Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cancelling, Scheduling Special Meetings

[Sharon Villines (sharonvillines]

> I think canceling meetings is disrespectful to the people who have made
> the effort to arrange schedules to attend meetings.

It is also not a good idea to hold meetings for which there is no agenda.

And it raises the question of who a meeting is for--the "leaders" or the
attendees. If it is for the attendees, it can't be cancelled without their
permission. To get permission, you have to notify them.

I have difficulty with presenters assigning time to agenda items. The
question is not how much time the presenter needs but how much time the
group needs for discussion. How can the presenter know that? If the
presenter knows that, the discussion is probably irrelevant.

Perhaps the real issue is the planning a meaningful agenda before the
meeting is scheduled, and if it is a regularly scheduled meeting,
maintaining a good "things needing to be discussed" list so there are always
topics that need discussion. We all know we  have them, we just can't
remember what they are when an unexpected opportunity arises.

With so many more comprehensive means of making announcements and giving
reports (email and bulletin boards--hard copy instead of oral tradition),
discussion and/or consensus is the primary need for a business meeting.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
In Washington, DC where all roads lead to Casablanca
Takoma Village Cohousing
http://www.takomavillage.org
http://www.cohousing.org