Research Archives

May 9

Joyce Bromberg

Five Tips to Transform Training into Learning

When was the last time you learned something that materially improved your performance? Despite the regular efforts of meeting planners and participants, your last positive learning experience is very likely a distant memory. That is, in part, because the distinct differences between training — which involves teaching a particular skill or type of behavior — relative to learning — where one acquires knowledge or skills though experience, practice, teaching or study — is largely misunderstood. We recommend the following five quick tips to help make your next program a learning success:

1. Clarify the Goal – Teaching and learning, while related, are two different things. Be clear about what you’re doing and the result you want. Are you sharing information that you just want your audience to understand? Or are you sharing the content with the goal that the audience learns and does something with it? A clear goal helps participants relate to what’s needed, remain open to the information and be less stressed about expectations.

2. Make it a Win/Win – Training is often about the organization and its needs. Learning is about the individual and his/her willingness to adopt new ways of thinking, working and behaving. Be empathetic to learner needs, as well as those of the organization. Explain how this helps the company but also relate it back to the learner’s job and or experience. Place the content in a context the user can understand. Make it personal and provide real life examples.

3. Stimulate and Engage – Use your participants’ natural curiosity to gain their attention and engagement before there’s any opportunity to tune out. And then, get them involved. Learning is a social activity that happens best by doing. Ask participants to work together as a team to problem-solve and develop answers. This type of activity replicates the way they may be collaborating back at the office. The old adage that people learn best by doing has proven true repeatedly.

4. Make Thinking Visible – The thinking and memory of an instructor is an integral part of the training/learning process. It needs to be made visible to participants so they can incorporate it into their own thinking and memory banks. This can be done in both conventional and technological ways.

• Use technology that allows two way communications, such as polling devices.

• Instructors always have a white board, consider providing small, hand-held versions to learners so they can make their thinking visible, as well.

• Information persistence through visuals that are continuously available during a session can also make a strong – but subtle –impact.

I recently saw an interview of two 8 year-old boys who saved the life of a neighbor’s four month-old son. Panicked when her child stopped breathing, the mother ran outside calling for help. The children, playing in the front yard, came in to help and ended up giving the baby CPR –successfully — until EMT’s arrived. Where did they learn to do such a thing? They said they remembered it from the CPR/How to Help Someone Choking poster that hangs in the school lunchroom. “And you remembered what to do from reading that poster?” the interviewer asked. “The lunch line can be pretty long,” one of the boys noted. So, he had occasion to see and read the content repeatedly. Luckily, for his neighbor and her child.

5. Connect Through Stories – Great stories and pictures can be powerful learning tools. They help make content “sticky” or memorable in a way that stays with people. Borrowing each others’ stories can help individuals develop their own. And the emotional impact of such elements helps learners retain the information being communicated long after the training has ended.

Do you have suggestions about how you’ve turned training into learning? Please share your experiences with us jbromberg@convene.com

Joyce Bromberg
VP, Strategy & Research
jbromberg@convene.com

Apr 30

Joyce Bromberg

Owning the guest experience continues at Convene’s newest conference center in Manhattan’s Financial District

“My responsibility is to make New York’s most important meetings more successful,” Jeffrey Reichstein says. As the general manager of 32 Old Slip, Convene’s new 38,750 square foot location in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District, he now has a new level of capability to execute his role. Convene has already served close to two thirds of all New York-based Fortune 500 companies since its founding in 2009. A $4 million renovation has transformed a vacated Goldman Sachs training center into New York’s most technologically integrated conference and collaboration site, 32 Old Slip.

A concerted effort was made to design the space in ways that make it equally accommodating for Fortune 1000 companies as well as the area’s fast-growing, digital and internet companies. It boasts Studio spaces for small, generative group sessions and large rooms – Hubs – that can comfortably accommodate 200 participants classroom style. One of its most unique features is a classic, raked auditorium which offers unobstructed views from every seat, with an 18 foot, rear-projection screen and a fleet of supplemental 90-inch monitors.

Beyond the physical aspects of space design and technology allocation, Convene is known for its non-traditional approach to service which is the product of a human-centered design methodology. Service and space are designed with a mission to make collaboration more enjoyable and productive. The company has gone so far as to completely redesign their organizational staffing structure to deliver better service.

“The interesting thing about Convene,” Jeffrey says, “is that even though there are job titles, everyone is empowered to do anything and everything within the space. No one has to wait for anyone else to take care of an issue, so client’s needs are met instantaneously.”

