We Need a Commanding Collaborator in Chief

Reading a reprint of a New York Times News Service article, I see that candidate McCain "came of age in a chain-of-command culture"(command-and-control) and that candidate Obama "came of age as a community organizer" (consensus).

Interestingly, my 2007 book Moving Out of the Box suggests that in this millennium we need Chief Executives in all sectors who have demonstrated mastery of BOTH command-and-control and consensus driven decision making skills.

From Moving Out of the Box: "A commanding collaborator in chief is a master of both consensus-driven and command-and-control decision making as well as being a master of meeting facilitation and interpersonal communication skills." (page 153) Which goes on to say:

"The reasons we all need the balanced use of command-and control decision leadership and consensus-driven decision making are multiple-fold. If more commanding collaborators in chief led organizations, more people would feel valued in their workplaces. If more commanding collaborator in chief decision making occurred in organizations, greater creativity and innovation would likely result. If more commanding collaborator in chief decision making ocurred on a daily basis, there would likely be a reduction in national and personal debt."

Moving Out of the Box (Praeger/Greenwood, 2007) has just been picked up by Stanford University Press for a paperback release in the Spring of 2009.

Manage the Meeting

Beginning with my time as a 4-Her in the midwestern US, I learned how to conduct effective meetings. Such that, by the time I was in college, my tolerance for poorly run meetings was very low. Thus began my focus on improving meetings.

Unless meeting leaders and participants manage every meeting, the meetings take on a life - yes an unproductive one at that - of their own. Manage the meeting so it doesn't manage you. For starters, have an agenda that includes the following.
* Day, Date of the meeting *Start and STOP times for the meeting
* Contact person/meeting leader name
* Agenda topics and Time alotments and Topic Discussion Leaders
* Introductions 2 minutes Leader
* Item One 10 minutes Topic Leader
* Item Two 15 minutes Topic Leader
* Item Three (and so on) 20 min. Topic Leader
* Meeting Summary of decisions and assignments 10 minutes Leader
* Adjourn 1 minute

Entry into Blogging

Business colleagues have said "Blog" because it is one more tool in your business outreach. So, today begins the blog-journey of idea posting and exchange; of public policy comment from my vantage as a State Legislator (2004-2006); and of banter for potential speaking and book content.

I've been in business 15 years, written 5 books (one of which is in 6 languages), graduated from the Idaho Police Academy, and am constantly learning.