Group Meetings¶

In our group we have various forms of meetings. I expect that we take notes. You can try to be helped by a local LLM, using tools like hyprnote. Please inform participants that you use this tool.

In group meetings, project meetings, jour fixes we should always have a note taker assigned. This note taker is also responsible for collecting the action points and transferring them to the corresponding Notion database.

Standups¶

When: Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 10:15 a.m. How long: Not longer than 15 minutes Where: In the office E021. If you work from home, share your status in the #standup channel on Zulip. Purpose: Share main goal for the day, raise any blockers.

Jour Fixe¶

When: Individual slots, see calendar. Typically every week. How long: 1 hour, but we do not have to use the full hour. Where: In Kevin's office. Purpose: This is your meeting. You can use it to discuss your research, career, or any other topic you want to discuss with Kevin. It is often good to use it to align goals. Always prepare an agenda for the meeting. If you do not have an agenda, we will cancel the meeting. In this agenda, you should list down the potential goals for the week you have in mind and describe the one you think is most important in one paragraph. This is to ensure that we are aligned on where we are going and what is important.

Personal Development Discussion¶

When: A Jour Fixe Slot, every six months How long: 1 hour Where: In Kevin's office Purpose: Discussing your personal development and have some session dedicated to bidirectional feedback. Please remind me if time has passed and we didn’t schedule a meeting. Alignment on goals, hierachical planning.

Group Meetings¶

When: Every Tuesday at 13:10 Where: In the ground floor meeting room How long: 1 hour Purpose: Create visibility on what everyone is working on, share ideas, and discuss problems.

Subgroup Meetings¶

When: Individual slots, see calendar. Typically once a month. How long: 1 hour, but we do not have to use the full hour. Where: In a meeting room, see calendar. Purpose: Share more detailed research updates.

Coding Club¶

When: tba. How long: 1 hour Where: In a meeting room, see calendar. Purpose: Improve our coding skills

Maintenance Afternoon¶

When: The last friday every month, after lunch (1 p.m.) How long: full afternoon Where: In a meeting room, see calendar. Purpose: General housekeeping (package, office, maintainance): - Updating group website - Updating Notion/checklists/documentation - Updating/maintaining packages - Updating/maintaining servers - Cleaning/refurbishing offices

Pair Coding/Research¶

When: The first friday every month, but each pair can reschedule as needed How long: At least half a day, but each pair can determine details individually Where: Each pair decides Purpose: Knowledge exchange, teambuilding

How we run group meetings¶

Let’s try to stick to some of the ideas described here https://bounded-regret.ghost.io/principles-for-productive-group-meetings/:

If you’re a speaker who feels nervous giving talks, remember that you’re among friends whose ultimate goal is to help you do great research. This is the time to take risks, get feedback, and grow. Similarly, if you’re an audience member who feels hesitant to ask questions, think of this as the place to expand your comfort zone and try things you wouldn’t usually try.

Assume your teammates have something to teach you, and try to learn from them.
Invite push-back
Avoid making broadly negative or dismissive statements.
Try not to talk over people.
Hold yourself to a high standard of understanding: try to understand why things had to be this way and not any other way and why they have been done. Always ask why a few times in a row.
Basic understanding questions, even at the level of clarifying notation, are highly valuable
As an audience member, you have much more cognitive bandwidth than the speaker. It’s therefore helpful to take the extra time to formulate your question to be easy to understand and engage with.
You have a right to understand. If something is said in a seminar, you have a right to understand it. Science progresses not by ineffable truths that cannot be explained but by clearly articulated common knowledge.
Asking questions shows respect. When I ask a question, it shows that I am interested enough in the topic to engage with it, and that I trust the speaker to give an informative answer.
Honest answers show courage
Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions. Our meeting is a safe space, and asking tough questions now helps the speaker think through them before they present externally.

”For a completed project, my aspirational goal as a speaker is usually to convince the audience that my work addresses a key issue on one of the most important problems in the field (or ideally the world) and that they should be working on this question if they have the right skillset.”

Think of the group meeting as our brain trust¶

A central component of Pixar has been the Braintrust.

The Braintrust is composed of a group of experienced directors, writers, and storytellers at Pixar who gather periodically to review film projects during their development. Unlike traditional top-down critique sessions, the Braintrust operates on a peer-to-peer basis, ensuring an environment where creative ideas are openly discussed and debated without the influence of hierarchical pressure.

Key features of the Braintrust include:

Candor: Members of the Braintrust are encouraged to give blunt, honest feedback. The focus is always on the film itself, not on the feelings of the people presenting their work. It is better when issues are identified at this stage than by the audience.
Trust: The success of the Braintrust depends on the mutual respect and trust among its members. This trust ensures that critiques are seen as efforts to help and not as personal attacks.
No Authority to Impose Changes: The Braintrust does not have the power to directly change aspects of the projects. Instead, it offers insights and suggestions, leaving the final decision to the film’s director and creative team. This empowers the creators to maintain their vision while considering expert feedback.
Focus on Problem Solving: Discussions in the Braintrust are aimed at identifying problems and suggesting solutions, rather than mandating directives. This collaborative problem-solving approach fosters a creative and supportive environment.

We are also in a creative business. We need tu nurture fragile ideas but also must be our harshest critics to achieve the highest quality. Let’s think of our discussion about project updates in group meetings similar to discussions of films in Pixar’s braintrust:

We strive to help by providing blunt and honest feedback early
What part of the feedback is implemented is up to the owner of the project (in alignment with Kevin)
Our group meetings are not a place where we blame or ridicule others. We openly admit mistakes and, as a team, strive to find the best outcome for the team