Jeffrey has been with Convene since its founding in 2009 (originally as Sentry Centers), and has seen the company grow exponentially since then. “I love interacting with clients, working with designers, selecting the china and glassware, arranging flowers – the entire visual experience.” The aesthetic of the space has been carefully designed to work across a broad spectrum of tastes and generational preferences. “Our goal,” says Jeffrey, “is to make those from Google to Goldman equally happy. Creating the overall experience and tying design with operations is a great blend of all of my experience and what I enjoy most.”

Jeffrey believes working smarter and constantly evolving is critically important to Convene’s development and success. Convene uses client surveys to gauge what works best and how to improve its operations. “We survey every single meeting planner on the day after their meeting, and if we score anything less than 95% satisfaction then the client is contacted and our team meets to address our shortfalls and design ways to close the gap. Last year, we scored 96.7%, which is exceptional in our business. One reason our scores are so high is that we understand the implications of our performance in a business context. Companies come here to tackle their most critical strategic objectives. We recognize that the success or failure of our client’s meetings can affect their company’s stock prices and individual careers. Our team has an enhanced level of motivation because we see our work that way.”

“In instances where service falls short of our expectations, we are always completely transparent with our clients – from sales to operations,” Jeffrey notes, and it is a behavior that clients appreciate. “If we screw up, we own it,” Jeffrey says, “and we learn from it so it never happens again. “

Jeffrey believes there are many reasons for Convene’s success – active principal involvement, an entrepreneurial spirit, inclusiveness, an inventive approach to facilities and sensitivity to client needs from food to technology, room layouts and seating options, to having a staff that cares and connects to clients. But the best feedback from clients? “When they mention my colleagues by name,” Jeffrey says. “That’s what makes me happy – because we’ve connected on a personal level. At the end of the day, it’s human capital that makes the difference.”

Joyce Bromberg
VP, Strategy and Research
jbromberg@convene.com

Apr 1

Joyce Bromberg

Six Meeting Planner Lessons Learned From TED

The TED (Technology, Entertainment & Design) Conference has become a worldwide phenomenon since it became an annual event in 1990. Today, TED and its offshoot TEDx are held in nearly every major city across the globe; millions of people download and listen to past TED talks on their digital devices daily. Noted information architect Richard Saul Wurman conceived the program in 1984 believing the confluence of the driving forces of technology, entertainment and design would fundamentally change the world. TED’s success over more than two decades has caused a primal shift in the how, what and why of meetings, collaborations and conferences.

What distinguishes one conference so distinctly over others? What makes it the one ticket to buy? The ultimate in creative experiences? Especially when a yearly membership is now $6,000 and is by invitation only. People clamor to attend, despite the cost and the fact that all the talks are available online. Why? We’ve come to understand that it’s the social and networking opportunities, the exposure to leading edge thinking and new possibilities, the chance to see and be seen, engage and interact that are the true drivers behind continued attendance.

The early conferences, based in Monterey, California, ran for four consecutive days and featured ground-breaking thinkers. The meetings had a very definite rhythm, starting at 8 a.m. and ending around 9 p.m. These long days were divided into three two-hour blocks with two-hour breaks in between, followed by cocktail receptions or dinners in the evening. Each session had five-six speakers who were given the stage for only 18 minutes each. Notes or reading from a script were not allowed and power point slides were generally frowned upon. Conversely, provocative info graphics and video were encouraged. The main conference was held in an auditorium and, as the attendance grew, Wurman added a simulcast room to hold the overflow. At first, this was “no man’s land,” but it soon became the most desired location because of the many seating options and postures, exercise machines and food choices that were provided there (no food was allowed in the main auditorium). In addition, it was possible to discuss what was being said in real time with fellow attendees in a relaxed, informal and comfortable setting.

Wurman always had a broad theme in mind for each day’s speakers but he rarely divulged a detailed description; he preferred to allow the audience to garner the session’s theme and meaning on their own.

It was, however, those two hour breaks and after-hour cocktail parties we mentioned earlier that were the real draw. This is where new ideas were conceived through chance meetings or convergences of people who might otherwise never have the opportunity to interact. This is where new stories were told and reactions to them gauged and then refined.

For TED, it is clear that it’s all about the social and networking opportunities — about having “The Conversation”. In fact their mission statement begins:
“We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. “

We agree. It’s about “The Conversation” and access to it — that’s what truly coveted.

