Alice Collier Cochran

My dislike of the meeting procedures of Robert's Rules of Order began when I was in college. When serving on student government and as an officer of a sorority, I hated the overly structured, stilted and flat meetings that used Robert's Rules from the Civil War era.

When I worked at a bank in San Francisco during the early 1980's I discovered the book "How to Make Meetings Work" and the related consulting firm Interaction Associates and attended every workshop they offered. From that I developed a very inclusive quality improvement (QC) process called the Work Improvement Network (WIN) which used many of their group process methods. This was what had been missing in "Robert's Rules" and also in QC methods for group problem-solving.

After leaving the bank, I became affiliated with the firm's consultant's network and taught their programs throughout the U.S. Once a participant complained about having to use Robert's Rules in their nonprofit, due to (antiquated) bylaws. Their question "Who was Robert and why do we follow those rules, anyway?" That became my research question - and ten year later Jossey-Bass (now Wiley) published my book: Roberta's Rules of Order. My goal with the book and the companion "QuickStart Guide" (eight easy steps) is to give alternatives to "Robert" and help you to modernize your meetings.