Establishing a Community within a Community at our Unconference
The LCI Congress event has been held annually in October for 24 years. The program has gone through different formats, leadership, and topics over the years, and we are always striving to bring the best and most relevant content to our attendees each year.
The Congress Planning Committee gets to work right after Congress concludes each year to begin brainstorming for the upcoming year. This year’s committee identified early on the need to have sessions which are geared toward advanced Lean practitioners. This is where the idea of the Unconference was born.
You may be wondering, what is an Unconference exactly? Unlike typical conference formats these sessions empower participants to be involved in a very interactive discussion. There is no ‘standard format’ for the Unconference sessions. Instead, the power is in the hands of participants who will influence the direction of each session. In the Unconference sessions, attendees will glean the benefit, expertise, and perspectives of everyone in the room, instead of primarily hearing from the presenters. This format maximizes the value for participants as they contribute and gain new knowledge through the groups collective experience with Lean.
We will have all-star facilitators in each Unconference session guiding the discussion. That said, they are relying on attendees to be active participants to help develop ideas and learn together.
There are five Unconference Sessions:
- Sessions 1a and 1b: Why Lean? For attendees new to Lean – help set attendees on the right path on their Lean Journey
- Sessions 2a and 2b: Why Not? For intermediate to advanced practitioners – discuss what has and has not worked in Lean implementation over time
- Session 3: What’s Next? For advanced practitioners – discuss the future direction of Lean usage in the AEC industry
What will the format look like? These sessions will be free form and may include participants moving around the room, getting into small groups, or engaging in a variety of activities. This hands-on opportunity encourages participants to try different things and talk to people who experience similar challenges that want to collaborate and learn. You might say the Unconference wants to “Optimize the Whole,” one of LCI’s six tenets of Lean.
How do I sign up? Unconference sessions will be an option you can select during the first day of the LCI Congress core program on Wednesday, October 19th. Spaces are limited! There will be one Unconference option during each concurrent session on Wednesday and the Unconference registration will close once capacity has been reached.
Take advantage of this new offering at this year’s LCI Congress!