How to make the most of your planning sessions with 3W
Once you’ve crossed the Rubicon, having committed to planning your project with 3W, you will probably experience a myriad of emotions and your thinking will flood with questions. Before you meet with us, the sessions ahead may seem like a bit of a mystery.
3W is here to help you think about your approach to working with us. As you squeeze your sessions into your regular work day or before you pick your kids up, we offer some guidelines for navigating the process and ultimately bringing your project to a successful conclusion.
First: think about what you want. Write it down.
Dream out. We have included a starter planning kit to help you get ideas down on paper. Just imagine how you’d like your project to look five years from now. Sensible is OK—but we encourage you to come from a place of daring and inspiration. Look to the horizon for anything that might be possible.
Journal your dreams for the future. If journaling is new to you, you will be surprised by what rolls out of your unconscious when you start writing. You will feel less stressed by releasing pent-up feelings and feel accomplished because you will begin to find your focus. The words will start to flow.
Take Your Time.
When you begin with 3W, you will become part of a collaborative team. You will teach us what you want, and we will teach you how to get what you want. We will ask you to do a lot of imagining. If you need help in that department, we will give you exercises that open the door for your ideas to emerge. We cannot tell you what to do but we can lead you to see what you want to do. We are guides who hold up the lantern and say, “Look over here, not there.”
Stay focused on why you secured our help.
You may come to a few sessions where you want to rant, feeling upset because you are in the midst of a journey that seems endless. You may have difficulty processing information or figuring out how to articulate a complicated solution. You may have moments of feeling vulnerable, unsure of yourself.
These are the times when you learn about yourself, and that learning will accompany you into work situations as you build your project. You will be able to empathize with the experiences of your colleagues and others who are also providing or receiving the benefits of your project, which will deepen your understanding of why you have undertaken the project in the first place. You will know what they need because you’ve been there yourself. It’s all part of creating something important. There are times along the way when it just ain’t easy.
What to think about during a 3W session:
There’s no golden rule. Your thoughts and feelings will vary as we work together. Please call time-out if you need a moment to re-set. Please always say what you need and speak to what you are experiencing in the moment. We are old hands at this process and can flow with whatever comes up.
So, take stock of where you are at as we problem-solve. We are sounding boards for each other. We can switch gears whenever it’s necessary. The best communication is honest communication. Remember, however, that we in 3W are people too. Please be sensitive in your delivery.
What to think after your 3W session:
Please reflect on your sessions — what is working and what isn’t. This is a slow, thoughtful process if you are going to get it right, so be patient. Be willing to try new ways of doing things. Everything 3W suggests is to make something better or easier. Some things will work, and some things won’t. Be willing to share your questions.
Remember, this is a learning situation for you. 3W wants you to leave fully confident you can carry your project to completion because you know how.