an online book by David Gurteen
Something fundamental changes when people begin to ask questions together.
The questions create more of a learning conversation than the normal stale debate about problems.
Credit: Mike Szymanczyk, Former Chairman & CEO, The Altira Group
In this chapter, I look at several stories and examples of how various organizations have used or adapted the Knowledge Café and other Conversational Methods.
If you are looking for specific detailed ways to adapt the Knowledge Café for different purposes, go to the Knowledge Café Applications chapter.
In this chapter, I look at a number of stories of how the Knowledge Café and other Conversational Methods have been used or adapted by various organizations. Continue reading Introduction: Conversational Stories Stories about conversation
Özlem Cekic received hate-filled messages due to her background as a Muslim immigrant. By engaging in honest dialogue with her critics, she demonstrated how open conversation can transform hostility into empathy and build meaningful connections. Continue reading The Power of Talking with Enemies Özlem Cekic’s story of transforming hostility through conversation
Derek Black grew up in a white nationalist household and seemed likely to follow that path. However, when he went to college, he formed friendships with people from different backgrounds. These relationships led him to question his beliefs, and through open conversations, he eventually rejected them. His story shows how meaningful dialogue can help bridge… Continue reading Changing Minds Through Conversation The role of conversation in Derek Black’s transformation
South Africa was on the brink of violent collapse during its transition from apartheid. Political enemies were deeply divided, with trust in short supply. Nelson Mandela showed that listening, dialogue, and empathy could bridge even the deepest rifts—proving that conversation, not coercion, is the path to lasting change. Continue reading Mandela Chose to Talk How conversation, not force, helped unite a divided South Africa
You can adapt the Knowledge Café process in a variety of ways and put the Café to a multiplicity of different purposes. This series of Knowledge Cafés ran by NASA was used to identify risk issues and how to mitigate those risks. Continue reading Knowledge Cafés at NASA Identifying risk issues, and meaningful mitigation approaches
This story about the Virtual Random Café was written by Obhi Chatterjee – Head of Sector – Learning Technologies in the European Commission in Belgium. The Virtual Random Café is a simple way to make space for the informal, random 1-to-1 conversations we used to have in corridors, lifts, cafeterias, bars, and cafés before Covid. Continue reading The Virtual Random Café Informal conversations and networking … from home
The Virtual Random Café Knowledge Cafés at Johnson & Johnson Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close In 2011, I came across an article in Forbes magazine Is the Traditional Corporate University Dead? by Karl Moore and Phil … Continue reading Knowledge Cafés at ING Bank, Netherlands Connect, connect, connect
Knowledge Cafés at ING Bank, Netherlands Knowledge Cafés at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Knowledge Cafés are best suited to groups of 12 to 30 people, but occasionally there is a … Continue reading Knowledge Cafés at Johnson & Johnson Running four Knowledge Cafés concurrently
Knowledge Cafés at Johnson & Johnson Knowledge Cafés at PSMA Australia Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close The Knowledge Café is often at its best when it is used to convene conversations to give people “a say” … Continue reading Knowledge Cafés at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Give people a voice
Knowledge Cafés at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Groucho Club Sales Café Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close This is a story written by Alison Jones, a Knowledge Manager at PSMA Australia, in which she explains how … Continue reading Knowledge Cafés at PSMA Australia Using the Knowledge Café process to run a Knowledge Management Forum
Knowledge Cafés at PSMA Australia IBM SE Asia Sales Cafés Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close I ran a Sales Café a few years ago for a small, UK based, technology consultancy to introduce a new social … Continue reading Groucho Club Sales Café Ditch the pitch
Groucho Club Sales Café Viva and Telecoms in Kuwait Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close I ran a series of Sales Cafés a few years ago in SE Asia, for IBM as part of the launch of … Continue reading IBM SE Asia Sales Cafés Ditch the pitch
IBM SE Asia Sales Cafés Passion at the Gurteen Knowledge Café Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close In 2012, I hosted a Knowledge Café with 20 senior telecom leaders in Kuwait to explore the industry’s future. A … Continue reading Viva and Telecoms in Kuwait How Kuwaiti telecom leaders turned conversation into collective action
Viva and Telecoms in Kuwait Conversation in Hong Kong Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close I have been running regular Knowledge Cafés in the evenings in London since September 2002. These events are entirely free and are … Continue reading Passion at the Gurteen Knowledge Café Blog post by Mathew Rees
Passion at the Gurteen Knowledge Café Gurteen Knowledge Café: Entrenched and Entrained Thinking Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close In 2011, I participated in the Hong Kong Knowledge Management Society’s annual conference at the Langham Place Hotel … Continue reading Conversation in Hong Kong A Knowledge Café with eight speakers
Conversation in Hong Kong A Conversation Dinner in Turin Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close On 16th March 2017, I ran a Knowledge Café in London for NetIKX (The Network for Information and Knowledge Exchange) – an independent community interested … Continue reading Gurteen Knowledge Café: Entrenched and Entrained Thinking A blog post by Conrad Taylor
