Creating people links with speed networking
Oliver Mack came over from Common Purpose yesterday to discuss plans for this year’s London Conference. It will be for all those who have completed their courses in the London area. This year we are planning use speed dating techniques to create some new alliances between graduates.
Behind Common Purpose is the simple idea that with a little push and some support many people will get involved with the problems facing this city: taking up positions on governing boards, leading community groups to tackle an issue, getting politically involved or taking responsibility for local decision making.
They organise yearlong programmes that bring together diverse people from across the city to share ideas and look at the world from different perspectives. Some of the relationships formed turn into action as pairs of people or small groups form to take an idea forward.
This year’s conference wants to make these links happen on a larger scale and so will bring people together from all recent courses in February. I have been discussing with Oliver and others how we can create an activity that will stimulate the creation of further links between people. I immediately suggested a form of speed dating. Let’s call it speed networking.
Our plan is to create an evening event in which 100 people will each meet and talk to at least 10 other people. Their goal will be to find out what they have in common (professionally or socially) and to make specific suggestions as to what they could do together. We’ll also have a second session in which larger groups of people explore what activities they could get involved in. We’ll circulate a list of all the suggested activities after the event and allow other people to join in.
The key I suspect to running the event well will be to make it fun and highly polished. It must not appear worthy and if two people decide that they simply like each other and would like to have a drink together then this is perfect outcome.
It would be perfect however if some of the pairs discover opportunities to work with or for each other.
If this is a success we’d like to explore using an online database to allow people to explore contacts at any time. In particular I’d like to find ways to allow people to recognise third party relationships where they recommend another linked person for an opportunity that emerges elsewhere in their lives.
Behind Common Purpose is the simple idea that with a little push and some support many people will get involved with the problems facing this city: taking up positions on governing boards, leading community groups to tackle an issue, getting politically involved or taking responsibility for local decision making.
They organise yearlong programmes that bring together diverse people from across the city to share ideas and look at the world from different perspectives. Some of the relationships formed turn into action as pairs of people or small groups form to take an idea forward.
This year’s conference wants to make these links happen on a larger scale and so will bring people together from all recent courses in February. I have been discussing with Oliver and others how we can create an activity that will stimulate the creation of further links between people. I immediately suggested a form of speed dating. Let’s call it speed networking.
Our plan is to create an evening event in which 100 people will each meet and talk to at least 10 other people. Their goal will be to find out what they have in common (professionally or socially) and to make specific suggestions as to what they could do together. We’ll also have a second session in which larger groups of people explore what activities they could get involved in. We’ll circulate a list of all the suggested activities after the event and allow other people to join in.
The key I suspect to running the event well will be to make it fun and highly polished. It must not appear worthy and if two people decide that they simply like each other and would like to have a drink together then this is perfect outcome.
It would be perfect however if some of the pairs discover opportunities to work with or for each other.
If this is a success we’d like to explore using an online database to allow people to explore contacts at any time. In particular I’d like to find ways to allow people to recognise third party relationships where they recommend another linked person for an opportunity that emerges elsewhere in their lives.
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Jonathan Briggs (Online Blog) 6th January 2004