Why Is Posting So Light?

Because work is so heavy.

I just wrapped up a 3-day leadership offsite. Without giving any secrets away, here are some things that those MoltenThinkers who don't work for Big Corporations might be interested in knowing goes on at these events:

1. The amount of preparation for even a small gathering is enormous. We had 70 people at this one. 10 people spent about a week working 80 pct of their time preparing for this.

2. Speakers matter. Most presenters tried to keep their pitches informative and interesting. I thought it was fascinating that one well-regarded executive tanked miserably on a subject which naturally should have been the highlight of the event. Monotone, indifferent, and completely unprepared is no way to wow a crowd.

3. Energy is important. The exec leading the event took great pains from the opening remarks to establish a high-energy tone---when you're locked in a room for 10 hours a day for three days, that's crucial.

4. Networking's crucial. I got more out of the 5-minute breaks than I did out of the presentations. That was where I got to talk to colleagues I rarely see or interact with, and connect the dots between initiatives and organizations.

5. Variety saves. The informational portion was generally front-loaded, with the first day basically being all presentation, the second half presentation, half-workshop, and the last day being virtually all workshop. Adults don't like to be lectured at for long periods of time--we tend to prefer discussion and small group sessions. The longer you go, the less you tolerate the presentations. They also wisely interspersed short impromptu talks and Q&A sessions with key business partners the organization supports. This served as energizers, plus constantly reminded us why we were there.

6. Be structured. We had a timekeeper from old Bavarian stock keeping the trains running on time throughout.

7. But be flexible. When discussion was particularly involved, time would be added on the fly from presentations which seemed less interesting. The exec leading the meeting did this discreetly by simply having our timekeeper hold off or jump ahead.

8. Provide plenty of caffeine and sugar. We had more coffee and soda at this thing than I've ever seen. It proved necessary. I drank 2 gallons of diet soda myself the first day.

9. Use analogies. Lots of 'em. I employ them all the time as my profession generally involves translating the arcane to the disinterested. When colleagues were straining to understand what Personnel meant by the difficulty of dealing with a teammate who put up great numbers but exhibited negative behaviors, I had an analogy ready to roll---Terrell Owens. Everyone who knew the slightest bit about the NFL this season got it instantly: sometimes a superstar's just not worth the trouble.

10. Speak English. Or whatever the lingua franca of your team happens to be. We had lots of fairly dense data to cover, yet most of our presenters did a great job of keeping things simple so that everyone could follow the gist of the presentation. Not surprisingly, this tends to foster greater participation and even enthusiasm. Top business executives all have this skill. Jack Welch has a PhD and knows some very, very detailed information about how plastics are made, yet he can make anyone understand what it's like to run the world's most profitable company. They have to do this. They need to influence huge numbers of experts in their various fields to get the job done. They connect the dots. You can't do that if you're talking jargon.