Workshop-Style Meetings

Workshop-style meetings are a powerful tool for collaborative problem-solving and continuous improvement. Unlike traditional meetings where a leader lectures, workshops involve the entire team in a hands-on process of improving an aspect of the business.

Key Characteristics

• Collaborative: Everyone participates in generating ideas and solutions.
• Focused: Each workshop focuses on a single, specific problem or area for improvement.
• Action-Oriented: The goal is to produce a tangible output, such as a new procedure, a solution to a problem, or a plan for improvement.
• Synergistic: The collective intelligence of the group often produces better ideas than any single individual could have come up with alone.

How to Run a Workshop

1. Identify a Focus: Choose a specific problem or area for improvement.
2. Brainstorm Solutions: Have everyone individually brainstorm ideas before sharing with the group.
3. Group Discussion: Discuss the ideas as a group, and have a facilitator guide the conversation.
4. Prioritize: Vote on the best ideas to determine which ones to implement.
5. Create an Action Plan: Develop a plan for implementing the chosen solutions, including who is responsible for what and by when.

Workshops are the engine of The Three Ps (Planning, Procedures, and Policies) and a key component of The Importance of Continuous Training. They are a practical way to Work on the Business, Not Just in the Business.