Creating an agenda and an environment that fosters thought, conversation, and meaningful idea exchange can be stimulated by the participants and an environment that feeds and supports that interaction. What kind of conference or meeting experiences have you enjoyed that resulted in some inspirational thinking and casual conversation that led to real revelations? Please share your “best ever” conference experience that helped change your thinking or led to discovery by writing us @Convene.

We hope you find our other related posts on workplace, collaboration, design, technology and culinary interesting, as well as helpful. The best way to stay informed is to subscribe to our email updates here or via twitter @Convene.

The TED Difference:

• 18 minute talks that are delivered without a script.
• Breaks that are as long as the session itself, with great food and drink.
• Great music that sets the tone and entertainment between sessions that lighten the mood.
• Strategically placed whiteboards to encourage discussion and diagramming of ideas.
• Simulcast or Main Rooms with:

1. Lounge chairs and ottomans

2. Stand up height desks or leaning posts

3. Treadmills or Ellipticals

4. Coffee Bars and other specialty food items

• After-hour cocktail parties with heavy hors d’oeuvres that encourage your attendees to stay for the conversation rather than go out to dinner.

Mar 19

Joyce Bromberg

The Workplace Equation: Human Capital + Social Capital = Knowledge Capital

What’s the value of seeing co-workers daily, exchanging ideas, and interacting on projects in real time, and face-to-face? Many experts believe the type of activities that result from working closely together is at the heart of innovation – and an important factor in the “where to work” debate.

Why is being near so important? Because it builds social capital – the social relations between workers that produces trust. Social capital is developed and fed by the type and frequency of workers’ interactions. The more they have, the greater the social capital and level of trust. And trust is essential to developing, sharing and expanding ideas that can lead to innovation.

It’s like the social capital between good friends. We’ve all had the experience of running into an old friend whom we haven’t seen in a long time. The friendship is immediately rekindled and the time flies as you relive the memories and experiences of your shared past. However, the stories soon lose their interest and the conversation goes stale. Why? Because you have no new shared experiences to fuel your conversation. Social Capital is like a bank account. If you continually make withdrawals your account dries up; unless it’s replenished, you wind up broke. We need fresh, shared experiences and face-to-face interactions to keep Social Capital alive.

We’ve learned from Dr. Karen Stephenson, a corporate anthropologist and noted expert in Social Network Analysis that Human Capital, the education, experience and abilities of an employee + Social Capital, the social relations between workers that produces trust = Knowledge Capital, the ability for an organization to Innovate and create new value.

While virtual proximity does exist, we believe that innovation occurs best through face –to- face interaction, through the chance run- ins that spark new ideas and the trust that is built over time as people share their knowledge and grow together. We believe that environments specifically designed to enable collaboration and the sharing of ideas — as well as encouraging informal social interaction — is at the heart of great workplace strategies. When employers and employees share in the “where to work and collaborate” decision they build even greater commitment, engagement and trust.

Does your organization use your workspace to promote more interaction and innovation? Would you like to see more attention to developing social capital within your work group? We’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences where social capital played a key role in a project’s success. Write us @convene

Joyce Bromberg
VP, Strategy and Research
jbromberg@Convene.com
Follow @Convene on Twitter

Mar 6

Joyce Bromberg

No One Right Answer to Yahoo Workplace Debate

Driven by declining profits and a bloated and missing in action workforce, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer recently announced employees would no longer be allowed to work from home. In one swift act she has swung the pendulum from one direction allowing a certain level of worker choice and autonomy completely back to another of organization control. Reactive? Yes. Necessary? We think not.

We believe choice and trust versus control and fear are at the heart of this current “where you work” controversy.

In this world, few things are absolute. There is no longer one right way to do anything, especially when it comes to where and how people should be working. Instead, it’s about having the ability to choose the right place or location, tools and resources for the work at hand. Some highly concentrated work is best done at home where interruptions can be controlled. Some is best done at corporate HQ where the people you need to see are generally around and chance interactions can spark new and important ideas. Sometimes you work best at Starbucks where the action and buzz drives your creativity and feeds your spirit. Sometimes it’s at highly serviced and outfitted places that let you get away to meet with others you may not always see to accomplish a specific and critical task. Ultimately, it’s about companies and their workers trusting one another and behaving in ways that say our relationship is based on reciprocity and trust. We give and we take to achieve our shared goals. This office landscape looks something like this:

To understand how we arrived at this thinking it’s necessary to delve briefly into the history of workplace design and its relationship to organizational theory.

