FV and FVP Forum > FVP for Meetings
Seraphim:
<< I just do a scan before the meeting and put a Dot next to each item we need to discuss. Then during the course of the meeting, We go through those items, and enter any notes, thoughts, and actions at the end of the list. >>
Do you discuss those items in FVP order, or in normal first-to-last order?
<< I just do a scan before the meeting and put a Dot next to each item we need to discuss. Then during the course of the meeting, We go through those items, and enter any notes, thoughts, and actions at the end of the list. >>
Do you discuss those items in FVP order, or in normal first-to-last order?
September 1, 2015 at 18:00 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
This is very clever. I usually have six to a dozen points on my agenda. I scan down the list till I find the first one that seems right to open with. Then I start from the top again and pick the next item I want to cover, and again from the top, until I've covered them all. Notes (which seem adequately detailed when I write them, but totally cryptic later) are scrawled in the margins or on facing pages or on a whiteboard or on a shoebox or wherever.
Of course I never considered this a "system." With so few items, I didn't think a system was really needed.(I've occasionally tried to put agenda in the "right" order beforehand, but I never stick to the plan.) But now that Seraphim mentions it, there is no reason I can't do the agenda and notes FVP-style and make my life much easier.
It's not as though I'm losing hours of precious time as I scan repeatedly from the top to get through a dozen or fewer items, but it would be good to get into the habit of scanning most lists FVP-style.
Now I'm wondering what other kinds of lists I can process with the FVP algorithm.
Of course I never considered this a "system." With so few items, I didn't think a system was really needed.(I've occasionally tried to put agenda in the "right" order beforehand, but I never stick to the plan.) But now that Seraphim mentions it, there is no reason I can't do the agenda and notes FVP-style and make my life much easier.
It's not as though I'm losing hours of precious time as I scan repeatedly from the top to get through a dozen or fewer items, but it would be good to get into the habit of scanning most lists FVP-style.
Now I'm wondering what other kinds of lists I can process with the FVP algorithm.
September 1, 2015 at 19:25 |
JulieBulie
JulieBulie
JulieBulie:
<< Now I'm wondering what other kinds of lists I can process with the FVP algorithm. >>
The 5-T method found in my new book?
<< Now I'm wondering what other kinds of lists I can process with the FVP algorithm. >>
The 5-T method found in my new book?
September 1, 2015 at 20:58 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
I won't have the book until October (I am waiting for the dead tree edition), and won't ask questions about it until I've finished reading it... but what I had in mind was lists other than tasks/time management. Like using the FVP algorithm to sort items on a wish list, for example.
September 1, 2015 at 21:28 |
JulieBulie
JulieBulie
Mark Forster wrote:
<< Do you discuss those items in FVP order, or in normal first-to-last order? >>
I've considered doing it in FVP order, but since I generally get through all the items, it doesn't really matter what order they are done in. So I usually do them straight through, first to last. That seems simplest.
In a situation where I'm not sure I can get through all the agenda items, I want to try FVP to see if it makes any difference. If I have a few minutes extra to prepare, I think it would be worthwhile to copy all the items to the end of the list, then at start of meeting add any other agenda items from the other people in the meeting, then dot the first item, and work through it all from there with the FVP algorithm during the meeting.
I suppose one advantage of this approach - if nothing stands out, we can end the meeting early!
It will be interesting to try this - I'm really not sure if it will work in practice.
<< Do you discuss those items in FVP order, or in normal first-to-last order? >>
I've considered doing it in FVP order, but since I generally get through all the items, it doesn't really matter what order they are done in. So I usually do them straight through, first to last. That seems simplest.
In a situation where I'm not sure I can get through all the agenda items, I want to try FVP to see if it makes any difference. If I have a few minutes extra to prepare, I think it would be worthwhile to copy all the items to the end of the list, then at start of meeting add any other agenda items from the other people in the meeting, then dot the first item, and work through it all from there with the FVP algorithm during the meeting.
I suppose one advantage of this approach - if nothing stands out, we can end the meeting early!
It will be interesting to try this - I'm really not sure if it will work in practice.
September 2, 2015 at 2:39 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
I've been trying another way to handle meeting agendas and follow-up - especially for recurring informal meetings, where there is no need to capture any minutes.
