Just had an amazing board meeting tonight, I am treasurer so fact check me if I say that the photo below shows you the level of excitement board meetings usually ignite among members. Its all talk, nothing moves because nothing matters or because everything matters.
Except that tonight, we tamed the usual time theft and kept the tangent tourists from jumping on every band wagon. It was amazing- what usually takes a torturous 90 minutes was over in less than 30. Here is the trick and maybe others learned it before, and can share more: Why did I not think of this before, because its a BME model.
Reverse the time pyramid, don’t discuss and then decide, NO
1- BEGINNING Decide all that needs to be Decided, first up, Use Prime Time for your Prime Decision Energy. Only then
2- MIDDLE Move to what is Maturing to Decision and still needs Due Consideration. Determine at the end of 2, the time scale for when it will appear in 1 or if it is relegated back to 3- that way you make a plan for future meetings. You can track how a decision matures, goes from cold to hot or back. from 3 to 2 to 1. You are plotting a story that moves.
3-, ENDING Only then move to Discussion, ( its the last not the first) where you can go off like a cracker, let off steam, provide therapy, tell jokes, say how bad the Board is, etc if you have time, the business is done. At the end of 3, assess whether any of it needs to be elevated to 2 or to 1 for the next meeting or if it was mostly froth that will blow away.
4- EPILOGUE Summarize the dynamic of the meeting, what moved, as in what from 3 might need to go to 2 and what in 2 might need to go into 1 and what did we decide in 1 and if any decision made formerly in 1 needs more 3 next time Discussion or more 2 due consideration- ( in case the decision is not working out or needs more information.)
The steps are
1-decide what needs deciding and decide on it
2-condider what needs due consideration and consider it duly
3-discuss what needs discussion and discuss
4-Track what moved in the meeting.between 1 and 2 and 3 and plot the next meeting.
This creates a PLOT, and means Boards are not just Characters who are Audiences to their own Verbiage, it keep issues moving between levels and between meetings, so one can track progress, and you get a much more orderly, effective and efficient meeting.
Try it anyone…. and let me know how it goes. Maybe we just fluked it .