Current office design evolved from the Bullpen, where all the workers were at open desks in the center of one large room and those in charge were in private offices around the perimeter. Think “Mad Men” and you’ve got the picture.

The next model mirrored the Corporate Hierarchy; the organization governed primarily through fear and control. Information was scarce and always “need to know”. An individual’s workspace reflected his/her status in the company and their work was accomplished primarily alone. Good work was rewarded, in part, by the size of one’s office and the lavishness of its finishes. This planning method fell out of favor because the right number and size of offices weren’t always available and reconfigurations were disruptive, costly and time consuming.

Then Universal Planning came along. With the advent of systems office furniture everyone worked in the now dreaded cubical. The belief was that all knowledge work was essentially the same and was accomplished alone. When change was required you would move people and their belongings and leave the furniture alone. This time the workers rebelled and “Dilbertville” helped Universal Planning come to a slow and painful demise.

The next model, Activity Based Planning, reflected new worker mobility. Enabled by portable and miniaturized technology, this model understood that knowledge workers, charged with the task of innovation and creating corporate value, were all doing different kinds of work. Because the work was difficult and the problems complex they did this work both together and alone. The workers were, in fact, more than capable of choosing where and how they worked inside of a corporate building. Owning a desk became less important than being able to choose a setting that best fit the work at hand. Activity Based is still the dominant design in office planning.

The latest model to evolve is called Alternative Workplace Strategies or AWS. This model was driven, in large part, by a desire for organizations to lower real estate costs. It espoused that large corporate headquarters were no longer necessary because technology had precluded the need to be in the same place at the same time. You could work at home on your computer and rarely, if ever, come to the office. This had a disastrous effect on some organizations that lost the ability to innovate and grow and even to know who their workers were and what they were doing.

You might say the pendulum had swung from control by the organization– you do it my way, in my office – to control by the individual—you’re on your own, being together is no longer necessary, we’ll see you sometime. It was a total shift from tight control to individual autonomy. The lesson here is that absolutes don’t often work. In fact, we conclude that corporate excellence is achieved through worker commitment, rather than organizational control. Work is now decentralized and is best accomplished both on and off campus based on worker need, preference and the kind of work being done. It’s an exciting time to be a space provider and we look forward to providing you one of many choices in great places to work.

If you enjoyed this blog and have made it this far down the page then you may find our other related posts on workplace, collaboration, design, technology and culinary interesting as well. The best way to stay informed is to subscribe to our email updates here or via twitter @Convene.

Feb 13

Joyce Bromberg

Engineering the Meeting Planners’ Dream Menu

Fresh, seasonal, locally sourced, and “made from scratch” are all the typical buzzwords that we, along with many other top kitchens, are proud to have incorporated into our new menus. However, “engineered” is one word that we are confident that you won’t read anywhere else but here. At first glance, you would probably want to keep it that way. But, please give us a moment to explain the challenge that we’ve put to ourselves.

Just over a year ago Convene’s culinary team, led by Chef Stephen Meade, paired up with our VP of Strategy and Research, Joyce Bromberg. Their challenge: to tackle and, ultimately, reverse-engineer out the top problems that meeting planners deal with during meal times. Through observation and interviews, we discovered allergies, dietary restrictions and special food preferences were almost always communicated at the last minute. Providing for those special needs as an afterthought placed a lot of unnecessary stress on the meeting planners and the service team. As part of our commitment to make planner’s lives less difficult, we challenged ourselves to deliver a menu that would be, by default, “special order proof”.

Countless tastings later, all food allergies and dietary restrictions are now anticipated. Vegans, vegetarians and diabetics have plenty to choose from. We never use tree nuts or shellfish in our cooking, as those allergies are particularly severe. We have gluten-free options at every meal. Additionally, all of our dishes are designed and selected to hold well even if a meeting runs exceedingly long, because that seems to happen often. Having observed that food is frequently enjoyed standing up, while people are in conversation, and potentially in front of someone that our participant is trying to impress, we make a concerted effort to provide bite-sized portions that are easy and elegant to eat.

