“Secret session” reflections
August 26th, 2008
For many of my colleagues who attended ASAE & The Center’s Annual Meeting last week, the so-called “secret session” held on Sunday afternoon was an enjoyable, thought-provoking experience. I know this because many people came up to me in San Diego to express their appreciation, and many others have reached out to me with thanks in the days since the meeting ended. To everyone who enjoyed the conversation we had, thank you. I am very grateful for all of the supportive and encouraging comments.
But there has also been some backlash against the session, and it is causing problems for ASAE & The Center in the form of negative feedback on meeting evaluations from some attendees who were understandably frustrated by the hype and ultimate letdown around the speakers, as well as the inconvenience of last-minute changes in location. To everyone who shares in these feelings, please do not place the blame on ASAE & The Center. Let me be clear:
The responsibility for how the session was promoted, the confusing logistics and any other shortcomings belongs exclusively to Andy, Terrance and me, and no one else. We are grateful to ASAE & The Center for giving us the opportunity to conduct this experiment, and we apologize to them and to our colleagues for the unintended consequences of the choices we made.
In fairness, the idea for the session emerged only one month before the Annual Meeting, so arrangements had to be made quickly. Nevertheless, if we had it to do over again, I would suggest we do the following things differently:
+Integrate the session into the agenda for a future event, rather than add it on short notice to a meeting with a schedule that is already at maximum capacity.
+Calibrate expectations around the speakers earlier in the process so that the focus can be on the quality and impact of the discourse, rather than the authenticity and legitimacy of the promotion.
+Use a format designed to create a context for a conversation that is about building understanding instead of scoring meaningless debating points.
+Have a clear post-session strategy to ensure that conversations begun in physical space continue in virtual space.
Even though this experiment produced mixed results, it was not a failure. We’ve teased out some valuable personal and professional lessons, and I think everyone involved in the session took something away from the conversation, even if it is what not to do. And next time, if there is one, we’ll do a better job because we’ve learned from this experience.
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