Folks,

I realised this week that for all the meetings and events I’ve curated, I still have plenty to learn when it comes to where I put the chairs. 

When Wendy Woon wanted to teach museum curators about how to design a space for interaction, she jumbled a pile of chairs and left them in the centre of an otherwise empty room. The students had no choice but to participate in designing a space — where else were they going to sit?

Where you put the chairs tells a story. Chairs in a row tell a different story from chairs around a table.

Do you remember Peter Kay’s sketch about emergency chairs for when the family comes around for Christmas and birthdays? You might all end up sitting at different heights, but you’re around the same table. The message is simple: nothing is too much trouble.

As you know, I talk a lot about the choices we face, and often it seems crazy — like, where do you put the chairs? — but I hope you can see, it matters.

I think I’ll leave it there this week. 

Act with care, 

Simon

P.S. If you need help "seeing" the choices you make, you know where I am.