I thought we were talking about …”Fill in the Blank”. How did we wind up talking about pink hearts, green clovers, and purple horseshoes? It is inevitable. We sit in meetings and as they progress somehow they get further and further from the original topic. Your discussion has gone completely off topic and it is definitely no longer related to decisions that need to be made in the meeting.

So what do you do? You are the facilitator of the meeting and you don’t want to offend anyone or stifle creativity. Here is your life saver, the Parking Lot. That’s right, you did not misread anything. My recommendation is to take that person out to the Parking Lot and well… be creative. No, seriously the Parking Lot and meetings go hand in hand. The Parking Lot ultimately increases meeting productivity and generates a launch pad for future decisions.

So What Exactly is the Parking Lot?
The Meeting Parking Lot:

1. is a visible reminder, a flip chart or designated white board space in your meeting area labeled “Parking Lot”.
2. It is a temporary holding area for ideas or suggestions that are not directly on-topic with the issues facing a group during a meeting. These ideas essentially get “parked” for future discussion.
3. It helps keep things focused and moving forward.
4. For the team members, it is a visible reminder that his or her idea will not be discounted and could form the basis for a follow-up agenda or discussion point.

And How Do You Use It?

1. Before your meeting prep an area in the meeting room designated for the Parking Lot. You can use the white board, flip chart or projector. Call the area or page out and label it “Parking Lot”.
2. As a part of the introduction for the meeting introduce the concept of the Parking Lot. Explain that when an idea is submitted and the team agrees it’s worthy of discussion, but not at this time the idea will be “parked” or written down in the designated area labeled “Parking Lot” for later discussion.
3. Also explain and encourage that team members can self-park if they know in advance that a contribution will be parked. This will help keep the meeting and discussion moving forward with less tangents and interruptions.
4. By explaining the Parking Lot with your team members at the beginning of your meeting you have established ground rules that everyone can follow as you move through your discussion. Good ideas will not be lost and team members will feel much better about their contributions knowing that their ideas are accounted for.
5. At the conclusion of the meeting, review the Parking Lot items. Some may have been resolved during the normal course of the meeting. Others may not. Survey the group for those Parking Lot items that should be discussed and schedule them as a part of your next meeting.

As you can see the Parking Lot is a very useful tool for keeping meetings on track and avoiding the “Luck Charms Scenario”. Using the Parking Lot during your meeting will create an environment that is prepared for great ideas during the meeting, but just not appropriate for the current discussion. It will foster excellent ideas for future discussions and it will ultimately make you job as the facilitator that much easier.