Ground Rules Teleclass Series - Ground Rule 5

Groups often get stuck when they're trying to address problems. One person shares a solution, then everyone trashes it. Then the next person shares his solution, and everyone trashes that, too. The group goes around like this until the person with the most authority or influence gets their way. This leads to lower quality decisions, decreased trust and commitment, and less innovation. Ever been in a conversation like this?

This ground rule is a powerful, timesaving antidote for these situations. It helps people detach from the particular solution or position they're advocating for – and focus the conversation on sharing what it is that's important to them about that solution.You may already be familiar with this approach - it was popularized by Roger Fisher and William Ury in Getting to Yes.

Focusing on interests increases the chance that the final decision will really work for all group members. There's no guarantee of this, of course, but it dramatically increases the odds.

I'll help you apply this ground rule to move conversations forward.

Your stories, opportunities and challenges will be the practice field. I'll share some key concepts – mostly via advance reading – and we'll quickly move into "clinic" mode, where we work together to make the material practical and meaningful for you.

We'll do all this in a fast-paced, focused way, and the class will be highly interactive. We're limiting participation to ensure this, and the teleclass will be an hour minutes long.

There will be a short written assignment beforehand, as well as some prereading. This will help us focus, in the call, on your learning and your real situations.

If you can't attend, you can purchase a recording of the entire class. If you choose this option, you will still receive all the supporting materials and assignments.

If you are still reading, I think you'll find the teleclass quite valuable. I invite you to participate.

• Specific questions you can ask to help people focus on their interests
• The four-step process I use with groups to help them collect interests and craft solutions that address those interests
• How to deal with interests that may be under the surface, including hidden agendas
• What to do if it's not possible to meet everyone's interests
• How to use this ground rule to save valuable group time

• The advance assignment and course materials to help you get the most out of the teleclass.
• The dial-in information for the teleclass (if you're participating live)
• The digital recording of the teleclass. We will send you a link to download it (or, if you need it, ship you a CD recording), along with the materials above.
• The complete transcript of the call, if purchased.

If you think this teleclass is what you're looking for, I invite you to join in right here.

I encourage you to sign up for the entire Ground Rules teleclass series to maximize your learning; when used together, these groundrules are much more powerful than they are on their own.