Folks,

This week, I’m going to talk about the Art of Gathering, a book written by Priya Parker. It’s an important book for anyone who organises meetings, workshops, or events. It could be even more important to those who hate going to meetings, workshops, and events. 

My first job after leaving university was with Johnson & Johnson, a large pharmaceutical company with a large knowledge base and money to spare. And how do you get people on the same page? You hold lots and lots of events, conferences, and meetings, of course, in the case of J&J, in very fancy locations across the world. Only, I wasn’t that interested, and it wasn’t long before I found a way to skip the plenary sessions at conferences and events. 

Yet, now I’m a poacher turned gamekeeper. I organise events, meetings, and workshops. And although I’ve yet to fully figure out the Art of Gathering, I’m holding myself to the question: “What event would I like to attend?”

Here are the three key steps for transformative gatherings:

1. A specific disputable point

1. Generate heat

1. Create rules for the game: 

Here’s what I learned when applying these rules to a coaching workshop I ran recently: 

A specific disputable point ✅: As coaches, we want to stand out and fit in. Why do you think writing a coaching manifesto is overlooked and undervalued?

Generate heat ❎: I defo created some tension in the room because of the rules I used, more on that later, but I missed a step. By giving the group more information upfront, it would have allowed them to pick sides, and also, to decide if the content was a good fit for them. Easily remedied.  

Create rules for the game ✅: The workshop was built on Think - Pair - Share. There were 4 prompts, each with 3 minutes to write down your thoughts (Think) and 6 minutes to talk it though (Pair - Share). 

Whether you are a Poacher, not playing by the rules, or a Gamekeeper who can’t get past putting sticky notes on a whiteboard, I hope this helps. 

Have a great week, 

Simon

P.S. We might like to think we compete with other coaches, when in truth, we compete with ourselves. Let’s change the narrative. Join us at Coach Camp, where we hold each other and challenge each other to do better. I hope to see you there. The next event is Saturday, 31st May at Sport Wales, you can get your FREE ticket here.