Brad Lancaster, Superintendent of Lake Travis Independent School District, chats about the power of using Thoughtexchange to make workshops more fulfilling. How? By letting the workshop's agenda be set by its primary stakeholders: the people attending it.

What value did you get from the exchange?

We asked this question of our district leadership team (principals, assistant principals, coordinators, directors, and assistant superintendents - about 50 people). 46 people participated by sharing 60 individual thoughts. Those thoughts resulted in 1,596 stars or ratings. Two things happened as a result of this exchange. First, the group confirmed much of what the senior staff had already included in our agenda for this two day event. Second, the participants suggested several topics that the senior staff had not included. Following the exchange, we had a much more robust agenda that had buy-in from the whole group. Plus, this was their first exposure to the Thoughtexchange process - and they loved it!

What advice do you have for other people asking this question?

This question was a great way to introduce the Thoughtexchange software and process to our district leadership team. We genuinely wanted feedback for our agenda and this exchange was a great vehicle for that. When using Thoughtexchange for the first time, start with your leadership group to get them involved in the process.