| 1. |
You send me background material about
the organization, what it is and does, and I provide the same.
If we are both interested in working together,
|
| 2. |
We meet and you inform me about the outcomes of
the meeting. This usually takes an hour to an hour and a half.
By the end of that meeting, we probably know whether we want
to proceed, and if so I follow up with an e-mail contract that
outlines what each of us will do.
|
| 3. |
Once we agree on the goals, I collect data directly
from the participants. Usually, this means a combination of
e-mail surveys and personal interviews.
|
| 4. |
Based on their input and what I heard at the initial meeting,
I develop a proposed agenda and send it to you.
|
| 5. |
Meanwhile back at the ranch, you
have reserved the facility, but I do all the liaison with them
about room set-up and equipment.
|
| 6. |
You (and anyone else you want to involve) review the agenda.
If the situation is touchy and controversial,
my preference is to present the draft agenda in person and discuss
it with some key people. Otherwise, it’s fine to do it
by e-mail.
|
| 7. |
I revise the agenda in keeping
with your comments, and send it to you for distribution to the
participants.
|
| 8. |
At the retreat, all you have to do is introduce me and participate
like anyone else. I
am on site at least an hour early, with flipchart, markers,
paper and any other material we need. At breaks we check in
to be sure we are headed in the right direction. We evaluate
with the participants at the end of the day.
|
| 9. |
Following the meeting, I do a report of the decisions reached
as well as background on the conversations,
so you have a good archival document in case people want to
know why the group went in a certain direction.
|
| 10. |
We agree on when we will check in
to be sure things are going the way you wanted them to, and
if not, how to address the issues.
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