The best part is that even with all of our self imposed restrictions, our food is still delicious. Carefully curated seasonal menus (Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter) keep cuisine fresh and varied by introducing a new mix of options every day of the week so that the cuisine is interesting even for multi-day programs. Sugar and salt are always kept to a minimum, and generous portions of veggies and proteins are served to keep our cuisine light. Hot and cold drinks and snacks are always available and include a variety of unsweetened, anti-oxidant-rich bottled teas. In addition, all of the sugary staples that some folks just can’t do without are also provided. Ultimately, nutrition to power the mind and body is the most important aspect of our conference centers culinary offerings. It is behind every ingredient, slice, shake and stir that happens in Convene’s kitchens.

We’ve coined what Chef Meade has designed “Perfect Plates”. We think it’s a cool new way to think about food and we’re hopeful you will, too.

Joyce Bromberg

VP, Strategy and Research

jbromberg@Convene.com

Follow @convene on Twitter

Feb 12

Joyce Bromberg

Understanding Meeting Types Informs Better Meeting Planning

People outside of the meeting planning profession are likely to underestimate the strategic significance of meeting design. While a layperson might assume that a meeting is simply food, tables and chairs for everyone, it is so much more than that. Professional meeting planners align every aspect of program design with strategic objectives and ultimately have a major influence over the success of the collaborations that they orchestrate.

At Convene our research team is focused on studying the elements of successful collaboration. Using a Human Centered Design methodology we’ve observed countless meetings, conducted in-depth research, and engaged the brightest in the field through focus groups, rapid prototyping and discussion. Our intention was to decode the elements of successful meetings so that we could increase the potential of reproducing them.

One of our most pertinent discoveries is that there are three distinct meeting types that require specialized resources and space in order to be most effective. Understanding and identifying meeting types informs every aspect of strategic meeting planning including venue selection, seating configuration, agenda, format, and technology allocation. We’ve built on research conducted by Steelcase Inc., the global leader in office furniture and workspace design, which has discerned three major meeting types: Informative, Generative and Evaluative.

Informative Meetings are about the sharing or broadcasting of predetermined information. Examples include new product launches, training seminars and stockholder meetings. Any gathering where large numbers of people (50-300 or more) gather to hear and learn together can be termed an informative meeting. They should be hosted in large rooms, with ergonomic seating, and will likely require microphones, projectors, polling devices and other mass communication resources. Multiple projectors or displays should allow every seat to be the best one in the house. If the meeting is expected to last for an entire day — or longer — it’s important to allow attendees to adopt alternative postures, stand or put their feet up.

Generative Meetings are about creating new content together. They usually occur in small groups of 2-8 people. The work can go on for long periods of time or be a short breakout from a larger informative meeting. The work requires strong focus from the participants and the ability to capture, manipulate, retrieve and preserve the content they have created. Resource allocation for this meeting type includes lots of whiteboards and flip charts, mobile chairs and tables, and intimate/private space. In addition to collaborative technologies, it is important to provide a generous supply of paper-based tools such as Post-it® Notes, tape, pins and markers.

Evaluative Meetings are about making decisions, setting direction and long-term planning. These are usually small and have fewer than 20 participants. These meetings require intense engagement and benefit from governance and protocols. Large, information-rich displays are helpful to these meetings. Projectors, flip charts and conference lines should also be provided. As the content of these meetings is often highly confidential, special care should be taken to provide acoustical and visual privacy and a minimum of disruptions.

Providing the right tools, furniture and space design for a specific meeting type are key elements in achieving your meeting goals. Paying attention to every detail can make a meaningful difference to the end result. The great architect Mies van der Rohe once said, “God is in the details.” We couldn’t agree more.

Does your organization host one type of meeting more than another? Is meeting type something you consider when selecting a location? What things are most important to you in the selection of a meeting locale?

We invite you to participate in the Convene User Council which hosts insightful discussions among industry thought leaders.

Joyce Bromberg

VP of Strategy and Research

jbromberg@Convene.com

Follow @convene on Twitter

Feb 12

Joyce Bromberg

Rethinking Tech: 86ing the “Nickels and Dimes”

As part of the research process that ultimately produced Convene, we conducted focus groups where our clients expressed their feedback and suggestions on how we could serve them better. Whenever the topic of technology was on the table a common theme emerged. Our clients felt “nickel and dimed” by our process. Like everyone else, we were selling technology piece by piece; somehow a projector didn’t just come with a screen and a meeting didn’t just include Wi-Fi. It became clear to us that our process was damaging both to our clients and to ourselves. Last minute tech add-ons (that were logically assumed to be included) were pushing costs over budget. Our way of selling was making them look bad. It had to change.

