Getting to decision and action

You know when you're in a meeting or conversation and things don't seem to be getting anywhere, at the speed you'd like? You know the round and round thing? 'Didn't we just cover that?' 'OK, she said that before, let's move on!' 'When, if ever, will we decide on something?' 

I wanted to give you a valuable tool for meetings and conversations that helps you keep things moving, towards decisionmaking. I call it 'The Facilitator 4-Step'. It's simple, it's clear and you just need to signal with the group what stage of the meeting or conversation topic you're at. These four steps will help you everytime, if your meeting goes for five minutes or even for a full day. I've used it in team workshops, strategic planning days, community meetings, even one-on-one conversations. It was a part of some recent facilitation training I delivered for project management teams to help them move from talking about it, to acting on it!

Facilitator 4-Step
1. Facts and Evidence : what do we know? Deal with the facts first, whether you're reviewing what this is all about or you need to clarify the details. Hold back on opinions for now.
2. Discussion and Opinion : what do we think? Now you can let the discussion and opinions flow...! Identify common themes, capture thoughts and views. Hold off on solutions for now.
3. Ideas and Opportunity : what could we do? If you need to generate ideas and solutions, now is the time. Make sure you don't cycle back to opinion and discussion, unneccesarily. 
4. Actions and Commitments : what will we do? When there are decisions to be made, now is the time. The facts are out there, you've discussed thoroughly, come up with ideas, now act!

The Facilitator 4-Step is available here as a visual I created using Brushes on the ipad; you can save or print it. You can use the questions in blue to explain to the group where you're at. 

You can get to decision and stop the round and round. But make sure you capture views and opinions along the way too. No steamrolling ok? And if you're meeting to decide, decide to follow a process that will actually get you all somewhere...  phew!

Map out the conversation

When you're heading off to a meeting today or tomorrow, take your notepad along, sure. Only this time, map out how the conversation goes.

Rather than jotting your own notes or actions, capture what the conversation is about. What are the key points? Where are the forks in the road? Where are the blocks or barriers? Where is the humour and lightness? You'll soon see so much more - and the person or group you're having the conversation with will too. 

Last week I met with a client about a customer engagement project. I mapped out our chat and before long, we had three phases, a series of key questions and some follow-up actions. I can recall greater detail of that meeting just by looking at my 'conversation map'. It's a few wavy lines, squares, circles and cloud shapes - just like the cloud shape in the left column of this newsletter. And there were words too. Make sure you've captured words!

Visual notes are engaging, powerful and effective. They serve as one of the greatest mental filing cabinets you have. Just looking at the notes from that conversation helps me recall detail. Here are the notes from my meeting - though they might mean even more if you'd been there. So next time we meet, I'll map out our conversation too. Pick up your pen and map out your next conversation with a client, customer, or colleague. It will stay stronger in your mental filing cabinet!

Referrals and Degrees of Separation

You know the now shrinking 'six degrees of separation' where you're only a few connections away from everyone on earth? How that applies to referrals and recommendations can be an interesting experience.

Recently a colleague referred me to a colleague who referred me to another colleague. Thanks to my colleague's recommendation, I started out on the conversation journey with the next two layers of colleagues!

The odds that this referral or transference of trust was going to work was lower than if

a. my colleague had worked directly with me on more than just a project or two ie; if we had a longer, deeper relationship

b. there were only one or two degrees of separation between me and the prospect - rather than this three or four levels.

The further removed the referral, the more weakened the trust, the more likely it's not going to be a match. A match on values, philosophy, ways of working...

For sure, connections and meeting up with people out of the blue can create some of the most wonderful and serendipitous relationships - business or otherwise.

But as Robyn Henderson networking guru explains in many of her books, workshops and presentations, networking is about the transference of trust. People like to work with people they know and trust.

While I built rapport and a good connection with the colleague of my colleague, the next layer can be more difficult. Now we're at the colleague of the colleague of the colleague. The trust and connection is weaker, the transference of trust is hanging on the recommendation of my original colleague and our ability to build rapport, understand each other's ways of working, seeing a way to possibility.

Confused? Don't be. Just continue to focus on building relationships with the people you know and trust. That circle or group of people closest to you. And they'll be more able to refer and recommend you to people they know and trust.

The next layer - the people who don't know who you are, who don't know the colleague of yours, may not be your best bet for business right now.

Keep focused on those closest. And let the ripples of connection flow from there, gently.