Productive groups keep a balanced sense of time. They pay attention to past, present and future throughout their conversations.
- Past is about past successes and lessons. When people are past focused, they're intersted in measuring and assessing things.
- Present is about current trends and action. When people are present focused, they're interested in discovering what's going on and doing something in response to their discoveries.
- Future is about possibility and anticipating. When people are future focused, they're interested in visioning and planning.
Groups get bogged down when they get stuck in one or two timeframes instead of sustaining a balance of all three dimensions. This balance can be created even in single conversations especially those we call meetings.
