A guided tour in Oslo with David Gurteen

May 12, 2008
| 21 Comments

This post is about the Good Dialogue and an example of how a guided tour around in Oslo with me can be. It all started when I became aware that David Gurteen would visit Oslo last week and facilitate one of his Knowledge Cafés for the members of The Norwegian Computer Society (scroll down to read the outcome of the meeting!). On David’s schedule (available on the net of course!) long before, I saw he would stay in Oslo until Sunday, so I sent him a note and invited him for a taste of Oslo on Saturday. I asked during our mail exchange about what he wanted to see, but he suggested we not plan for anything special – David is very casual and wanted to take it as it comes.

I met him in the hotel lobby and out on the street it was the most wonderful, warm and sunny weather. Again I asked and he politely said: ‘What do you want to show me?’ When I said The New Opera House, I could see a bit of scepticism in the corner of his eyes, but we started walking and talking – it’s was just 10 minutes walk. He said: ‘What I like the most is to look at the people and soak up the atmosphere and have a chance to get to know each other better’. When we came to the Opera House and went on top of the roof, we both – as networkers – experienced the magic moment in the dialogue. Take a look:

DGurteen and RennyBA in Oslo #2

For those who haven’t seen the Opera House in Oslo, check my post from a week ago! We talked about our experiences from the meeting on Thursday and I suggested we arranged a Knowledge Café on top of this building – of course David agreed!

Next stop was Vigeland Sculpture Park – another perfect place to keep on talking, getting to know each other in an inspiring surrounding with a lot of people around: the perfect atmosphere for a dialogue and a way to discuss and deepen our thoughts – to exchange ideas, and open up our minds. Here you see us at the most photographed tourist attraction in Norway: Vigerland’s ‘The Angry Boy‘:
DGurteen and RennyBA in Oslo #4

For those who want to know more about the park, take a look at my posts: ‘Vigeland Park – not quite as erotic as you might think’ and ‘A Doll in the Winter Wonder Land’!

Last stop was up in the mountains above Oslo: At Holmenkollen Restaurant (just 15 minutes drive from down town – read my post about one of Norway’s most visited tourist attraction!). We had a nice lunch with two sandwiches: smoked salmon and shrimp + a sweet. This restaurant gives perfect scenery of Oslo city and the fjord – another perfect atmosphere for sharing knowledge:
DGurteen and RennyBA in Oslo #7

David believes the best way to learn is to share knowledge with each other in dialogues and it matches my way of thinking too (as I among others, have a coach education). Instead of giving lectures or advice as in a way of curing peoples lack of skills; Bring them together for a talk and believe in their capability to find the answers (knowledge) themselves. A bit of guiding or facilitating might help – to set the right atmosphere – but knowledge is gained in a transformation of the information you’ll find in a dialogue or when you are studying a subject on your own. I learned a lot in these four hours with David and will use this when I meet my students at The Norwegian School of Management next semester.

So who is next for a round trip in Oslo with me? I know Olga, the Traveling Bra has signed up for a meeting in fall (see her comment on the last post!), but as a network evangelist: I’m always up for more :-)

Habits, Spring, Travel Norway