We quickly decided to make two major changes. Moving forward, meeting packages would include all of the technology that could reasonably be assumed would be needed. Additionally, technology consultation would be moved out of the post-contract phase and into the pre-planning process. This allows resources to be budgeted intelligently, and aligned with strategic objectives.

The most interesting and insightful product of our decision was what we had to learn in order to properly fulfill our new promise. Our research taught us that there are three primary meeting types: Informative, Generative and Evaluative. We studied the activities that comprise each type so that we could confidently anticipate and provide resources — especially technology– that are required to facilitate each type. Just as hotel sleeping rooms come with shampoo, towels, hairdryers and irons, we provide all of the necessities of a meeting room in one convenient package. No one likes being “nickel and dimed“ and it is a waste of time and energy to ask someone if they want something that you already know they are going to need. That’s why Wi-Fi access is always included. In addition, our packages increase productivity and value by eliminating last minute add-ons that inconvenience clients and bog down service teams.

All of our equipment is of a quality one would expect to find in a Fortune 500 company. As a brand standard we are equipped with Polycom communications devices, Cisco routers, Christie projectors and Crestron control panels. We also maintain fully-redundant, high-speed internet connections, HD resolution and digital signage. In addition, our technology team offers additional enhanced services like broadcasting, the ability to simulcast to every space in our facility, dedicated bandwidth and audience response systems that can help make your meetings even more engaging. Our goal is to stay ahead of the curve and bring you the latest and best products available.

We know that meetings and conferences are important business occasions. The quality of their production is a reflection on the meeting planner and the company he/she represents. If the CEO of a public company is onstage at his/her annual shareholder meeting, failure is not an option. That’s why we treat our equipment as the fine-tuned products they are. Keeping careful maintenance logs and proactively servicing our equipment insures reliability.

Our technology is built-in and “always-on”. It is ready and accessible for participants to use as needed, which is not always “as they had planned”. A meeting’s flow and the attendees thought processes are never interrupted by a lack of resources.

Last, but not least, we provide expert technology consultation as part of our sales process. We have professional, full-time technology specialists at every location. They work side-by-side with the relationship managers to insure that technology is proactively integrated with new bookings from a project’s inception. Our team aims to understand your meeting objectives and make technology recommendations to better align program productions with your strategic goals. Clients who have their own in-house tech advisors especially appreciate the ability to have “expert to expert” communications. If there is something required that we don’t yet have, our personal connections to those at the forefront of technological innovation will allow your production dreams to be realized.

We think it’s important to listen to our clients – to hear your needs, understand your challenges, and what success means to you. What technologies can you imagine that would enhance your meeting’s productivity? What do you need that you don’t already have? Please share your ideas and we’ll do the same. Maybe together we can get to a place where a meeting’s productivity and results can be guaranteed. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Joyce Bromberg

VP, Strategy and Research

jbromberg@convene.com

Follow @convene on Twitter

Feb 12

Joyce Bromberg

Driven by Human-Centered Design

The meetings business was not an obvious choice for Convene founders Ryan Simonetti and Chris Kelly. Then a chance to adopt an existing corporate conference facility developed. Initially, they saw it as an opportunity to make a business out of as-built spaces. But their view changed. They quickly discovered an entire population of meeting planners who were underserved and discontent with the services and spaces that were available to them. That’s when they began to form a shared vision for what the future of conference centers could be.

They studied the changing nature of work and found an opportunity to develop better workplaces and services at the center of three converging trends: communications technology, globalization and decentralization, and workers’ changing perceptions and preferences. While technology had rapidly mobilized work and communications the workplace, its design and services had evolved very little since the typewriter era; the two entrepreneurs were determined to close that gap. In the current state of the world, work effortlessly spans time zones and geography. Global corporations and their workforces now work as one, in real time across a distributed network of places that very much includes but, for the first time, is not limited to the office. However, to the same extent that technology was bringing workers together, it was simultaneously putting more distance between them on a day-to-day basis. Chris and Ryan understood that, as a result, the occasions when people actually did meet face to face would become even more significant. They began designing and prototyping the types of spaces and services that would be required to facilitate these infrequent but ever more important interactions. They examined the future of the workplace, conducted visioning sessions, identified trends, explored the mobile environment, and generational differences in the workforce. When they couldn’t find an existing solution worth emulating they decided to create their own.

