I was reading an old Clay Shirky blog post, A Group Is Its Own Enemy.
It talks about some of the interesting characteristics of groups (in particular online communities), such as how essentially groups need some kind of government, otherwise they’ll spend all of their time talking about “enemies” or sex or how awesome their values/heroes/etc. [...]

The number one complaint is lack of focus. Lack of focus means lacking a clear agenda and defined goals, but also effectively choosing the attendees. The most effective way to hold a meeting is to stick to ONE meeting style and ONE issue.

How can wallflowers become great schmoozers? There’s a lot you can learn from great talkers. First, don’t let common myths about schmoozing stop you from being a great conversationalist.

With the right context, sometimes too many cooks make AMAZING soup.

You can divide people into four categories: makers, breakers, stones and stoppers. It’s a vaguely construction-related metaphor:

Makers – They make things happen. These are people who instinctively create, assemble or lead. Where other people see Widgets, one maker has an idea for a new iWidget. When other people see two people [...]