"Chefs use recipes, contractors use blueprints, orchestra conductors use sheet music, and pilots use flight plans. Each of these highly skilled professionals relies on structured documents to help them achieve their desired outcomes. But many meeting leaders try to do their job without agendas. Why should they be any different? It is not a simple crib sheet of a list of topics to cover. An agenda is the construction plan for the session. It is the most valuable tool to keep the 'group mind' focused, on track, and on time as it pursues achievement of the session's desired outcomes. To quote a well-known commercial, 'Don't leave home without it'"
Dr. Alton Barlett quoted in Mining Group Gold, p. 39

AGENDA PLANNING

Useful guidelines

1. Be clear about, and list the general purpose for the meeting.

2. Be clear about how each topic relates to the purpose for the meeting

3. In addition to listing the topic, list the desired outcome for each topic.

4. List the process you will use to achieve the desired outcome (i.e. will you brainstorm, use small group discussions, prioritize).

5. Things always take more time than expected. Plan for an additional 10 minutes for each hour. Rushing items in meetings creates stress and a feeling of failure and discouragement. Be realistic, rather than hopeful, about time.

6. Be sure that all the necessary people, and no unnecessary people will be attending. In general the smaller the group the more efficient the work will be.

7. Distribute agendas at least three days ahead of the meeting.

8. Only include items on the agenda that cannot be handled in some other way before the meeting.

I will talk more about each of these guidelines in the next two e-zines.

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