VIDEO 1: The Structure Game

The Questions that Guide Smart Structure

Designing organizational structures is ultimately and expression of how power and people are arranged. In this video we explore the most important questions that guide the creation of any intelligent structure.

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The Structure Game Guide

Defining Roles Example

VIDEO 2: Who’s On First?

Getting Clear on the Ground Rules of the Structure Game

Words like “authority,” “accountability,” and “responsibility” are often conflated and used interchangeably. But understanding their distinction is critical to understanding how to design structures that work better. In this video we explore the underlying principles and ground rules of structure.

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Rules of Structure Guide

VIDEO 3: Creating Swim Lanes

Introducing the R.A.C.I. Chart to Organize Authority

Often the biggest problems between people are not personality conflicts or ill will, but rather poorly differentiated swim lanes. In this video, we look at a very simple tool designed to help create clear lanes of authority.

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RACI Chart BLANK

RACI Chart SAMPLE

VIDEO 4: R.A.C.I. Done Right

How to Change Power Dynamics More Easily

It’s one thing to articulate and design a new structure but something very different to actually implement that new structure. Remember you are playing with power and people’s sense of agency when you mess with structure. This video introduces the best way to have these conversations

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VIDEO 5: Engaging Meetings

The Principles That Make Meetings Work

Meetings are the operating room to surgeons, the playing field to athletes. This is where the actual work happens, and yet most people dislike meetings and feel they take away from work. In this video we begin the path of designing more engaging and effective meetings.

Audio Download  Better Meetings FULL Guidebook

VIDEO 6: Parking Lot, Monkeys, & Tensions

The 3 Key Elements You Search for in Meetings

When you know exactly what you’re searching for it’s a lot easier to find. Meetings that lack a clear direction are often caused by not knowing what to look for or how to capture it. In this video we focus on the three elements every meeting should be revealing for greater efficiency and accountability.

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VIDEO 7: Leader, Monkey Handler, Hourglass

The 3 Most Important Roles in Meetings

Meetings can drag on or be really meandering when you don’t make use of a couple of key roles. Very few people know about this, but when you create these roles in a meeting, everything starts to change for the better. In this video we introduce and describe 3 key roles every tactical meeting should have.

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VIDEO 8: Real Time Agendas

Running A Smart Tactical Meeting

Most meetings become mushy because the leader doesn’t create clear stages and gates along the way. In this video, we show you exactly what format will get you the best results in a meeting.

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VIDEO 9: Troubleshooting Meetings

When Things Still Aren’t Working Right

When things go wrong in a meeting, it’s often tricky to know what needs to be done about it. In this video, we explore a few simple troubleshooting tricks that can make your meetings run even better.

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VIDEO 10: Offer and Ask

The Hidden Dynamics of Negotiating Agreements

Alignment between diverse people is one of the toughest things to achieve. Forming agreements is one of the best ways to create this. In this video, we explore the subtle dynamics of making requests and offers so that you can wisely manage expectations.

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The Pencil Process FULL Guidebook

VIDEO 11: The Pencil Process

How to Form Better Agreements

Some agreements are highly informal or even unspoken, others are legally binding documents. But there has to be space for something in between if we are ever going to get people moving in the same direction. In this video, we introduce the “Pencil Agreement Process” to solve that problem and clean up differences between people.

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The Pencil Process Form BLANK

VIDEO 12: Power Imbalance

How to Run the Pencil Process in a Team

Forming agreements between equal partners is one thing, but the game changes when you do it between a leader and her team. In this video, we explore the best way to honor the power imbalance in a team while still using the “Pencil Process.”

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VIDEO 13: The Zipper Conversation

The 6 Coaching Questions to Create Alignment

When it comes to manager and direct report, misunderstanding and misalignment is often the rule rather than the exception. In this video, I introduce the “Zipper Conversation” — 6 simple questions to ask any direct report in order to achieve maximum alignment and impact.

Audio Download  The Zipper Conversation Guide