That's the problem with having a parking lot.
It is never clear what happens to a comment AFTER the parking lot.
In fact, I am not sure I EVER remember a comment getting out of a parking lot. At least not making it out of the parking lot and turning into anything productive.
What parking lot would you ever park in when you had little or NO chance of getting out of the parking lot once you were in it?
We don't have parking lots at strategy sessions The Brainzooming Group designs and facilitates (except for the parking lots outside the facilities where we are working).
Instead, we think of comments as fitting one of three categories. They are either:
If a comment falls into group number 1, we will capture and use it within a current strategic thinking exercise.
If a comment is in group 2, we capture and place it within the strategic thinking exercise it addresses, whether we've already been there or are yet to reach it.
And group 3?
If a comment isn't germane, but it's close, we'll capture and place it in the strategic thinking exercise to which it most closely applies. If it isn't close to anything we're addressing in the session, the person who shared it needs to hang on to it for some future time.
While they may seem counterproductive, it encourages everyone in the session to stay focused on the session objectives instead of veering off into conversations that aren't currently relevant.
So park you cars outside the strategy session, and let’s work with all the ideas inside. – Mike Brown
The Brainzooming Group helps make smart organizations more successful by rapidly expanding their strategic options and creating innovative plans they can efficiently implement. Email us at info@brainzooming.com or call us at 816-509-5320 to learn how we can help you enhance your strategy and implementation efforts.