Before developing the agenda at all, I work with as many people in the group as I can access in order to get a solid grasp on the goals/intentions for the meeting. Often the agenda gets disrupted because there are divergent intentions in the room, and not enough space provided for alignment work. So getting clear on the shared intentions (often called goals) and places (or hot spots, turbulence, bumps, landmines, or other explosive words depending on the setting) where we can expect discussion will be needed for alignment.
