Brainy Briny Thursday: thoughts on a fortnightly Chatty, Chatham, Open House.
12 reflections from BBT (Vols 1-12). And a puppy photo.
Join me?
In January I put out a gentle cry for help. Long, cold winter days working in our home office1 made me hungry for diversion, engagement, debate, idle chat. I also had unpaid time on my hands. I was busy, but often chasing future work and putting sweat into developing a new initiative, rather than grafting and being paid for it. I wanted to give myself a break.
In a blog I asked whether there were other ‘Lone wolves, remote extroverts, detached development thinkers’ out there who felt something was missing in their work lives. Pining for variety and a mix of faces - familiar and new - and for perspectives and world views different from their own? I wrote about how much I used to benefit from friendly(ish) debate with people who were not my normal tribe, and were sceptical about some of the things I hold as unquestionable truths (aid, development etc).
Join me2…for a meandering hour every fortnight
Would anyone be interested in an informal, relatively unstructured, virtual chat club every other Thursday? This would aim to support thoughtful discussion (the ‘brain’), and some debate (ideally with respectful disagreement, some salt (the ‘brine’).
The answer was yes, there were such people out there. My working title was Brainy, Briny Thursday - and for good or bad this stuck.
In July 2024 we completed the 12th round of BBT (for no good reason I called these ‘volumes’ and this also stuck) and this Blog is twelve personal reflections from the first 12 volumes of BBT. I am quite surprised that we have got this far. I thought it might conk out by Vol 3 or 4.
BBT Reflections 1-12
#1: Build it, and they will come
For the first few BBTs I was nervous - would people actually dial in? Would the format work? I then realised that getting stressed about hosting an informal online chat is self defeating/stupid.
It is a collective responsibility to make it work - or not. If people come - great. If no-one comes - fine. I regularly ask BBT’ers for feedback but few give it. If people return I ask if this is out of pity. So far they look awkward and say no, BBT is not a pity party. And people do come back. And some disappear for a few BBTs and then boom! They are back. This feels good.
#2. Open house - for those awake
There is no perfect time slot for any meeting. Especially BBT.
I ran two versions of BBT Vol 1 - at 11AM and again at 2PM UK time. More people came to the second one. So 2PM stuck.
There were requests to make it later in the UK afternoon (academic admin meetings love the post lunch 2-3 slot), or move it to suit other time zones. But this was a stretch too far - nothing stands between me and going out to feed carrots to donkeys (4PM in UK winter).
My hope is that if people want to attend a BBT style chat, they can start one at their own local time zone convenience, rather than trying to make one session work for everyone.
Having said this, we do have a regular BBT participant who dials in from California at the crack of dawn. Dog willing.
The reality is that people with real jobs may struggle to protect this timeslot in their calendar - or struggle to justify BBT to nosey colleagues as a priority worthy of blocking their calendar for.
When BBT regulars cannot come they send really sweet apologies. I say ‘chill3 - no pressure at all’. BBT has no expectation at all. This is one of the rules.
#3. Reluctant Sheriff of Brinytown
I drafted a few common sense guidelines to discuss at BBT Vol 1 (see endnotes4).
This was broadly useful but not very compelling. People wanted to chat, not chat about rules. I said that I was happy to chair but that we didn’t necessarily need a chair, and could rotate the chairing if we did.
Feedback was that we did need a chair, and also some structure, but no-one else volunteered to take a turn.
This suited me - I like being the host, and as my daughter said (eavesdropping through the wall of the winter BBTs) ‘you pretend you don’t, but actually you like being in charge’.
If I remember, at the start of each BBT I ask all to briefly introduce ourselves and then run through the ground rules - which is more or less ‘Chatham House, Chatty House, Open House’.
#4. Cameras on
We agreed that BBT is ‘cameras on’, though we allow people to beg for special permission to go invisible - such as if they are climbing a mountain and huffing and puffing, or are on a crowded train.
I am touched that they still want to BBT, despite other distractions.
#5. People: Enough versus too many
Another early stressor was what BBT’s minimum viable attendance would be, and also the maximum. I have been to too many ‘interactive’ online events in which there are just too many people wanting to speak - or none.
In reality, BBT has worked with 2-3 of us (a BBT held at late notice on a Wednesday which was more like a deep dive with an old/new friend) and with more than 10, but this is stretching the format as it restricts free exchange. People tend to make speeches in turn.
No-one is compelled to speak, but I nudge them, and try and make space for the reticent before letting others have a second or third grab of the virtual talking stick. Some people really like to talk (me).
#6. Agenda jenga
We experiment with formats. Most BBTs have had no agenda and we start talking and see where this takes us. These freestyle sessions have been interesting and unpredictable. Here is an example:
BBT Vol 11 began with a reflection on the benefits of going on holiday without your phone, then rapidly turned to the right fee rate for cleaning hiking trail toilets in Scandinavia, and whether sub-contracting such work is ethical. This quickly moved on to comparative fee rates in the governance consulting world and whether this operates anything like a market. Then on through the efforts to ‘shift the power’ in aid, decolonisation and localisation and whether progress is being made (and what this means for costs and equity). Then into democracy promotion, whether aid for growth ever works, protest movements and funding for protest, and whether philanthropy does and/or should get involved in politics, and if so how?, and what a good outcome looks like. Finally onto whether working in taxation in global development is the most virtuous place to be. All this, in 1 hour, 2 continents, and on 1 train. No cats or dogs5 this week.
