Peer discussion groups 12:50–1:45 PM
Table host guide
For everyone hosting a peer discussion group: how the hour goes, a few things that help, and the questions for your table.
For every host
Roughly how it goes
This is a peer group, not a workshop. You are one of the group. Ask the question, join in, and let the conversation go where it wants to.
Names, what people do, and what brought them to this table.
The question for your topic, and wherever it leads.
Everyone says one thing they are going to do.
A few things that help
- Answer your own question first, and be honest. People match the level you set.
- When someone is talking, let them finish the thought. Silence is fine.
- If one person has been quiet for a while, ask them what they think.
- If someone starts pitching, ask them a question about someone else.
- You do not need to solve anything. The best answers come from the person sitting two chairs away.
Ten tables, seven topics
Find your table
- Table 1 A.I. & automation Using A.I. without losing what makes you worth paying for Hosted by Royce Sin
- Table 2 Faith & values Holding your values when money is tight Hosted by Philip Varghese
- Table 3 Sales & revenue growth Selling when customers are holding on to their money Hosted by Jason Pohl
- Table 4 Finances & resource management Prices, cash and getting paid Hosted by Ivan Chen
- Table 5 Leadership & team culture Handing work off, and dealing with people who are not pulling their weight Hosted by Dan Schmidt
- Table 6 Faith & values Holding your values when money is tight Hosted by Tim Barton
- Table 7 Resilience Being tired, and leading anyway Hosted by Richard Taylor
- Table 8 Resilience Being tired, and leading anyway Hosted by Jonathan Lo
- Table 9 Leadership & team culture Handing work off, and dealing with people who are not pulling their weight Hosted by Chris Wiebe
- Table 10 Open networking No set topic — this table is for meeting people No host
Tables 8 and 10 are the other way round in the printed PDF. This list is the current one.
Table 1 Royce Sin
A.I. & automation
Using A.I. without losing what makes you worth paying for
Who is here: Anyone using A.I., avoiding it, or unsure what it means for their work.
Open with this
“How is your experience with A.I. so far? Are you using it? Are you overwhelmed by it? Is it saving you time or just adding noise?”
Answer it yourself first, briefly and honestly, then let people take it wherever they want. When something lands, stay on it. When someone describes a problem, ask the table who has been through it.
If it goes quiet
- What have you tried that did not work?
- What does your team think about it?
- Has a customer ever asked why they should pay you when A.I. is free? What did you say?
- What would you never let a computer do?
- “Tell us about a time technology changed how your work gets done. What got better, and what got worse?”
Somewhere before the end
“When a computer takes over a job, what happens to the person who used to do it?”
And in the last five minutes, go round: one thing each person is going to do. Yours too.
For example: One admin task you will try to automate this month
Table 2 Philip Varghese Table 6 Tim Barton
Faith & values
Holding your values when money is tight
Who is here: Anyone weighing up what is right against what the business needs.
Open with this
“Has anything come up lately where the right thing to do and the profitable thing to do were not the same? How did you decide?”
Answer it yourself first, briefly and honestly, then let people take it wherever they want. When something lands, stay on it. When someone describes a problem, ask the table who has been through it.
If it goes quiet
- What did it cost you, and would you do it again?
- Who else was affected by that decision?
- Has anyone here made the other choice? How did that go?
- What do you do when giving and payroll are pulling against each other?
- “Tell us about a time doing the right thing cost you money. What did you do?”
Somewhere before the end
“Who outside your company is better off because your business exists?”
And in the last five minutes, go round: one thing each person is going to do. Yours too.
For example: One concrete way your company can serve your team or your community
Table 3 Jason Pohl
Sales & revenue growth
Selling when customers are holding on to their money
Who is here: Owners and sales people dealing with slow, careful buyers.
Open with this
“How is selling going right now? Are people buying? Is anything stuck? Are you getting pushed on price?”
