Listen "Ep.38 Simon Morris | Build a Thriving Community (and Business) with This"
Episode Synopsis
In this episode, Simon Morris, speaks about his experience organising the Reading Geek and Science in Reading groups, and offers advice that can be applied to businesses. He discusses the differences between the Reading Geek Night and Science in Reading groups, explaining how Reading Geek Night is a more informal event covering a wide range of geeky topics, while Science in Reading is a deeper, more hardcore science-oriented event featuring speakers with science backgrounds from academia or industry. Simon details the challenges of managing both groups, including the work involved in organising speakers, utilising technology to streamline processes, and the importance of building and maintaining a pipeline of speakers. We also discuss Simon's experience collaborating with Reading University, highlighting the mutual benefits of these partnerships. TIMECODES 00:00 Introduction 00:25 Greeting 00:41 Introduction to Simon 00:59 What Simon likes about Reading 02:17 Introduction to Reading Geeks and Science in Reading 03:22 The difference between Reading Geeks and Science in Reading 04:32 How Simon manages two groups simultaneously 06:50 How Simon finds and organises speakers 09:18 What Simon has learned as he's grown both groups 11:30 How Simon promotes both groups 15:10 Simon's collaboration with Reading University 18:46 How Simon has maintained group attendance since lockdown 23:36 How Simon encourages a wide group demographic (genders and ages) 25:50 Format of Reading Geek group meetings and how Simon encourages engagement 27:52 What topics are doing well at the moment 30:46 Plans for topics going forwards 31:21 Final thoughts
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.