Meetings are a waste of time
"What's up for you this week Paul?" It was a Sunday evening - Mike and Paul were walking down the stairs from the movie theatre. Their wives were chatting about the movie a few steps in front of them.
"I've got the board meeting on Thursday", was Paul's reply.
Mike sighed "Yeah, aren't those meetings a waste of time!"
"I agree", said Paul, "but I'm onto a new process which is making a huge difference. Before I prepare anything for a meeting, I write down 3 things: What's my Purpose, what's the Image I want to create, and how will I keep control. This simple tool is making a huge difference."
"What do you mean by Image?" asked Mike.
"It's the touchy-feelies... the stuff that people remember. It's the overall image that influences people the most. But we have to be clear on the Purpose first. I used to think my objective in the board meeting was to survive. Avoid being shown up by that dragon. Now, frankly I'm not concerned by what she thinks. I'm on a mission and that came from a bit of coaching around Purpose." replied Paul.
Their wives were waiting beside the car and so they said their farewells.
"I'll flick you an email in the morning", said Paul.
This is what Paul's email explained:
Purpose
The purpose of any meeting, whether it's a whole board meeting, five day planning retreat, or a one to one sales meeting, is to take one small step towards the bigger objective. There is always a bigger objective and being aware of the big objective is important, but for each meeting the focus is the next small step. Achieving this small step is the purpose of the meeting.
The trap many people fall into is trying to focus on many issues at once and nobody feels like concrete progress was made. It's much more effective to ‘nail down' one small step in a meeting, than generally discuss many issues. Once we have this discipline we can segment a meeting and have a purpose for each segment.
Image
Once we are clear on our Purpose, we need to be deliberate about what image we wish to create in a meeting.
A powerful image affects people through many senses. An image is what people remember because they create a perfect relationship with the image. It's a unique relationship, perfect for them and where they are at. The most powerful images resonate with the majority, which hopefully are the more positive people in a team. Although everyone has a unique relationship with the image it is the same image guiding everyone into the future.
1. Relevant/appealing to the people who need to be influenced in order to progress the ‘cause'.
2. Aligned to the values of the organisation.
3. Aligned to the overall image of the organisation.
Control
To further a cause, however small or large, we need to maintain control. Without control, distractions will take people off their work.
A great leader maintains control whilst people feel like it is they who are in control. If they ever feel like they are being controlled, control is actually lost.
To be in control there are three disciplines a great leader must role model with regard to meetings.
1. To ‘own' the plan, be personally responsible.
2. To ask quality questions.
3. The ability to remain silent.
Each of these characteristics is a study and discipline in its own right and we should have a longer conversation about them, wrote Paul in his email.