THE CLUB of 369
Club of 369 Flamebonds
Flamebonds is one of the ways we meet throughout the Club year. We bring our experience to a shared business question, learn from one another and make new professional connections.
At a small table, participants explain their choices and ask questions to understand one another’s reasoning.
A prepared discussion sheet lets participants choose a business circumstance to explore.
THE PREPARED SPARK
Each meeting begins with a carefully prepared Spark. This might be a change in business circumstances, an important decision, or a new tool or solution. We receive simple discussion materials and begin by choosing what matters most to us. No advance preparation is needed.
BETWEEN-TABLE EXCHANGE
In small groups, we explain our choices and, especially, why we made them. We ask questions, compare experiences and try to understand one another’s reasoning. Each group then exchanges its insights with other groups, which may have approached the same Spark quite differently.
A visiting participant shares questions from one table with another.
The objective is shared understanding, not shared agreement.
We leave with a broader understanding of the decisions we face, the circumstances that affect them and the Second Effects they may create.
And we do so through enjoyable conversations that help us get to know one another better.
FROM SPARK TO EXCHANGE
A familiar format,
adapted to each meeting
Our standard Flamebonds meeting brings together twelve people at three tables of four. This gives everyone room to participate in the discussion and allows the tables to exchange what they have learned.
For larger meetings, we use more tables and adapt the exchange between groups. The number of participants may change, but the way we work together remains the same.
Advisory Committee members discussing questions at several tables during a Shaping Week in Warsaw.
Club members talking together over lunch.
During the January, June and October Shaping Weeks, we use the Flamebonds method in our Advisory Committee meetings. Between these weeks, we organize smaller meetings for Club members, sometimes within one Circle, sometimes across Circles within a Domain, or across different Domains.
Flamebonds can take place in different cities or online, during the day or over lunch or dinner. We choose the setting that best suits the Spark and the people taking part.
We may also invite other professionals, including solution providers, when their experience or perspective adds value to the discussion.
A CONTINUING CLUB PRACTICE
How Flamebonds began
During the COVID-19 pandemic, webinars became a common way to stay connected professionally. They made presentations accessible, but often left little opportunity to talk with other participants. We developed Flamebonds to make those conversations possible online, through small-group discussions in which people exchanged experience and responded to one another.
As in-person meetings returned, we also began using the method face to face. It has since been used in Club gatherings and Advisory Committee meetings. Online Flamebonds remain an option.
An online Flamebonds meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suggest a Spark
Ideas for Flamebonds can come directly from members or from questions that arise during Club meetings, Advisory Committees and Retail Summit.
If you have a subject you would like to explore with other members, contact Lex Haring, who coordinates Club participation. We consider these suggestions when planning future meetings.
THE CLUB of 369