And you know what else...

There are times when it's important to gather all possibilities, discuss all the options and make sure that we are not overlooking a single thing.

But there are times when we get seduced by the habit of considering "what else?" We ask, "Okay, what are we missing here? Is there something that we are overlooking?" But that can really take you down a rabbit hole.

I see this a lot when facilitating sessions. People want to pile on. They bring anything and everything to the table. Whatever is on their mind in case it might be relevant. "Oh, and maybe we should think about...."

ONE THING I remember about grading essays at uni was how often a specific question that required a response would turn into the writer telling me everything they knew about the general topic.

Now we don't want to close down possibilities. Nor do we want to encourage long and winding side tracks. We just don't have the time. So get those unrelated ideas parked somewhere for another time, and do that early. You can circle back to them if needed.

It comes down to whether we have set up a clear outcome or, my preference, a focus on answering a specific question. Have we reminded people about that focus or question - often? Then, it can be good to consider, "Is there anything more important than what we have discussed that needs to be included to answer the question?"

After a while, stop asking for more suggestions, ask for more important ones, and why? It's lazy thinking to just suggest whatever is front of mind.