Oshineye (part of the Google + project team) who although being clearly very intelligent and charming, delivered a speech that advocated the brilliance of Google which I found difficult to push past. He made some interesting points and reiterated the need for flexibility and adaptiveness in today's world, especially with the metrics on which we measure success.
The following days were spent learning theories and models about group dynamics and the stages that groups go through in order to reach performance and productivity. When I say we spent these days learning this, it wasn't through loads of notes and being talked at by a teacher... it was all through experience based learning where we were encouraged to live the different stages of group development. This involved a task where we were asked to potentially compromise our values which in turn created conflict within the group. There were a few tense moments to say the least, followed by a lot of reflection and feedback.
We ended the week after an intense 4 hour reflection session and a talk from Micke Ahlstrom (serial entrepreneur). The main point I took from his talk is the shift from story telling to story building, and that inviting people into your story will produce a higher level of engagement. He also encouraged us to think of potential mash-up companies using existing platforms. Of course, my little team's was the best... blobshop.com- combining Ocado, a menstrual calculator and a women to have tampons and chocolate delivered at her time of the month (true visionaries).
All in all, it has been a fantastic week that has completely changed my way of thinking along with my understanding of people and groups. I have met some lovely people and can whole heartedly say that I feel truly privileged to be taking part in the squared programme.
Follow me: @kerrydatlen - for daily updates!
Keep your eyes peeled for next week's- the group tasks will be starting so no doubt the claws will be out!!
Meet Team Abba...
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