Getting Started In this chapter we lay out some of the options and the practical tools for the successful start of meetings which will make connections, build relationships and accelerate commitment. The start of the meeting lays the foundation for the way people will work. When people walk through the door it is important to plan and pay attention to how they will be feeling - they may be apprehensive, eager, anxious or unhappy. They may expect this meeting to be a 'waste of time' the 'same as always', different, or the solution to many problems. And everybody will think their time is precious and not to be wasted. Even when people know each other very well and the subject matter is familiar, this is still a vital phase. The design of the beginning should balance setting the scene 'for work' and creating space for people to connect to each other and the purpose. The focus for the start - up process is on the purpose of the meeting, and on the realities of the people in the room: why they are there and how they are feeling.
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