We all know the Einstein quote that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result - it's ascribed to other people too, but most give Albert the credit.
These days, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same result: PPPPPP (Prior Planning Prevents P*ss-Poor Performance). While we can prepare for ambiguity, we can't plan for it.
There was a brief spell in human history when we fell in love with planning. It peaked during the Industrial Devolution. Anderson and Anderson, in their "Beyond Change Management," suggest the industrial mindset grew from concepts of scarcity, separateness, and discrete events. In other words, there's not enough and we're all bumping around dealing with emergencies. So it makes perfect sense, sort of, to see planning as the answer: If I do everything just right, planning down to an atomic level of detail, it'll all be fine, and better yet, predictable.
In that framework, we divide tasks into parts, separate roles and responsibilities, evaluate success on tangibles, and worship at the altar of efficiency. Planning then becomes a dam to prevent a flood of ambiguity and guard against chaos. I suggest that approach, like the War on Drugs, wastes resources. Meetings can be like a Greek vision of hell: endlessly repeated tasks that don't accomplish anything. Too much control is the problem, not the answer.
We see in New Orleans a classic example of the failure of control, in this case, of land and water. We see in agendas (not political, but for retreats, which I still think should be called attacks), the fear of unpredictability. Too much detail, too many items, no blank space for what comes up. And what comes up is the important stuff.
It's much better, and healthier from a personal and organizational standpoint, to 'rough out' the agenda with lots of open space. Those who feel uncomfortable with not enough detail can come to the meeting in really tight shoes so they can focus on something small.
For those who would like a reasonable level of structure, please feel free to download "Meetings" from the AzaLearning Resources file.
It's short and doesn't give a dam.
