Plan your planning meetings

Give yourself at least three hours for the meeting, and don't expect to get through this in one session unless you're a very small program. It's not just about getting through the business; it's about bringing everybody along and feeling comfortable with the process. Some will want to move faster than others.

In this schema, planning consists of five major sections:

1. Get people on the same page
2. Basic business planning
3. Plan staffing
4. Plan delivery
5. Make program management decisions

Together these points will probably make up most of your business plan. You might be unable to follow this order exactly because later items will make you make you review what you thought on earlier items.

The team needs to plan a follow-up meeting for later on, preferably in one or two weeks, and at most a month.

Appoint members of a Management Committee, and appoint a chairperson and minutes secretary. Keep good notes or minutes, and make sure at least all key staff get a copy.