When I want to put together an agenda, I start a new page in my FVP notebook and put the meeting title on it. (Usually just the name of the person I'm meeting with). I then scan through my FVP list to find anything that needs to be added to the agenda, and move them to this meeting page. In the end, I typically have 15-20 items, though sometimes twice that. (That may seem like a lot, but many of these are quick follow-up items, confirming that something is done, for example, and just crossing them off.)
During the meeting, I ask what items the other person wants to talk about, and add those to my list. Then I draw a line at the end of the meeting list, and work through the meeting list items above that line, following the FVP algorithm. I write conclusions, follow-up actions, etc., below the line. When we're done with an item, I re-enter, if necessary, below the line. (The line is there simply to remind me that we've already discussed the things below the line.) It takes a few seconds to do the crossing out and rewriting, but generally it's very low overhead.
After the meeting, I treat this page like any other FVP page (but I don't add new items on that page unless they need to be discussed in another future meeting). This makes it easy to act on all the follow-up items -- they are just a normal part of my FVP list at this point.
During the rest of the week, if a new item comes up, and i happen to remember it really needs to be discussed in context of one of these meetings, I try to write it onto the appropriate meeting page. That way, there's no need to hunt for it when I am preparing for the next meeting. But if I don't remember, or don't want to look for the meeting page, I just enter it at the end of the FVP list like I would do normally, and it's easy to move to the meeting page just before I have the actual meeting.
I suppose I could just track all these meeting pages in a separate list, separate notebook, or whatever. The main advantages of doing it here in FVP are:
(1) I can keep it all in one place
(2) I can process the follow-up actions all together with the rest of my FVP list
The disadvantages are:
(1) It makes the overall list a little more complicated
(2) Sometimes the meeting pages start building up past the last active generic page -- so it's a little harder to figure out where to enter new generic items to my FVP list. So far it hasn't been a real problem, and it would be easy to solve with a sticky or paper clip or something.
When I want to put together an agenda, I start a new page in my FVP notebook and put the meeting title on it. (Usually just the name of the person I'm meeting with). I then scan through my FVP list to find anything that needs to be added to the agenda, and move them to this meeting page. In the end, I typically have 15-20 items, though sometimes twice that. (That may seem like a lot, but many of these are quick follow-up items, confirming that something is done, for example, and just crossing them off.)
During the meeting, I ask what items the other person wants to talk about, and add those to my list. Then I draw a line at the end of the meeting list, and work through the meeting list items above that line, following the FVP algorithm. I write conclusions, follow-up actions, etc., below the line. When we're done with an item, I re-enter, if necessary, below the line. (The line is there simply to remind me that we've already discussed the things below the line.) It takes a few seconds to do the crossing out and rewriting, but generally it's very low overhead.
After the meeting, I treat this page like any other FVP page (but I don't add new items on that page unless they need to be discussed in another future meeting). This makes it easy to act on all the follow-up items -- they are just a normal part of my FVP list at this point.
During the rest of the week, if a new item comes up, and i happen to remember it really needs to be discussed in context of one of these meetings, I try to write it onto the appropriate meeting page. That way, there's no need to hunt for it when I am preparing for the next meeting. But if I don't remember, or don't want to look for the meeting page, I just enter it at the end of the FVP list like I would do normally, and it's easy to move to the meeting page just before I have the actual meeting.
I suppose I could just track all these meeting pages in a separate list, separate notebook, or whatever. The main advantages of doing it here in FVP are:
(1) I can keep it all in one place
(2) I can process the follow-up actions all together with the rest of my FVP list
The disadvantages are:
(1) It makes the overall list a little more complicated
(2) Sometimes the meeting pages start building up past the last active generic page -- so it's a little harder to figure out where to enter new generic items to my FVP list. So far it hasn't been a real problem, and it would be easy to solve with a sticky or paper clip or something.
September 7, 2015 at 15:57 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
Alternately, I scan FVP and pull out all the potential agenda items and post them in the calendar notice, or OneNote, or Jive, or whatever we are using for that project. Then take minutes in that elecronic format, and copy my action items (and thoughts and questions and opens etc.) into FVP at the end.
Anyone else have any ideas for using FVP with meetings?