Working with The Bromberg Group, they set upon an intense period of self – examination, research and strategic planning using a method known as “Human Centered Design* or “Design Thinking”. One of the best examples of Human Centered Design is Apple’s iPhone. Years ago, if cell phone manufacturers had asked users what they wanted in a better device most would have requested longer battery life and better reception. No one would have suggested the unique features and ground-breaking innovation Apple developed. Why? Because most people couldn’t describe those needs despite the limitations of their existing product. But through Human Centered Design, even those features and capabilities users can’t articulate become visible. The process starts with the needs and activities of the people who will be utilizing the product, service, technology or space that is being designed. It is a method to understand the key elements of a given situation. Who is doing it? What is their process? Where is it done and how do people interact with their physical environment, the folks they are working with and the technology they are using? When do they do it? How long? How often? Why do they do it? What are their goals and aspirations?

The answers to these questions are gathered in three ways: We ASK people what they do and why they are doing it. Then we OBSERVE what they do because sometimes what people say they do is very different from what they actually do. Finally, we ENGAGE them in a participatory design activity that allows us to uncover latent needs; those they might not be able to articulate or even know they have. We take hundreds of digital photographs to capture the events as they occur. Armed with this information, the research team pins everything to the wall and begins a process of analysis and synthesis. They share what they’ve uncovered by telling stories and sharing photos. Soon patterns in the data begin to emerge and are clustered into insights. The Insights are filtered through the lenses of Desirability, Feasibility and Viability. Do people want and need it? Is it possible to build or create? Can our clients afford it? Can we afford it? Once answered, our Insights become Design Principles, the criteria that are used to create or select our spaces, menus, technology and experiences.

Seems like a lot of work and a messy process, right? But think of the results: taking one of the most common interactions in business – the meeting – and elevating it to enhance productivity, increase satisfaction, and be a more memorable experience. At Convene, Research and Human Centered Design have become the tools and engine of our innovation process – and our customers are enjoying the results.

Does your organization have a process for Innovation? How is it working for you? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

We invite you to participate in the Convene User Council which hosts insightful discussions among industry thought leaders.

Joyce Bromberg

VP, Strategy and Research

jbromberg@Convene.com

Follow @convene on Twitter

Feb 3

Joyce Bromberg

Sentry Centers Becomes Convene

Our transformation from Sentry Centers to Convene is much more than just a new name. It’s the materialization and full blown implementation of a new set of best practices that optimize our space and service to produce a more enjoyable and productive user experience.

A corporate name change can be a highly disruptive activity and is never undertaken lightly. In truth, it would hardly be worth the effort if it were about a change in name only. Our name change, from Sentry Centers to Convene, is a reflection of our evolution as a company and our commitment to ongoing innovation. We are now singularly focused on providing purpose built spaces and integrated services to ensure the success of our client’s business meetings. Innovation is part of our DNA and to keep it flowing we rely on a method known as Human Centered Design. Also referred to as “Design Thinking,” this method has allowed us to reengineer every aspect of our space, service, culinary and technology offerings. It has enabled the creation of extraordinary experiences that reflect and reconcile the often-divergent needs of our stakeholders. Every decision we make is based on a deep understanding of the needs of the Meeting Planner, their Client, and the Meeting Participants. Our knowledge of their process allows us to anticipate their needs and, hopefully, to always exceed their expectations.

We are excited about the future and our growth plan includes rapid expansion to other cities and the addition of new services. Part of that plan is our rebranding, this revised website and the addition of this Blog. In addition to Research, Blog topics will include Design, Collaboration, Technology, Cuisine and Service – all key elements to a successful meeting experience. Putting a blog on a page titled Research might seem odd to some. We did this with intention as it reflects our ongoing commitment to provide new research that helps the field of Meeting Planning to advance and also as evidence of our desire to continually share our findings and knowledge. This blog will always post what we’re learning and also what we think is cool. Most important, however, is that we hope to engage your participation and begin an ongoing dialogue. So please share your thoughts and let us know what works and is meaningful for you.

Thanks for reading this far …. Please shoot us an email if you are interested in learning more about Convene’s User Council where we host insightful conversations among industry thought leaders.

Joyce Bromberg

VP, Strategy and Research

jbromberg@Convene.com

Follow @convene on Twitter

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