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Into the Wild

Jon Krakauer

©2002 - 2009
Access to Excellence Co Ltd.
Upload Version ATE111
March 2010

Books reviewed are available from
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50th Anniversary of the European Organisation for Quality
Antwerp, Belgium.

Organised by the Flemish Quality Organisation.

This promised to be a conference with a difference, and it did not disappoint.

Hosted in the beautiful city of Antwerp, the conference provided eight different routes for delegates to explore. Each route was designed to create a memorable learning opportunity that would not simply present new experiences, but immerse delegates within the experience.

The routes were sandwiched between an opening ceremony held in the stunning surroundings of the beautiful Carolus Borromeus Church, and a concluding sharing event at the Aula Rector Dhanis University with an address by Peter Senge.

The venue for the opening ceremony was perfect in setting the scene for a conference with a difference. The Carolus Borromeus Church provided a stunning backcloth to an enthralling variety of events which ranged from a choral concert, magical illusions and intriguing games hosted by Jan Bardi, and a small number of keynote speeches.

I was delighted to be invited to give one of the keynote speeches where my aim was to invite delegates to be open to the challenges that awaited them on their route, and the power they would gain from being open to questioning their experience. A copy of this speech is available here.

Jan Bardi, a famous Belgian magician, led a number of activities in which for example delegates created a special 50th anniversary flag, and competed to create the longest word and largest number. Both of these, in time honoured tradition, had been successfully predicted in envelopes sealed ten days earlier, and locked in a steel box. The result of these games raised the energy of the 350 delegates and allowed them to meet the fellow travellers with whom they would spend the next few days.

On days two and three delegates followed their chosen route, each exploring some facet of the conference theme of New Roads to Transformation.

Those in search of leadership inspiration set off for the battlefields of Waterloo, whilst team-builders would spend two days preparing for and sailing ocean racing yachts. Others went in the footsteps of leading organisations in search of the grail, or visiting healthcare organisations with revolutionary approaches, such as the care home where the elderly are treated as guests, and the focus is on making their last year’s as enjoyable as possible.

Delegates exploring vision set off to explore the minds and work of the surrealist painters, whilst the secrets of safety were explored by teams building the fireworks for the grand finale. Yet more delegates chose to explore transformation through cooking, working with some of the finest chefs.

I was privileged to lead the final route, The Art of Questioning, supported by a talented trio of Cyriel Kortleven, an expert in improvisation, Sahar Pasche, a self-confessed transformation and EOQ summer camp addict, and George Parker who blends magic with an in depth understanding of people and change. Together our aim in exploring questioning was to create a space within which we and the delegates could come to recognise our current paradigms, become aware of their limits and constraints, and begin to stretch beyond them to create new understanding and opportunities. Our objective was not simply to see new things, but to share new ways of seeing.

At the end of the third day, with the routes completed we all attended a gala dinner and were able to witness first hand the work of the Fireworks Route, who provided a spectacular 20 minute display of pyrotechnics that took my breath away; a fitting conclusion to the routes.

Yet there was still more to come.

On the final day we had the opportunity to share between routes, and it was a privilege to lead a sharing event which provided an opportunity for delegates to share their experience with those who travelled different routes.

Key lessons from their experience were collected and these were transformed into a painting which thus captured the very essence of the experience of the conference.

Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, and Presence, gave the closing presentation in which he provided a sobering picture of transformation currently taking place as a result of global warming, and described his work on the Theory of U.

All that then remained was a final lunch during a boat trip along the river Schelde before setting off for home.

This was without doubt one of the most exciting and challenging conferences I have attended. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the experience and extend my thanks to the organisers, my colleagues and friends and to the delegates for making it such a rewarding time. Special thanks to Martine Vanremoortele without whom none of this would have been possible.

I hope that we have the chance to meet again soon, and until then the memories of these four days will live in my mind.

If you were at the conference, I hope that you carry away with you the same energy and excitement.

Incidentally if you have carried away with you the sound of the conference song, and want to track down a copy, it’s called Sleeping Beat by the group Sioen.