Nigel Ring on December 10th, 2010

PS = pre-script!
Before continuing my series I encourage you to look at the following YouTube video. Fascinating and challenging about the change in economies and life expectancy in 200 countries over the last 200 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo&feature=player_embedded#!
Implementation
So far I have shared with you my approach to event planning - I will develop a series in the New [...]

Continue reading about Planning and Implemention pt 8 - Implementation

Nigel Ring on December 1st, 2010

Continuing the series on Planning we will now look at creating timelines.
Timelines
A timeline is a critical ‘driver’ in achieving the end goal. Like a map it provides a constant reference against which progress towards a target can be measured at any point in the journey. It is a monitoring tool. And so it is worth [...]

Continue reading about Planning and Implementation - Pt 7 - Creating a timeline

Nigel Ring on November 10th, 2010

The illustration I used in the last brainstorm related to this series of blogs about Planning. However, since this does not illustrate planning an event I will first show you how to ‘clean up’ this brainstorm and then revert to a different example to show the importance of a timeline for event planning.
Ordering the results [...]

Continue reading about Planning and Implementation - Pt 6 - Ordering your thoughts

Brainstorming and Gathering Ideas
It is important when beginning to plan to have some creative ‘out of the box’ thinking, and to get an overview of the ultimate goal and process to achieve it, before becoming too detailed and specific. It is rare that the first thoughts that come to mind are the best! So [...]

Continue reading about Planning and Implementation - Pt 5 - Brainstorming and Gathering Ideas

Strategic Decisions
When beginning to plan there may be some key ‘in principle’ decisions to make, decisions that will be strategic, and will affect how a plan is implemented and what the final outcome will look like. What do I mean by ‘strategic’?
For me strategic decisions are those that have added value or affect the quality [...]

Continue reading about Planning and Implementation - Pt 4 - Strategic Decisions and sharing Vision

Nigel Ring on October 19th, 2010

Where do we start?
The starting point of any planning exercise must be the finishing point! Where are you aiming to go and how are you going to get there?
Planning is about taking a journey with many stages. It is no good just leaving your starting point ‘on a whim’ and hoping you will go somewhere [...]

Continue reading about Planning and Implementation - pt 3 - Goal setting

Nigel Ring on October 13th, 2010

As I teach on planning I address two basic questions. One is ‘Why plan?’ The other may not be openly expressed but is often close to the surface: ‘Is planning just adopting the world’s methods?’
1. Why plan?
In my introductory blog I shared on this topic and will enlarge on it further in subsequent postings. Put [...]

Continue reading about Planning and Implementation - pt 2 - some basic questions

Nigel Ring on May 28th, 2010

The Importance of Minutes
The lack of adequate minutes can lead to frustration and inefficiency. ‘Minutes’ may seem a bit formal but notes of some sort are not negotiable - a ‘must’ from every meeting if the full benefit of the meeting is to be realised.
The detail included in these notes can vary – there is [...]

Continue reading about Effective Meetings pt 7 – Taking minutes

Skill
Chairing meetings is a skill; effective chairing is measured both by the outcomes of a meeting and the fulfilment of those attending. What I shall share here is for the more formal type of meeting and will need to be interpreted appropriately into different settings.
Who should chair a meeting?
Often the ‘senior’ person assumes he or [...]

Continue reading about Effective Meetings pt 6 – The importance of good Chairing

Nigel Ring on May 17th, 2010

International eNews
Before continuing this series on Effective Meetings, and looking at Agendas, I want to commend the International eNews of Newfrontiers. Through this you can receive a monthly update of news around the world (see extract from the current one below) and have food for prayer for yourself or the church. To subscribe Click here>>

Agendas
To [...]

Continue reading about Effective Meetings pt 5 – Agendas. A practical example