Working Sessions

I think in most organizations we have too many meeting.  Often meetings are excuses for not action. "We need to get buy in from all the key participants."  I suggest a better way of moving forward is to have working sessions that are meant to create action. 

Another clue with a working session is that people are there to work not just sit on their hands.  This means documented commitments for next steps and action in a prescribed time frame is important.   Then a follow-up sessions to keep the momentum going.  These sessions should brief and focusing on action and next steps.  Everybody at the working session should take away some action to move the issue forward.  The session should end with review of the answer to the question, "What are you going to do to move this issue forward?" 

To make these working sessions successful the chairman must do some careful planning so the session has the right people and the right agenda.  I suggest they be short and succinct .  Careful planning of the work sessions will ensure the results.    Every action should answer the question: what, by whom and by when.  The sessions should start on-time and end on-time out of respect for all participants.

Each meeting should end with a quick evaluation of its effectiveness by the participants.  The idea is always to be looking for ways to improve.  Evaluation is best as a forward looking idea.  "I suggest that next time we ……."

So let us all commit to having action oriented working sessions and let others have meetings, bloody meetings.

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