The Junto Experience

I attended the Junto meeting at P'UNK Avenue last night. It was a very sobering experience. The organization of the group is very solid and they have a very specific goal when they meet. Let me first say that if you haven't already you should really sign up on the mailing list for Junto. It is the only way to get the information about the next Junto which will focus on design. Go Here to sign up... now!

With that said, here is how the meeting went:

I arrived there at 6pm when it was supposed to start and there were only a handful of people. I sat down with a few people, introduced myself and got a little background as to who they were and what they did. It seems that the people there have been doing it for a while now and they all knew each other so I felt a little bit as the odd man out. The people were a good mix. There were some interior designers, graphic designers, web developers, architects and instructional designers. It was a great mix that really tugged at each others thoughts and generated some very stimulating conversation. We all mingled till about 7:15 when Geoff stepped up and got everyones attention and the discussion started.



He went over the article and pulled points from it. There was a small exchange of questions from the group towards Geoff but that was only pertaining to our tasks. What they had planned was for there 2 be two groups, one that was for an open, new age work space and the other was a strict, regimented work space. We had 15 minutes to discuss our points amongst the group and establish a basis for our argument. We then were each given 4 minutes to state our point and argument for the type of work space we were assigned. Once the argument was made by both teams, a 2 minute rebuttal took place. These rebuttals brought in the rest of the group as we all chimed in with our personal views.

After that a brief review of the night and some propaganda about Junto took place then it went back to the mingle and discuss atmosphere. I stayed until about 9:15 and there were still a good amount of people there talking and drinking and doing what I expected people like them to do, be creative amongst a group.

Over all I left with a brighter view and outlook on what exactly it is I am doing in my profession. It was very refreshing to sit and listen to others and have them listen to me as well. The fact that these people are so accepting of outside opinions is amazing. They don't argue amongst themselves and try to one up each other. Rather they engage in meaningful and purposeful debate. All in all I was a lot happier after I left the meeting then when I arrived. It was a nice break from the monotony that has taken hold in my life and I really look forward to the next meeting. Hope you all can make it next time.