#49 Make Time for Q&A

If you directly and indirectly lead a large number of people, set aside times for people to ask questions that you then answer.  You can have people anonymously submit questions or just ask them during the meeting.

Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks North America and Starbucks International, called the sessions he held “Open Forums.” Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS Institute, holds sessions like this that are referred to as “Java with Jim.” Vineet Nayar, former CEO of HCL, had people email him questions that he answered on his blog so everyone could see the question and his response. The founders of Google used to do this each Friday at the “TGIF” meeting by having people email questions that are then posted on Google’s intranet. Google employees would vote on the questions and Google’s founders would answer the questions that receive the most votes.

This is the forty-ninth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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