Chris Durkin explains the role of ‘meeting architects' Q3global

Hong Kong's role as a regional business hub, where most decision makers are based, has enabled service providers such as Q3global to thrive.
 
Describing the company as "meeting architects", Chris Durkin, Q3global's President Asia Pacific and Europe, said Hong Kong provided his business with an unbeatable combination of regional business centre, superb infrastructure and speed with which things are done.
 
"Hong Kong is so convenient - you can fly to all key Asia Pacific locations within five to six hours. The city is a regional business centre, and these days, more and more decisions in global companies are led from Asia, as opposed to decisions being made in the US or Europe as in the past," he said.
 
Q3global was formed in Hong Kong nearly 20 years ago by Australian entrepreneur Cliff Shaffran, positioning itself as a strategic presentation design company. Mr Durkin, who had previously worked in the graphics, music and communication sectors joined as creative director.
 
Building blocks of business

More and more, the firm's clients asked the partners to work with their teams in facilitating strategic thinking and planning. They also complained about the low productivity of their key business meetings - well below 50 per cent effective in terms of results achieved. This led Q3global to reinvent itself as "meeting architects", a term which Mr Durkin cheerfully admits raises people's curiosity.
 
"Meetings are the building blocks of business: whether it's two people or 200, meetings are where executives get together to discuss, collaborate, make decisions and implement. When you take into account the time and travel involved, inefficient meetings are a major cost to every organisation." he said.
 
The company works with its clients to design, facilitate and document meetings and off-sites with a focus on speed, collaboration and real-time action planning and execution. "Before any project, we talk with not only the CEO but with business heads across the company. This allows us to design meetings that address the real issues in the organisation." said Mr Durkin.
 
Innovation and change

Like many of the businesses in Hong Kong and Asia Pacific region, Q3global had to reinvent itself after the Asian financial crisis, the IT bubble and Sars.

"People were unsure about their businesses then and we decided to equip ourselves with a structure that would serve us well in good times and bad. As the world changes, all companies have to innovate and change accordingly."  
 
These days, people are more aware of work-life balance and there is reluctance to spend time in the office at the expense of their personal lives. "Ten years ago, when I approached a client about our services, I had to do a harder sell as people believed that the longer they worked, the more productive they were, and they could not leave before the boss. Now, the new work mantra is, I finish my work, I leave," Mr Durkin said.

"Technology has changed the way we work, but all our clients confirm that well-run, face-to-face meetings are still critical to build trust relationships and get things done - and nothing will ever change that."
 
Leveraging diversity

Mr Durkin said most of his clients in Hong Kong have offices around the world, with strategic meetings being held globally, and typically involving people from many different cultures. Because Q3global's ‘meeting architecture' draws on the latest research on the mind, its processes work across cultures and industries to leverage the diversity that exists in Asia.
 
The key challenges are how to engage every single person during a meeting. All need to contribute in discussions and decisions when developing creative ways of increasing business performance. Q3global challenges thinking and facilitates change, then supports leadership teams to implement these changes. "Our ideal client is innovative and forward thinking," he said.   
 
Hong Kong's free market structure and entrepreneurial spirit are essential for service providers like Q3global. "Ninety per cent of our work is through referrals. Although many individual clients move to other countries or even change companies, they collaborate with us in their new organisations and continue to gain the most effective and productive use of executive time in meetings, off-sites and conferences."  
 
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