Following the rules

I remember your first 4Sights as well 

 

Hahha Good hit

Sorry guys, I'm not convinced. I've attended other brand-let meetings (from Weightwatchers to Womens Institute)  and run tutorials for the Open University myself which involve hundreds of staff delivering the same information to thousands of students nationwide. What makes the difference to a well-facilitated meeting isn't scripted speeches, it's carefully recruited, brilliantly trained and well supported individuals. I don't know what training is avaiable or required for GLs but surely that would ensure meeting were well run.

And by the way, just for the sake of argument, I wonder whether the 4N members who weren't on the professional team regarded the 'car-crash disaster' sessions as equally catastrophic? Did anyone complain about minor deviations from the format?

And finally, as an educator and a coach, I genuinely believe that people need to mess up occasionally in order to learn and grow. If you're confident about 4N as a model, it seems you should give your team members opportunities to develop confidence even if they get things wrong once in a while. We all make mistakes and that's how we learn! I bet the GL who let the meeting over-run on one occasion would be more scrupulous about time-keeping in future.

I realise that we may have to agree to disagree here. But I'm interested to hear other peoples' perspectives on this too. Thanks.

Ok, I understand the reasons for the script but what about if they learn it off by heart? It would sound so much more polished and less of a chore and it's not much to ask of a leader is it?

That is what I did.

I'm big fan of the script. I have seen people try to do their own interpretation a few times and it never goes well.

It's 8:30 in the morning, I don't need to see somebody perform or try their hand at comedy. Just get the information out there and lets crack on with the meeting.

Ok here's my view as a 4.5 year member.  As the network has grown, consistency of approach has become more important. That's no different to any other business which started small and became big.
Personally nothing irks me more than when a script is deviated from, timings aren't adhered to and meetings don't end at 10am on the dot.  I've seen scripts being mashed up, sometimes with unfunny ad libs from the GL and it ends up taking longer than the 10 minutes Stef refers to.
I like 4N because I know exactly what I'm going to get when I attend a meeting - and I go to lots of different 4N meetings. Trust me, the script is there for a reason and no-one should ever take it away!

 

Brad, you used to explain why you have been a BNI member in the past with the line "There was no credible alternative at that time". May I suggest that the script is just such an case? It's way from a perfect approach, but until someone comes up with a better idea, it is probably the best way to achieve the desired consistency of delivery. 4N was started to provide that "credible alternative". Why not give some of that same thinking to whether there could be a "credible alternative" to the script?

FWIW, I used to absolutely hate reading the script. I also had more than one run-in with Brad over NOT sticking to it in the early days of 4N. Trouble is, I had no alternative to offer that could be scaled across the country. I feel your pain, Juliet, but I don't have that magic solution to offer!

Branding is about consistency and familiarity. There is something reassuring about walking into any "branded" venue and knowing what to expect. The same applies to 4N - whilst the script may be irritating at times, the consistency and familiarity outweigh this. If you take away the script, how will the same message be conveyed across 300 groups? Will each Group Leader have to recreate the way they deliver the information at each session to keep it different?

Hi Juliet, I think you need to go to a few other groups, each GL has their own 'style' and therfore even though its the same script it can be delivered very differently. Also its there to support the GL, if its there first meeting they are running they know exactly what they need to do, if there is a 'guest GL' in for the day who doesnt normally lead the group it is essential. Not many of the people that take the GL role are trained in presenting so it helps them grow their skill set whilst still giving the group a meeting that is expected.

I dont agree that its there only for visitors its there for all and it does keep the meeting on track. 

Kev

For the record Steve I was never a BNI member. Ha

Did I ask whether the incoherent 10mins was borin for the other in room.

I didn't need too. It was obvious.

You need something that works for everyone no matter what stage of the membership

Also the scripting allows for Padding out the timings and is the glue that holds it together.

The network would be absolutely awash with problems with 330 renditions of a non-script meeting surely you can see that?

Great discussion tho.

Also the dozens of other networks you been to didn't have scripts.

They are not national linked networks... 4N is the only one. Therefore the script and relative consistancy may well have been crucial to that growth.

You don't say a number 1 song is boring or repative... Well you can say but Id it's the number 1 many others would disagree.

Does Obama read from a script when he addresses the world stage? So we are as good as this guy then. Scripts are there to ensure consistency and perfection.

It then has to be down to the individual to present this in a enthusiatic and interactive manner. Reading from a piece of paper isn't the issue.

Are we questioning something that works quite clearly or the way something is delivered? Because I read the above and would question the delivery not the process.

I was at the same meeting as Juliet on Friday (great 4Sight by the way Juliet - I'm well on my way to decluttering!) and I'm also a relatively new GL at both breakfast and evening meetings. Having also attended 70 meetings now, I can hopefully add something to this discussion!

First of all, with so much to pack in to a relatively short space of time, and to have any chance at all of finishing after 2 hours - a script is essential! 2 hours goes incredibly quickly when you are running a meeting, and there has to be some structure in order to make sure that it doesn't over-run. If we had flexibility to start / finish a little later then perhaps some ad-libbing could be built in - but I have also seen deviations from the script that just have not worked!

Yes, of course it is repetitive to listen to for long standing members, but it doesn't seem to have put any of them off attending meetings.

In fairness to the GL on Friday - they have only been doing the role for a very short time, and I know exactly how this can feel - its not as straightforward as it looks, and it definitely gets easier and flows better after a while! Yes - everyone's style is different, but there needs to be consistency in my opinion in order for things to work effectively and for the meeting to appear slick.

When I talk to new visitors about the format of the meeting, I always tell them that it will be scripted, explain the reason why - and make sure they know that although this can seem a little rigid there will be plenty of time to network afterwards, and to get the contact details of anybody they don't manage to speak to because of the tight timescale we impose. I've never had a negative comment about it when people have been told what to expect.

Understand your sentiments Juliet - but bear with it - a lot of thought has gone into the structure and content of the script and whilst it may be tweaked from time to time it has always been an evolution rather than a revolution!

I guest GLs a few months back and struggled. It happens.

I've seen it the other way...