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Collaboration
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In 2003 we formed the CENTER FOR THINKING & COLLABORATION to focus on training teams how to think and collaborate during their meetings.
James Surowiecki , author of the “Wisdom of Crowds,” says: “Under the right circumstances, groups are smarter, make better decisions and are better at solving problems than even the smartest people within them. On any one problem a few people may outperform the group. But over time collective wisdom is near-impossible to beat. No one, you might say, knows more than everyone.”
Process Description: Electronic Collaboration
Applications for Electronic Collaboration
action planning
strategic planning
values convergence
process re-engineering
e-based customer surveys
mergers and acquisitions
complex problem solving
implementation support
cultural change sessions
creative thinking sessions
system implementation
visioning and planning
business development
funding prioritization
executive retreats
vendor selection
business forums
risk management
process design
SWOT analysis
team building
shadow juries
value analysis
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Our process of electronic collaboration utilizes Meetingworks® software, and provides electronic solutions for a variety of meeting challenges. The process allows teams and groups to improve decision making and capitalizes on both the strengths of their individual members, and on group synergy. The group process offers protection for minority viewpoints through anonymous contributions. It assures equal participation by all team members by allowing a single vote per participant, regardless of position in the organization. The result: Assertive thoughts dominate the sessions rather than assertive participants.
Facilitation in an electronic meeting environment minimizes common meeting pitfalls such as lack of focus, lack of planning, lack of participation, and lack of ownership. Conflicts are less frequent. Meeting boredom disappears. Verbal interaction and discussion are encouraged and focused.
Ideas, solutions and plans are sent anonymously by individuals to a meeting room viewing screen or to their own browser screen. Here the items are discussed apart from their owners. The group quickly owns the public list, integrating, clarifying and changing the ideas to reflect the opinions of the entire group. The time participants spend together is focused on the tasks at hand. The time required of participants to address the meeting’s focus and goals is dramatically reduced.
The process of facilitation/electronic collaboration can be applied to organizations from Fortune 500 to small enterprises. The Meetingworks® software used in the electronic collaboration process consists of various tools to assist groups with brainstorming, organizing, evaluating and analyzing ideas. All meetings are facilitated, not self run. As groups learn what to expect from a decision support system, they are able to take advantage of the great flexibility of this process. The process works best if agenda and tasks are pre-planned prior to the meeting. Our wireless LAN with laptops is completely portable, and can be used at your site or off-site locations.
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Meeting Planning
Successful meetings are no accident. They are the result of successful planning and preparation. All meetings benefit from careful and thorough pre-planning. For electronically-supported meetings, planning is mandatory.
We start with the team’s desired end result and work backward. If you are problem solving, looking for new opportunities or strategic planning we want to know what outcomes you expect from the meeting.
The planning process usually takes place with our co-facilitators and a meeting sponsor (or small committee). At this time, the purpose or focus of the meeting is determined and the outcomes identified. The result of the pre-meeting planning session is a question set or list of tasks as well as the goal for the meeting. The planning sessions give the co-facilitators a good idea of what the final Meeting Report will include, how the long the meeting will last, and the types of activities taking place during the meeting.
The next planning phase involves the Process Facilitator and the Technical Facilitator (Chauffeur). The question set or agenda topics are mapped to our Meetingworks® tools. With this information the Chauffeur creates the Agenda.
There may be more activities in the planning at these stages. The Process Facilitator might have to have interview project members or meeting participants. Or the meeting may be one in a series of meetings, where the results are passed to a number of levels in an organization.
The Technical Facilitator may need additional information to create the meeting Agenda. This may include spreadsheets, presentations, data or tutorials from the customer.
Planning is the key to success in the facilitated electronic collaboration environment. Taking the time to determine the focus of the meeting and outcomes ensures the desired results. The co-facilitators know how to phrase questions to create the Agenda, and judge the amount of meeting time necessary for different group sizes.
The Agenda
The Agenda for an facilitated electronic meeting is developed in the planning process. It is a list of all the topics, tasks and actions which will take place during the actual meeting. While steps are similar to Agenda items, they represent not only tasks, but also the tools necessary to perform those tasks. Steps take place in the agreed upon, specified sequence. The results of one step can be passed automatically to another step that will use the information to compete its task. If one task produces surprising and unexpected results, it is simple to add new steps to explore the topic.
Agendas for a particular organization are easily used over and over. These Agendas can themselves become steps of larger organizational processes. Groups often become aware of one Agenda construct for resolving a wide variety of problems. This is quite useful within large organizations with many departments or divisions.
Agendas for the electronic collaboration process are created using the AgendaPlanner. Agenda steps using the Meetingworks® tools can be mixed with steps that use presentations or other computer programs. Together, all the steps combine to create the final Agenda. Steps can be moved around to achieve the best sequence. After the Agenda is written, it is saved and run during the actual meeting. Before the actual meeting begins, the Agenda it is tested for accuracy and to ensure the desired meeting flow.
The Meeting
Your meeting involves a group of participants using our sophisticated Meetingworks® software which is simple to use. Workstations allow participants to be connected to the software by either a wireless LAN or the internet.
Participants are lead through the Agenda by the Process Facilitator and assisted with the technical tools by the Chauffeur. The participants contribute to the meeting verbally and by typing responses on their laptops. No need for flipcharts, hot dots or stickeys..
There are four different meeting options: Same Time, Same Place; Same Time, Different Place; Different Time, Same Place; and Different Time, Different Place.
Same Time, Same Place meetings –“ face-to-face’ sessions are the most commonly used in organizations. Same Time, Different Place meetings have participants in one or more locations (see diagram on the left). The participants in remote locations are connected to the same meeting using their internet browser and a telephone. As in conventional conference calls, participants’ voices are heard, with the added benefit of immediate visual feedback on their computer. Instant results document decisions and actions.
Different Time, Different Place meetings –“web polls.”
An electronic collaboration Agenda is posted on our web site for participants to access any time within a meeting period. The web poll might be a continuation of a real-time meeting (e.g., action planning, prioritization of items generated in a face-to-face meeting). Or it might be for gathering information or reactions before a real-time meeting (e.g., professional conference, board retreat, or requirements gathering)
Participants access the web poll by clicking on an internet address (URL) and using a password to register. They can complete the polling steps in one sitting or they may revisit the site until the web poll is closed. This type of meeting can be multi-phased, i.e. results from one web poll can be placed into the next poll to gather more input from the group.
The Chauffeur workstation acts as the focal point of the meeting. It displays the meeting Agenda, the combined and anonymous ideas and comments of the participants as well as graphs and tables from step results. In face-to-face meetings, the Chauffeur screen is visible to the participants through a projection system called public display. Participants connected via the internet see graphs and tables on their own browser screen.
Meeting Options
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Same Time, Same Place
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Same Time, Different Place
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Different Time, Same Place
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Different Time, Different Place
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