Meeting design, planning, and facilitation

Holding an effective meeting seems a simple task. Yet despite the millions of dollars spent on self-help videos and books, today's meetings are more boring and ineffective than ever! There are several reasons for this:

• People think running meetings is a "no-brainer".
• Agendas -- if used -- are often mechanical and are prepared at the last minute.
• Many meeting chairs have vested interest in a particular position or outcome.
• It's easy to get caught up in a discussion and lose the meeting's thread.
• People recognize bad meetings, but haven't attended many good ones, and so have low expectations.

A Clarity meeting is different. Your meeting will be carefully planned so that objectives, constraints, participants, process, prework, and even vested interests are identified in advance. The agenda will be structured so that all activities lead toward fulfilling the meeting's objectives. And finally, the meeting will be facilitated objectively and carefully, so that all viewpoints are heard and understood, all topics are covered adequately, decisions are made by informed people, and followup and accountability are clearly defined.

During the design stage for the meeting, Clarity will explore ways for you to achieve your desired results, for reduced boredom and increased creativity during the meeting. We will also incorporate contingency plans, so that the meeting will never "go out of control". Experienced, qualified facilitation will elicit the best from each participant, keep the discussion flowing, and flex appropriately when important threads don't fit the original agenda.

The effect of a carefully planned and well-executed meeting is electric! Participants are more energized, decisions are of higher quality, and things generally get done better and faster. Equally important, participants usually enjoy these meetings!