#March 11 Meeting

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Today contribution to the 30-Day Letter Writing Coach4aday Challenge is on how to define a MEETING.

The challenge involves composing a letter to yourself when you were an earlier age. The goal is to focus on a value, habit, or choice that needs to be adopted or made.

The letter today is an expression of gratitude to a mentor who taught me a lot including how to accurately define and conduct a meeting.

Day 11 Letter-Organizing an Agenda

August 1977

Dear 24-Year-Old Dan:

Well, this month you will begin a relationship with a university that will span over 5 decades. In that time, you will become mentored, influenced, and motivated to grow as a leader. Influential people will take time to model and teach you techniques about coaching, teaching, and how to treat others. All of this will take place at UNC Pembroke but when you get started it will be known as Pembroke State University.

When you reflect on the beginning of your career at Pembroke you can’t help but focus on the influence Dr. Raymond Pennington will have on you.

He will do much for you and your family, but one specific organizational practice will stay with you forever.

Ray will show you how to organize and define a meeting. Creating an agenda and following Roberts Rule of Order will be concepts that you aren’t well versed in but his consistency and commitment to both will rub off on you. You soon will understand when you are chairing a meeting if someone deviates from the agenda its your leadership responsibility to focus on the agenda. A meeting is not the place for pontificators. Dr. P will be reminding you early and often that there should be a compelling reason to bring people together. Finally, the biggest takeaway will be Ray’s fantastic definition of what is and what isn’t a meeting.

“If it last more than 60 minutes you can call it a workshop, a retreat, a conference, a symposium, but you cannot call it a meeting”.

Best wishes

Grown Up Dan