[OSList] Q re: "Preparing" for Passionate Discussions....

[Metta & Gary]

Next month we'll be hosting the annual board retreat (in OS) for one 
of our non-profit clients (we hosted their 2011 retreat in OS, as 
well), and this year we've run into an interesting dynamic.

The outgoing president of the board wants to share an inspiring and 
thought-provoking TED talk with all the board members in advance of 
the retreat so this video can serve as a starting point for 
discussion (for those who are interested) during the retreat.

In addition, the incoming president of the board has now indicated he 
would also like to recommend some topics for discussion ahead of time 
for "the group to consider in more depth" before the meeting.

Previously, we've always discouraged any attempts (especially on the 
part of senior leadership) to try to influence the outcome of an OS event by:
-- planning specific discussion topics ahead of time.
-- preparing "presentations" (including setting up videos to review 
during the meeting), and
-- requiring any sort of "pre-work".

At the same time, we all know that "whenever it starts is the right 
time", and passionate information sharing obviously has a dynamic and 
organic life of its own.  (In this case, it looks like this info 
sharing is already eager to start....)

In light of this, we were wondering how others of you have handled 
this dynamic with your clients, especially in those instances where 
sharing and discussing a particular passion may be dependent (at 
least in part) upon reviewing specific resources (or watching an 
inspiring video).....

Thanks,
Metta and Gary