meeting agenda room
facilitator: "welcome to the meeting on how to hold a meeting to decide how to set an agenda for rebel worker 2's planning meetings."
meeting-goers: "yay!"
facilitator: "our first order of business is to set an agenda"
facilitator opens up a display board and stands next to it ready to add to it
facilitator (gesturing to empty display board): "our agenda for this meeting on how to hold a meeting to decide how to set an agenda for rebel worker 2's planning meetings, is wide open"
facilitator: "does anybody have any ideas what to add?"
crowd noise as people consider
somebody raises a hand
facilitator: "yes?"
hand-raiser: "let's discuss what to put on the agenda!"
facilitator looks at hand-raiser
neighbor to hand-raiser: "we really deliberated about this one a lot, i think it's what we should do"
hand-raiser nods assertively
facilitator (irritated): "that is what we are doing right now already." facilitator (calming): "but maybe we should do it the whole meeting, or set a time limit for it ... !" facilitator puts "discuss what should go on this very agenda" on the agenda for the meeting on how to hold a meeting to decide how to set an agenda for rebel worker 2's planning meetings. facilitator: "or did you mean rebel worker 2's agenda?" hand-raiser looks satisfied hand-raiser's neighbor: "no, this agenda! it's really, really, really, really hard to think about agendas. we need to remember it's what we're doing." hand-raiser's neighbor holds their arms out wide hand-raiser's neighbor: "and maybe just realizing we're doing that is a big enough accomplishment for a meeting!" facilitator looks at hand-raiser's neighbor, who exchanges eye contact with hand-raiser. agreement and frustration murmer through the crowd. a second person raises their hand.