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Moving from talk to action
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Meeting facilitation involves three core processes: preparation, conduct and follow through. In a previous article, I discussed the importance of preparing for a meeting by developing a focused agenda. My next article provided a structure for facilitating the meeting. This month I'll discuss the third core process: following through and translating your meeting results into action.
Minutes are vital
It's a source of wonder to me how many groups conduct important meetings and then fail to provide any documentation that the meeting took place. Recording the decisions made and the actions agreed upon is critical to fixing responsibility for those decisions and actions. There's an old saying, "if it isn't in writing, it never occurred."
Meeting minutes provide two very important functions. First they serve as a record of what was agreed to at the meeting. Second, they allow for the inclusion in the decision-making process of stakeholders who could not be present at the meeting.
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Community Protection Network
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This an interesting approach being used in the Netherlands to add the power of social media to the concept of neighborhood watches. It's a bit "blue sky" and may not work here but the concept makes perfect sense.
(With thanks to Suzanne Frew)
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Greetings!
Welcome to the March issue of Emergency Management Solutions. My apologies for the late delivery but it has been a crazy month in many ways. This month I'm finishing off my series on meeting facilitation with some ideas of how you translate the results of the meeting into action. My monthly newsletter is a great way to keep in touch but you're not getting full value if you're not also signed up for my blog. I usually try to blog twice a week, so don't miss out! You can sign up on my blog site Canton on Emergency Management. 
If you are having trouble viewing my featured article, try clicking on the link at the top of the page. Alternatively, you can always find my white paper on my blog site, Canton on Emergency Management. |
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Regards,
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Professional Development In the John Ford movie classic She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, the tough old troop commander constantly admonishes his young lieutenants, "Never apologize, mister. It's a sign of weakness." Far be it from me to contradict the Duke, but this advice can get you in trouble very quickly, The single biggest problem I have encountered in life is the failure to acknowledge a mistake. This is true in customer service. It's true in managing crisis. Apologizing and trying to fix an error seems to counter intuitive to many people yet it is often the quickest way to diffuse a situation. As I mentioned in a recent blog, quickly acknowledging a problem quickly gets you out in front of the story with the facts. Cover up your mistake and when you're found out (and you will be found out!), the story shifts from your problem to the cover up. Trust me - no matter what you've done, being evasive and covering it up will only make it worse! |
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Life Balance
What do you do when things go wrong? I'm not talking about world-ending crises. Just the typical day-to-day stuff. For example, I was looking forward to a weekend getaway with friends that got rained out. That sort of thing. There's an old saying attributed to Robert Service, "It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out - it's the grain of sand in your shoe." As a former backpacker and avid walker, I know exactly what he means. It's the same in the rest of life. If we allow ourselves to be irritated by the little things, if we allow them to throw us off balance, how will we deal with true crisis? My problem? My friends and I opted for a movie and a great lunch together. There are always options. |
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From the Bookshelf
On my first visit to the Emergency Management Institute many years ago I spent an evening in the library instead of the pub (hey, I was a newbie) and happened to pick up a copy of Erik Auf der Heide's Disaster Response: Principles of Preparation and Coordination. It is no exaggeration to say that this book has probably had the most influence on my career of any I have read. This was the first book I read that offered practical, real-world advice supported by academic research on human behavior. This book was required reading for my staff in San Francisco. The bad news is that it's out of print (Amazon has it new for $271 or used for $49). The good news is that it's available online at the link above for FREE.
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Looking for a Speaker?
Need a speaker for your next conference? I offer keynotes, seminars and workshops. You can find more details on my website or on my SpeakerMix page.
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If you've heard me speak...
...I'd greatly appreciate it if you would take a minute to give me feedback on SpeakerMix. Just go to the site and click on the "Write A Review" button. Many thanks! |
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