Gurteen Knowledge Café: Entrenched and Entrained Thinking The Huawei Break the Book Community Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Any dinner can be transformed easily into a conversation dinner. All you need is a conversation menu. In … Continue reading A Conversation Dinner in Turin Knowledge menu à la carte
A Conversation Dinner in Turin Knowledge Cafés at the European Patent Office Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close The Huawei Break the Book Community is a Reading Group Café – a simple but powerful example of peer learning that … Continue reading The Huawei Break the Book Community A powerful example of peer learning
The Huawei Break the Book Community Knowledge Café in Zurich, Switzerland Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close This story about a Personal Growth Community (PGC) was written by Jan Hellberg – a Patent Examiner at the European … Continue reading Knowledge Cafés at the European Patent Office The Personal Growth Community
Knowledge Cafés at the European Patent Office Knowledge Cafés at National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close In 2006, I ran a knowledge-sharing workshop for an international organization in Zurich. As … Continue reading Knowledge Café in Zurich, Switzerland The Knowledge Café has empowered our staff to speak up and take the initiative
Knowledge Café in Zurich, Switzerland A Knowledge Café in English, French and Russian Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close This story is an excellent example of how organizations have readily adapted the Knowledge Café for use in … Continue reading Knowledge Cafés at National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Turning traditional talks into Cafés
Knowledge Cafés at National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Knowledge Cafés at Equinor ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close In November 2011, I spent an enjoyable two days in Turin with the European Training Foundation … Continue reading A Knowledge Café in English, French and Russian Knowledge Cafe’s can be run in multiple languages
A Knowledge Café in English, French and Russian Sugar Rush at the Knowledge Café Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Statoil (now rebranded Equinor) in Norway was an earlier adopter of Knowledge Cafés in 2007. At the … Continue reading Knowledge Cafés at Equinor **
Knowledge Cafés at Equinor ** Randomised Coffee Trials at Red Cross Red Crescent Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close This is an article written by Joanna Goodman about a Knowledge Café, I ran in August 2009 that … Continue reading Sugar Rush at the Knowledge Café How conversation is bringing KM back to the people
Sugar Rush at the Knowledge Café Intimate Conversations Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Randomised Coffee Trials (RCTS) are a way of connecting people in an organization at random to give them time to meet to have a … Continue reading Randomised Coffee Trials at Red Cross Red Crescent Virtual coffee meetings across the globe
Randomised Coffee Trials at Red Cross Red Crescent Hong Kong MTR Coffee Evenings and Liaison Trains Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Some years ago, I attended one of Theodore Zeldin’s Conversation Dinners in Oxford. It was … Continue reading Intimate Conversations Conversations with strangers
Intimate Conversations Equinor Management Training Cafés Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Customer satisfaction surveys often rely on brief, limited questions that don’t capture the whole picture. This method can lead to overlooked feedback and biased responses. … Continue reading Hong Kong MTR Coffee Evenings and Liaison Trains An improvement over traditional customer surveys
Hong Kong MTR Coffee Evenings and Liaison Trains Al Jazeera Cafe Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Background At one time, the Norwegian oil company Statoil (now Equinor) innovatively employed the Knowledge Café in their management training. … Continue reading Equinor Management Training Cafés You learn when you converse
Equinor Management Training Cafés Huawei Transforms a Global Conference with a Knowledge Market Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close The Al Jazeera Cafe was an interesting journalistic experiment run by Al Jazeera in 2012. The Cafe brought people … Continue reading Al Jazeera Cafe An interesting experiment not to deabate but engage in a global conversation
Al Jazeera Cafe Knowledge Café at Regent’s University February 2024 Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Many conferences are a series of PowerPoint talks interspersed by the occasional panel discussion. The audience gets a little time to … Continue reading Huawei Transforms a Global Conference with a Knowledge Market How to make a conference more participatory
Huawei Transforms a Global Conference with a Knowledge Market Ericsson Story ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Wednesday 7th February 2024 at 6 pm to 9 pm Regents University London The last face-to-face London knowledge café … Continue reading Knowledge Café at Regent’s University February 2024 What Are the Strongest Motives for Creative Endeavour in Your Life?
Knowledge Café at Regent’s University February 2024 Jakarta Dutch Cultural Centre 2007 ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close In my former role as a Business Process Analyst and Knowledge Management Driver at Ericsson Australia, I was … Continue reading Ericsson Story **
Ericsson Story ** Blog Posts About the Gurteen Knowledge Café Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close In 2007 I made my first visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, where I ran a 2-day Knowledge Sharing workshop for a client … Continue reading Jakarta Dutch Cultural Centre 2007 **
Jakarta Dutch Cultural Centre 2007 ** Introduction: Conversational Stories Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Here are a few articles and blog posts and from around the web about the Gurteen Knowledge Café. Why conversation is the … Continue reading Blog Posts About the Gurteen Knowledge Café A selection of Knowledge Café blog posts, articles and papers
