Our region motto for the summer is "Expect the best; prepare for the worst" and it seems to be working. I anticipated a major firestorm during the meeting, but the motto set at the start really helped to focus our attention on strategies for survival and success. Only a moderate amount of time and energy was spent bemoaning the past and setting up the future for failure.

I thought having a motto for this planning period was kind of hokey. When our fearless leader presented it to the group, I wrote it on the whiteboard. And each of the strategies for the interim were listed underneath as they were discussed.

Maybe our supervisors are more visual than auditory and these parallel written notes helped focus and impress upon them what they should understand and remember.

In any event, it worked to keep the meeting on an even keel (upbeat was not in the cards). Will try it again next time, as a way of reinforcing and emphasizing the manager's points.