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International Quality Conference Tehran, Iran It was my great pleasure to speak at the joint 9th International Conference of Quality Managers, and Asia Pacific Quality Organisation conference in Tehran in August. This was my third trip to Iran and in addition to speaking at the conference I was able to visit new parts of this fascinating country. Previously I’d been fortunate to visit the beautiful cities of Esfahan and Shiraz see here and experience the wonderful desert city of Yazd see here. This time with my friend Hesam Aref Kashfi as my personal guide I was de The conference differed from previous years. The combination of the ICQM with the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation Conference meant a departure from the previous approach of running the conference twice in quick sucession. There was also a new venue in the International Conference Centre. The switch in location had been forced in the run up to the conference and gave the organisers an first hand opportunity to demonstrate their skills in dealing with change. It was a challenge they met very well. What remained the same as previous years was the breadth of international involvement in the conference, not just the range of contributing speakers, but also the astonishing number of international organisations who committed their support to the conference. This is a list of 55 organisations spanning the world and the envy of most conference organisers. As an invited speaker I enjoyed freedom in the choice of topic area to cover and chose to speak on The Path of Paradox. At the heart of my talk was the idea that life is not simply paradoxical, but that the presence of paradox is required for there to be life. I began by outlining that my contribution as a speaker was itself a paradox. Whilst I’d taken care in preparing the pictures and words that I’d use, these words and pictures were irrelevant. It wasn’t the presentation I gave that was important, rather it was the presentation that the audience each created in their minds that held the importance. The presentation was very well received and I had lots of wonderful feedback, some of it quite humbling. One delegate for example told me how through my presentation he had been able to understand for the first time a story that he’d been told six years earlier, and that he’d then spent two hours in the evening following the presentation preparing a plan for the next two years of his life. Where he wanted to be, the job he wanted to have, the people he wanted to know, the acjievements he wanted to create. It was a humbling example of the presentation he’d created in his head. I’d spoken of none of these things directly, yet it seems I’d been able to create the space between my w One of the joys of visiting Iran is this opportunity to make connection with the people. During previous visits delegates had brought me poems which reflected perfectly the ideas I’d shared with them, poems written 2000 years ago! Here was another example of a wonderful connection. There were more connections to be made following the conference as I was able to spend a few days exploring the countryside. My thanks as always to Mr. Hesam Aref Kashfi who extended the invitation for my visit and who proved such a charming host during my stay. Having been based in Iran for the past nine years, the conference will now take on an even more international feel as it will in future be staged at different venues around the world. In 2009 it moves to Mexico and I hope that I may be invited to participate there. I send my thanks and best wishes to the many friends I have made during my visits to Iran and hope that I will be able to return soon. Visit the conference web site at www.qm-conference.com |
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lighted to visit Kermanshah and Hamedan, two cities a little further from the beaten track.
ords in which he could create them.