Monthly Meeting – 15th March, 2008

community, monthly meeting, plans

Hi Friends, 

This is to report that the monthly meeting was great fun! 8 of us met at Monica Raheja’s place. I must say that her home is one of the most tastefully done houses that I have seen in recent times. And mind you there is no room for the clutter of artifacts in the décor. I was personally impressed by the beautiful use of colours and hues, various textures and the simplistic appointment of furniture. And before any one of you start wondering whether I am reporting the meeting or reviewing for home décor section of this space, let me come to the point. 

The meeting started with a formal tone of; “hi “n “how is you” and “what’s your name” and “what do you do”. Soon, we started sharing our first experience with ISABS and what has been our journey so far. From there on the conversation drifted to Work Environment and how enhanced awareness after the Labs impacts self and those around us. One would think that we were into serious discussions and sharing, given the topics of discussion. But folks, with Nitu around it is impossible to keep a straight face. The girl is a treasure and her dry humor kept all of us in splits. Monica almost hired her for the stand-up comedy that she uses in her organization for training.

 Monica and Kenneth shared with us the training initiatives that they have taken towards creating a specific culture in their organization. They also shared with the group, the challenges that they faced and the success stories from the initiatives.

 I shared my experiences after the observation Lab in Karjat. 

Shridhar shared that he planned to arrange theory-based sessions for the interested members of the group. These would be group development theories. I am putting this on discussion forum for expanding the idea further. Please record your suggestions and queries here. We would also like to know who amongst us would like to attend such series and what topics would interest you. We would like to know, what assistance you can volunteer in form of space, expertise etc. to take this initiative forward. 

This report would be incomplete, without the mention of Puneeta. She joined us late, but I am glad she did. She shared her journey in the past year with us. I am rejoicing her sense of achievement and pride. All I want to say is “Atta girl! So proud of you. Here’s wishing you more and more of the inner strength”

 As we said our good-byes, I felt very energized and happy after meeting like-minded people. Before closing the meeting, we decided on the next meeting date as 19^th April, 2008. Kenneth has offered that we can meet at his place. It was also suggested that we keep a specific agenda for the meeting and a topic of discussion. The topic suggested by the group is organizational development initiatives in various set-ups and our experiences. It was also agreed that the space would be open for anything else that the group may want to engage in.

Cheerio n njoy… untill we meet next time!

Gauri @ March 17, 2008