Purchasing Coach: Advent Window 2: Walking Meeting

25 unconventional coaching and facilitation tools to surprise and delight

Window 2: Walking Meeting 

Level of unconventionalness out of 10 = 1 (I'm starting with the less unconventional to wean you in gently)

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Process:

• Instead of sitting in a meeting room get up and go for a walk - inside the building, around a museum, outside in nature, outside in the city, or even in the gym on treadmills next to each other!
• Tip: I bought some A5 white boards with pen attached that groups could make any notes of actions as they walked along. I'm sure a phone app or two would also facilitate this.

You may want to wrap up warmly if you're going during the colder months - it's also best not to spring it on someone unexpectedly as comfortable footwear and warm coat are often a necessity. 

There's a video blog of a walking meeting we did in Warsaw where we explored use of walking meetings during a category management workshop.

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Benefits: The same as any meeting - with the added benefit of getting some steps and fresh air in. It also seems easier to get everyone involved (lack of eye contact, and facing in the same direction seems to encourage the less vocal attendees to get involved and/or ask questions etc.) It's also great for topics that could involve some defensiveness as it's often minimised when walking, or at least managed more easily (perhaps because silence whilst walking, as we think about things, isn't as uncomfortable as when sitting face to face). 

Uses: To replace any meeting where discussion, rather than presentation, is ideal. To shift the mindset of those attending the meeting. To solve problems or identify a wider range of solutions (moving our body helps to do this, so too the input from new surroundings).   

Participants: Great for groups of 2-4. Larger groups may need to be split up into smaller groups.

Do let me know how you get on. 

No peeking at Window no 3.

Alison Smith

Unlocking procurement potential - using conventional and unconventional tools
Procurement and Business Speaker, Coach, Trainer, & Facilitator
alison@alisonsmith.eu +44 (0)7770 538159

Earlier in the year I applied some of the unconventional tools shared in this series of advent posts to common procurement challenges - more here.

NB: Conventional thinking can simply give us more of what we've already got - which is great if you're happy with the current situation otherwise you might just be surprised with where a little unconventional thinking will take you.