Answer it yourself first, briefly and honestly, then let people take it wherever they want. When something lands, stay on it. When someone describes a problem, ask the table who has been through it.
If it goes quiet
- What do you think the customer was really worried about?
- What did you say, and what do you wish you had said?
- Has anyone here held their price and still won the job? How?
- What are you hearing from customers right now?
- “Tell us about a deal you lost, or nearly lost, because of price. What happened?”
Somewhere before the end
“Who is better off because your customer bought from you?”
And in the last five minutes, go round: one thing each person is going to do. Yours too.
For example: One change to how you quote or pitch
Table 4 Ivan Chen
Finances & resource management
Prices, cash and getting paid
Who is here: Anyone dealing with rising costs, thin margins or customers who pay late.
Open with this
“How is the money side going? Is cash tight? Are your prices where they should be? Is anyone paying you late?”
Answer it yourself first, briefly and honestly, then let people take it wherever they want. When something lands, stay on it. When someone describes a problem, ask the table who has been through it.
If it goes quiet
- Who did you talk to about it?
- What did you cut, and did it help?
- When did you last put your prices up, and what happened?
- What do you keep an eye on now that you did not before?
- “Tell us about the tightest month you have had. How did you get through it?”
Somewhere before the end
“When money is tight, who feels it first, and how do you look after them?”
And in the last five minutes, go round: one thing each person is going to do. Yours too.
For example: One number you will look at as soon as you are back at work
Table 5 Dan Schmidt Table 9 Chris Wiebe
Leadership & team culture
Handing work off, and dealing with people who are not pulling their weight
Who is here: Owners and managers doing too much themselves, or finding it hard to hold people to their job.
Open with this
“How is it going with your team right now? Is there someone you need to talk to and keep putting it off? Are you still doing jobs you meant to hand over?”
Answer it yourself first, briefly and honestly, then let people take it wherever they want. When something lands, stay on it. When someone describes a problem, ask the table who has been through it.
If it goes quiet
- What did you notice early that you told yourself was fine?
- What did the rest of the team do while this was going on?
- Has anyone here dealt with this? What did you do?
- What would you do differently next time?
- “Tell us about someone you kept on too long. What was going on, and how did it end?”
Somewhere before the end
“Who on your team feels the effect of how you handle this?”
And in the last five minutes, go round: one thing each person is going to do. Yours too.
For example: One hard conversation or hand-off you will do next week
Table 7 Richard Taylor Table 8 Jonathan Lo
Resilience
Being tired, and leading anyway
Who is here: Owners and managers who are worn out.
Open with this
“How are you doing, really? Are you tired? Are you sleeping? What is taking the most out of you right now?”
Answer it yourself first, briefly and honestly, then let people take it wherever they want. When something lands, stay on it. When someone describes a problem, ask the table who has been through it.
If it goes quiet
- Looking back, what were the warning signs?
- What did you stop doing, and what happened?
- What has actually helped?
- How are you doing today?
- “Tell us about a time you were running on empty. What did it look like, and who noticed first?”
Somewhere before the end
“Who else pays the price when you are running on empty?”
And in the last five minutes, go round: one thing each person is going to do. Yours too.
For example: One boundary you will put in place this week
Table 10 No host
Open networking
No set topic — this table is for meeting people
People come to this table to meet someone new. Make the introductions happen.
How the hour runs
Introduce. Each person: name, what your business does, and what would make today worth it for them. 60 seconds each.
Connect. Work out who at this table can help who, and say it out loud: “You two should talk, because…”
Commit. Everyone trades contact details with at least one person and names one follow-up.
Questions to use
- What is the biggest, hairiest challenge on your desk right now?
- What kind of customer are you looking for? Be specific.
- Who in this room should you meet before you leave today?
- What do you know a lot about that others here could use?
- What would you do differently if you started over?
Watch for
- Someone sitting quiet. Ask them a direct question.
- Someone pitching hard. Ask them a question about the other person instead.