Virtuous Meetings: Technology + Design for High Engagement in Large Groups

Virtuous Meetings: Technology + Design for High Engagement in Large Groups

by Karl Danskin, Lenny Lind
Released September 2014
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9781118538661

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Book description

Technology + Design leads to breakthrough in large meeting productivity

Virtuous Meetings: Technology + Design for High Engagement in Large Groups breaks out of the confines of the meeting room to show the reader what is possible when you need to get large groups of people talking and making decisions together. The book shows that it is possible to achieve effective outcomes in large, important meetings - the kind of meetings that most organizations rely upon for aligning their leaders with strategy or managing change, innovation, and crises. When it matters most what the participants are thinking—even thousands of them at once, who may be in the room, at satellite locations or on laptops at home—this book liberates meeting designers from traditional assumptions and business-as-usual Q&A and discussion tactics with an approach for hearing and working with the contributions of all participants, live. From the Introduction,

"Virtuous Meetings is a simple notion—give participants back their voice, and enable them to generate ideas, solutions and understandings that move the whole group, no matter how large, forward together."

The book shows how meetings can be virtuous in intent as well as design, and how technology can help in this work. The book shows the reader how to use Virtuous Meeting Cycles, in which all participants' voices are heard, and shared understanding is generated, which in turn is used by participants, as a group, to generate plans and solutions, over which all feel a sense of ownership. As participants and leaders see the value of the outcomes of their interactions, their trust in each other, in the process, and intent to do good increases. With an increase in trust, the engagement becomes fuller and more robust. And so each revolution of the cycle continues...

The book shows how to choose, anchor, design, facilitate, and scale virtuous meetings. In each part, the authors speak from the front lines—from experiences with clients and their critically important large meetings. The "View from Inside the Meeting" and Case Story features of the book share important lessons from some of the authors' most memorable engagements.

Author Karl Danskin is an authority on psychology and group energetics. Lenny Lind is a pioneer in the field of technology-assisted group process and is a co-author of Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, by Sam Kaner, et al. Together, they draw on the collected experiences of over two decades of consulting to multinational corporations, having supported thousands of top-level client meetings, to share a methodology proven to engage participants like never before.

Topics include:

  • A new model for thinking about large meetings: Two levels of participant experience - table group, and whole group

  • Exploring the "meta-conversations" that virtuous meetings enable

  • Introducing the Virtuous Engagement Cycle

  • The heart of virtuous meeting design: The Design Team

  • The critical roles in a virtuous meeting

  • An expanded view of (and platform for) leadership

  • Participant-centered meetings of the future

    • Virtuous Meetings is a comprehensive guide to getting the best out of large, strategically important meetings.

    Table of contents

    1. Cover
    2. More praise for Virtuous Meetings
    3. Title Page
    4. Copyright
    5. Dedication
    6. Preface: The Evolution of an Idea
    7. Acknowledgments
    8. Introduction
    9. Part One: Choosing Virtuous Meetings
      1. Chapter One: Realizing Virtue in Large Group Meetings
        1. The Virtue of Collaboration
        2. The Virtue of Active Contribution
        3. The Keys to Creating a Virtuous Meeting
        4. How Large Meetings Haven't Changed
        5. Seeking Alignment
        6. The Habit of Creating Passive Audiences
        7. The Virtuous Meeting Itself is the Message
        8. Chapter One • Quick Summary
      2. Chapter Two: The First Key: The Participant-Centered Approach
        1. Where it all Started
        2. Participants Getting Their Voice Back
        3. Chapter Two • Quick Summary
      3. Chapter Three: The Second Key: High-Speed Connectivity
        1. The Sloowww Growth of Connectivity in Meetings
        2. What the Technology Allows
        3. Friendly Software
        4. The Input Devices
        5. The Network: Local or Internet?
        6. Networking in Venues
        7. The Virtue of Connectivity in Large Group Meetings
        8. Actually…It's not About the Technology
        9. Polling Versus Discussion: A Case Study in Why You Can't Have One Key Without the Other
        10. Chapter Three • Quick Summary
    10. Part Two: Anchoring Virtuous Meetings
      1. Chapter Four: The Use of Small Groups Within Large Group Meetings
        1. Two Integrated Levels of Participant Experience
        2. Putting a Two-Level Design Into Practice
        3. How it Feels in the Table Group
        4. Chapter Four • Quick Summary
      2. Chapter Five: Virtuous Engagement Cycles: Creating a Meta-Conversation
        1. The Revolution: Knowing What the Group is Thinking
        2. The Value of Meta-Conversations
        3. Virtuous Engagement Cycles: Four Stages
        4. Putting Engagement Cycles Into Practice
        5. Completing Engagement Cycles
        6. Chapter Five • Quick Summary
    11. Part Three: Designing Virtuous Meetings
      1. Chapter Six: Gathering the Forces: The Process of Design
        1. The Role of the Design Team in a Virtuous Meeting
        2. Sequence of Design Team Activities
        3. Integrating Design, Production, and Logistics
        4. Forming the Design Team: Importance of the First Step
        5. The Work of the Design Team
        6. Critical Design Decisions
        7. Chapter Six • Quick Summary
      2. Chapter Seven: Understanding the Possibilities: The Design Elements
        1. The Design Sequence
        2. Determining Purpose
        3. The Small Team Model: Generative Versus Informational Purpose
        4. Clarifying Outcomes
        5. Practical Considerations About Process
        6. Chapter Seven • Quick Summary
      3. Chapter Eight: Making Choices: The Design Levers
        1. Stages and Levers: The Building Blocks
        2. Perspectives on Design Variations
        3. Becoming Familiar With Each Lever: Design Considerations for Each of the Levers
        4. Chapter Eight • Quick Summary
    12. Part Four: Facilitating Virtuous Meetings
      1. Chapter Nine: The Critical Roles in a Virtuous Meeting
        1. Roles and Needs in a Virtuous Meeting
        2. Key Experiences of the Participant's New Role
        3. Chapter Nine • Quick Summary
      2. Chapter Ten: Facilitation in Virtuous Meetings
        1. The Role of Facilitation, on Purpose
        2. Facilitation: The Mind-set, Principles, and Best Practices
        3. Facilitating Virtuous Engagement Cycles
        4. Working with Presenters
        5. Chapter Ten • Quick Summary
      3. Chapter Eleven: Facilitating as Leader
        1. The Initial Decision
        2. Before the Meeting
        3. During the Meeting
        4. After the Meeting
        5. Kouzes and Posner: Five Leadership Practices
        6. The Vulnerability of Power
        7. The Power of Vulnerability
        8. Chapter Eleven • Quick Summary
    13. Part Five: Scaling Virtuous Meetings
      1. Chapter Twelve: Taking Virtuous Meetings Beyond the Room
        1. It's a Great Big World Out There
        2. Chapter Twelve • Quick Summary
      2. Chapter Thirteen: The Elements that Scale Virtuous Meetings
        1. The Scalable Technology of Connectivity
        2. The Scalable Role of Active Contributors
        3. The Scalable Process of Virtuous Engagement Cycles
        4. Why Now?
        5. Chapter Thirteen • Quick Summary
    14. Glossary
    15. Notes
    16. About the Authors
    17. More from Wiley
    18. Index
    19. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: Virtuous Meetings: Technology + Design for High Engagement in Large Groups
    • Author(s): Karl Danskin, Lenny Lind
    • Release date: September 2014
    • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
    • ISBN: 9781118538661