Sometimes regular attendees have proposed a topic and prepared an introductory blurb about this before opening up for a discussion. Others use ‘quandary corner’ to air a problem and then seek 10 minutes of rapid fire group advice.
We have invited guests to speak on a theme (eg the multi talented Lauren Gilbert on Effective Altruism) or introduce their new book (Tom Wein, Duncan Green) and then be part of a heated debate.
We are open to anything. I had a bee in my bonnet about ‘doing good things with bad money’, worked with a BBT and IRL friend to prep some framing ideas, shared these, had a debate, and then shamelessly used this for a Blog (albeit honouring the Gods of Chatham House).
#7. Put your hands up (up in the BBT club)
I encouraged people to show real hands on screen, or just speak up, but found that most are now collectively conditioned to press that little yellow hand button. And the hand is handy in bigger groups.
We also cycled through videoconferencing apps, testing the free versions to destruction. Zoom is reliable but has terrible chat bar action (no gifs or pics). Teams is… Teams. But a good chat bar. I settled on Google Meets which is adequate, and the least glitchy, but has a brutal shut down at the end of a free hour.
When Duncan Green was our guest speaker he ended by saying ‘and by far the most important lesson from my career, and my books - and I am only going to say this once, to you only, and never ever repeat it is [BLANK SCREEN6]’.
#8. Consultant club house?
The first couple of BBTs were heavy with development/governance/accountability consultants, and those wanting to quit their jobs and be consultants, and it did look like it might become a freelancers’ club house (like the Mickey Mouse Club, but with more discussion of when to charge VAT). However, those with real jobs also made space in their diaries and persevered and we have sustained a reasonable mix. Organisations. Academics. Freelancers
The mean age is probably… ahem… mid career plus. We have some very experienced regulars who have important jobs but/and are happy to chat and give thoughts on everything from anti-corruption policy, to changing careers, to the state of mountain toilets in different countries. A resource that anyone can tap into and be a part of. Join us?
BBT usually has marginally more women than men. And we do meet new people and make new contacts, discuss organisations and strategies, and share intel - and some then follow up with each other offline.
So BBT seems to fill a productive niche, as well as being a gentle massage for the Thursday afternoon soul.
#9. Recreating kind, old twitter
I advertise each BBT on Linkedin, and send the link to those who have attended previously. For the first couple I also advertised on twitter but got zero interest or engagement, so I stopped.
In fact, when we discussed what we needed to get out of BBT in Vol 1, a couple of people reflected how they wanted something like the best of old, kind Twitter. Before it crashed and burned. And kept on crashing. And burning.
Recreating old twitter: The group could help fill needs that used to be the value of ‘old twitter’ – ears in the field, being part of an open conversation, meeting new voices, and rapidly exploring new interests and ideas.
People share the link, but I avoid trying to actively recruit people, or ensnare existing groups or networks in BBT. The main deviation from this is trying to increase diversity - but this is tough. I can advertise but not compel.
#10. Come. Or don’t.
There is no pressure at all to attend. I am not selling anything. People generally do not know who else will be there until they dial in. This has raised a few questions about ‘what happens if I am joining BBT to get away from difficult colleagues and I dial in and find those same colleagues at BBT?’. There is no answer to this - it’s Open House - everyone is welcome. No screening at all.
#11. (Over)sharing is caring (I hope)
My tendency these days is towards oversharing. I wasn’t always like this. People who knew me in my teens and 20s would be shocked, unless I am faking being open. This has been suggested - that I put on a good show7 of being Mr Frank N. Open.
But I think that chairing, hosting, and leading is always to some degree a performance, putting on a persona.
I’m also really inquisitive - in a social science research kind of way. I can’t help but try and draw information out of interesting people - and I am genuinely interested. My kids tease me about this - no-one can escape a ‘brush by’ without being gently interrogated. I try not to ‘suck too hard’… openness also makes BBT Chatham House and mutual trust really vital.
Last week I met a woman with some guinea pigs at a little railway station. With a few gentle prompts she revealed her family history in Leamington Spa, 60 years of family holidays in North Wales, and how her husband is devoted to Coventry City (Football Club) as well as to her, and so will only visit Wales, not move there. I try not to do too much of this at BBT… I also forgot to ask about the guinea pigs.
#12. Brine: many salt water crocodiles?
Overall there has been less brine than I had hoped for, but we can’t force it.
People are basically kind, and there is also a degree of self selection of those who attend. Reflexive practitioners. Self questioning, with empathy.
We had an exciting, unexpected dial in from an old friend of mine (saw the ad on LinkedIn and felt sorry that there was only 1 response) working in a broadly relevant field but with a very different professional and institutional/geographical perspective from the BBT norm, and this worked well. We need more challenge like this - a wind tunnel for in-group norms.
