Christophe Van Gampelaere is the Belgian partner in Global PMI Partners, the only international network focused exclusively on merger integration, separation and transformation services. He has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, M&A, investment management, change management and people management. He is a qualified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® trainer.

Christophe spoke about LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® ( Queaso Lego Serious Play - Presentation ) which is an innovative and cooperative way to align a team of programmers and developers on how to achieve a desired business result.

The project manager and his team gather around a table, with a ton of LEGO® bricks scattered around, and come to a common understanding of the business challenge ahead. In a Lego® Serious Play workshop, brains, hands and eyes work together to agree on a common approach and a shared philosophy on how to tackle complex IT issues.

Based on research that shows that this kind of hands-on, minds-on learning deepens the reflection process and supports an effective dialogue – for everyone in the organization.

We were very pleased with the large turnout of interested people who could experience the serious play themselves. In a short collaborative exercise all attendees were stimulated to indeed play the game. This team exercise resulted in some fascinating insights.

Afterwards we had some nice conversations at the bar of the hotel which indicates that we had a nice topic for an interesting evening.

Would you like to get an invitation for the next free GetTogether? Don’t hesitate to fill out the contact form and we are more than happy to invite you to the next Queaso Systems GetTogether session.

 

We kicked off with the theoretical part of the course that gave us helpful tips and tricks and an overview on how our car works and how we should react to certain circumstances. After this it was time to hit the road and proceed with the practical part of the course. We started with some exercises in using the breaks in the right way.

Meanwhile the course instructors were soaping up the practice area to simulate the look and feel of a slippery road. When the practice area was ready, every team member had to execute some maneuvers on the slippery surface, for example emergency stops. Most people started to skid but the instructors gave us feedback while we were on the surface. After a few times every team member was making progress and that is what this course was all about.

It was a nice experience, a lot of fun and most important it was very useful for all the team members. We hope this course brings safer driving for everyone and reduces the risk of accidents in the future.

 

In a never lasting effort to be original we always try to find something different and special to celebrate the new year. Previous years we managed to do so and we sincerely hope that this years Sunday brunch will add to the gallery of succeeded new year events. Since almost all of our team members accepted our invitation we are very confident that again this year we made the right choice.

At 12 o’clock sharp everybody was expected for the appetizer. A really short welcome speech opened the event. Key to this talk was a warm “thank you” to all the team members and their spouses for the focused collaboration in making Queaso Systems what it is today: a fun place to work creating personalized opportunities for everybody a, learning lessons from the past an looking confident to the future. All this with respect for the individual.

Shortly after the buffet was declared open. There was a rich choice in cold and warm starters, fish and meat main dishes and sweets and coffee to conclude the meal. Seated in an historical environment everybody enjoyed the food, the drinks and the company. Late in the afternoon we all went home with a happy feeling of comradeship.

 

The presentation itself led us through a story of how the human brain works, over dress codes and how we make notes to end up with communication styles. The very appealing and enthusiastic presentation style of Ben nailed the attendees to their chair to the very end of the evening. Some pinpointing questions and answers completed the official part of the GetTogether.

Since Ben is always up for an interesting conversation exploring various topics, keeps an open mind and loves to explore the philosophical side of life the closing conversation at the bar of the Holiday-Inn Express unwinded in a very interesting close encounter of opinions and ideas. Some drinks on the house facilitated this effort of course.

Would you like to get an invitation for the next free GetTogether? Don’t hesitate to fill out the contact form and we are more than happy to invite you to the next Queaso Systems GetTogether session.

 

On the play – or should we say show – list a fine selection of national and international awarded movies. Especially those films that don’t always make it to the mainstream commercial channels are on the billboard in Studio Skoop. We offered our guests the following choice:

	Argo On 4 November 1979, at the height of the Iranian revolution, militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and 52 Americans hostage. During the chaos, six Americans manage to escape. They go into hiding in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing that it is only a matter of time before the six are discovered and killed, the CIA agent Tony Mendez is enabled. Mendez is an exfiltration expert and comes up with a plan to liberate the six… (120 min)
	Jagten When kindergarden teacher Lucas is wrongfully accused of abuse by the 5-year-old Klara, his life turns into a nightmare from one day to the next. The news spreads fast accross the village and it’s population is starting to turn against him. De once close local community shatteres while Lucas is declared as a target… (115 min)
	Killing them softly The movie follows the career of Jackie Cogan. Cogan is a enforcer and if the mafia rules are broken, he gets hired. When a robbery takes place on a high-stake card game under the protection of the maffia, Cogan gets dispatched. Skillfully, with the efficiency of a ruthless businessman, a shrewd sense of people skills and a style as cold-blooded as his gaze, he operates with reliable precision … (104 min)

Having said that for the location and the film choice, also the format was altered. They’re where two timeslots (20h00 and 22h30) one could watch the movie of his of her choice. Before, in between and afterwards we supplied sandwiches and drinks in the authentic environment of the film theatre.

Unnecessary to say that a lot of fine conversations on the most different topics unwinded at the bar. On top of that a little lottery rewarded a Queaso Systems’ consultant and his guest with a Bongo voucher.

Mission accomplished: we succeeded in bringing together people from different locations, interests and back ground around a common topic: film. Amongst other things, this is what underlines the team spirit of Queaso Systems.

Should you be interested to learn more about this spirit, don’t hesitate to contact us. We really like to see you on our next years’ Movie Night.