The OCD of Discussions

Nothing wastes time like unproductive discussion. The idea of an unproductive discussion borders on redundancy because so many are.

Discussions are OCD experiences. Time is wasted in the endless banter of opinions, complaints and digressions. We call in all kinds of interesting and frustrating circles and tangents, arguments and distractions. It divides the group into people who love to hear themselves talk and people who want to be anywhere else.

Discussions do not result in deliverables. They typically result in somebody having to go off and do the real work now that we've wasted everyone's time or we reschedule to have more pointless discussions in the insane hopes that more of the same will produce different results.

The opposite is a work session. These feature questions, planning and decisions. These keep converations focused, engaging and productive. This is new for most people, so they have to be exposed to it in order to become contributors, When people bring in opinions, complaints and digression, we do what we can to reframe them into work session relevance. 

The difference is in the design of the process. It is actually simpler to have a working conversation and infinitely more satisfying.

The functional alternative to (dysfunctional) discussions

One of the most salient, unique and powerful aspects of he agile canvas process is how things get done and move forward because the quality of our conversations is more about work than discussion. Discussion is classically the process of bantering opinions about a topic, sometimes punctuated with questions that might or might not be taken seriously and that might or might not be good questions.

The work we do in the canvas process is clearly not discussion. It is co-creation. Together we create the future we want to see possible, questions that will lead us there and the momentum and progress that engages our gifts. Everything is written and shared, everything builds together and everything decided is based on reality and not assumption based or predictive opinions.

The more groups get used to the process the more intolerant they become of circular and useless discussions. They become accustomed rather to the engagement and productivity of a process that is by design a process of co-creation.