Occasionally I ‘Red Team’ or ‘Black Hat’ the statements made and ideas shared. And I bang a gong if people use acronyms and don’t explain them. Or assume that everyone has minimum prior knowledge of development insider stuff.
Just as you can’t really plan for disagreement, it is hard to force greater diversity. BBT is ultimately self selecting and plenty of really interesting people who promised to attend never quite did. We remain open.
BBT: Exit through the grift shop (and the endnotes)
As my work takes me back into IRL (in real life) meetings, I am surprised by the number of people who know about BBT (from Linkedin or word of mouth) and say that they would love to come. I hope that they do - or host their own version. I slightly worry about getting so busy with real work (grafting, grifting) that I will have to miss or cancel BBTs.
Top tip: you’ve got to make time to waste time.
Endnotes
The ‘office’ was called the dining room but never used as such. The table was cleared out for a game of ‘sleeping lions’ at a birthday party in 2015 and never came back. That game started with 8 obedient girls closing their eyes, and when they opened them some family friends had quietly arrived from Brazil and two boys had silently joined the sleeping lions. The looks on the girls’ faces were quite magical. Party magic without shelling out for a conjurer.
This whole thing reminds me a little of Danny Wallace’s ‘Join Me’. “Danny Wallace was bored. Just to see what would happen, he placed a whimsical ad in a local London paper. It said, simply, 'Join Me'. Within a month, he was receiving letters and emails from teachers, mechanics, sales reps, vicars, schoolchildren and pensioners - all pledging allegiance to his cause. But no one knew what his cause was.”
I know that ‘chill’ is a trigger word for some people. Hey! Chill (this is my substack).
BRAINY BRINY THURSDAY – quick note on the inaugural sessions 26 Jan 2024
Group Reflections – your needs?
Home working
Need for a ‘talk club?
What you like / don’t like in online or any meeting, what to do about this
NEEDS:
The blog said ‘everyone is welcome’ but (based on Peter’s network) people might come from world of governance, inclusion, development, political constraints and anti corruption.
In the two sessions there was a mix of freelancers and those remote working for organisations (more of former than latter).
Conversation ranged from big themes relevant to all, to topics most relevant to freelancers.
- Peter: I think we should cater for all/both and not make this solely for freelancers. Views?
Recreating old twitter: The group could help fill needs that used to be the value of ‘old twitter’ – ears in the field, being part of an open conversation, meeting new voices, and rapidly exploring new interests and ideas.
Freelancers see separate parts of a system so there is an attractive opportunity to share experienced and insights on workings with different organisations – but this makes the need for trust and Chatham house rule even more important.
Interest in seeking and giving feedback on ideas and writing – welcoming challenge, with safety.
In good orgs there can be a missing need for challenge – which may not happen in a mission driven, ‘consensual’, organisational team. Person to person debate is attractive!
Let’s talk and process things – kick ideas about
Informality is attractive – connect dotted lines between themes, share and test logic.
We value diverse perspectives and challenge – so a safe space but freedom to disagree, debate, ask questions.
To explore, examine, learn and break down barriers – eg south and north collaboration, consulting, power.
RULES / VIBES
· open and inclusive, but start local (a convenient time for local time zone)
· free thinking (the brain),
· respectful challenge (enough salt; the brine),
· taking turns to prepare a rough plan (freestyle, or themed) & chair each week,
· no hogging the talking stick…
· Chatham House rule[i]
All of these were broadly supported.
Others discussed included:
- Chatham house and trust are paramount
- ‘Cameras on’ should be the norm - eye contact matters, though if people are travelling etc can ask to go cameras off
- OK just to listen? Yes, though we hope all will be engaged, even if not speaking
- Chat bar action? Yes, though not everyone likes it
- Attending is voluntary – no obligation
- Can multiple colleagues join in from same org join? Yes, but makes Chatham house rule even more important
- Light chairing - yes, needed
- challenge is welcomed
- should we experiment with the format? Yes
WAY FORWARD
Themes ? suggestions were
i. Changes in progressive philanthropy – and effective altruism
ii. Changes in government aid orgs – particularly the UK
iii. Decolonisation, allyship, supporting consultants from global south
iv. Unpicking ‘impact’ (impact stories, change stories, unlock and unblock)
v. The private sector and development
vi. Can you do good things with bad money?
Peter happy to support BBT / be light touch ‘secretary’.
FREQUENCY
Every two weeks.
Alternating open discussion with a thematic discussion.
Next BBT – Thursday 8th February 2-3PM UK time.
https://teams.live.com/meet/9478667994804?p=XiLpxiz5k1UFq62L
[i] When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.
Dogs (and 1 cat) of BBT is a bit of a thing, and from BBT Vol 13 I will have one of my own.
This is not true. Though Google Meets did terminate Duncan rather brutally.
I have also been accused (not at BBT) of only pretending to be nice. I find it quite hard to get my head around this. How can I demonstrate that I am not pretending?