Another Meeting!?!?!?!?!

Meetings can be an important communication tool for a business.  They allow us to make sure groups of people are on the same page and can improve our communication and decision making (“two heads are better than one!”). 

They are easy to mismanage, though, and have the potential to create a total time suck if we don’t manage them.  Even when the meeting is outside the realm of business - such as with a peer group, a bad meeting can leave us feeling unfulfilled. There are some simple ways we can make sure to control our meetings instead of them controlling us.

1.       Before the Meeting

• Why are we having it?

  • Meeting Organizers - Communicate and be clear on the purpose of the meeting.

  • Meeting Attendees – Make sure you know why you are invited to the meeting and what its purpose is.

• What is expected from everyone?  There are three basic types of meetings.  Let people know what kind they are attending.

  • Decision Making – By the end we have to make a decision on something.

  • Information Sharing – Primary purpose communication and bringing everyone on the same page.

  • Brainstorming – Working session to come up with ideas or solutions.

• Don’t start the meeting cold.  Make sure attendees have enough information about the topic and background so they have time to think about things before the meeting starts.  This reduces the amount of “thinking” time and increase the amount of “productive” time.

2.       During the Meeting

• Start on Time and End on Time.  And allocate the right amount for the purpose (all meetings don’t need to be an hour just because that is your default setting in Outlook….).  Shorter is better.

• Keep the meeting on task.  Don’t let tangents get in the way.

3.       After the Meeting

• Make sure everyone understands the next steps and responsibilities when the meeting ends.

• Summarize your take-a-ways after every meeting.  Take 30 seconds right after the meeting ends, no more and no less, and write down the most important points.  You will always make sure to walk away with something from each meeting.

“You will never see eye-to-eye if you never meet face-to-face.” – Warren Buffett

“Time is really the only capital that any human being has and the thing that he can least afford to waste or lose.” – Thomas Edison

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No But's About It!

I hate “buts”.  They are argumentative and negate everything said before them.  Typically a “but” follows a more positive statement and signals disagreement, opposition, criticism or other negative language.  This adds negativity to a conversation and can position you as an opponent instead of a colleague.  Additionally, it sends a message that the more positive language was just intended as “pillows” put around the conversation instead of telling it straight out.  Both of these do not promote clear and concise communications, which is always the goal.

There are times, though, that you have to voice a disagreement or objection.  Let’s explore two better ways to do that than a “but”:

1. Instead of being an opponent, be a collaborator by using the phrase “yes, and…” (or similar) instead of the “but”. This validates what the other person said and is perceived as adding to it instead of taking away from it. For example: “Good point, but I think we should call the customer and discuss options with them.” versus “Yes, that is a good point, and I think we should call the customer and discuss options with them.” See the difference?

2. Just eliminate the “but”. See the difference in how these two ways of saying the same thing sound: “I can do the creative for this campaign, but I’ll need more time.” versus “I can do the creative for this campaign. I’ll have it to you in a week.” Which is a more positive conversation to you?

“Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out.”  – Anon.

“I have enjoyed life a lot more by saying ‘yes’ than by saying ‘no’.” – Richard Branson

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Just The Facts, Jack!

My favorite term is T.B.U. – True, But Useless.  Basically, this means that while what you are saying might be a true statement, it has nothing to do with answering the question or solving the problem.  For example, if I ask if you have any food in the refrigerator, and you say I eat lunch every day in the office.  That may be true, but does not answer my question.  True… But Useless.  It is important to stay focused when communicating and solving problems together.  Saves time and energy.

I’ll take this one step further.  When we are dealing with situations it is common to get into these “battles” about how the issue occurred, who did what, who was right (and therefore who was wrong), who remembers what, etc.  Often, these topics take more of our mindshare than what we need to fix the problem.  Because this type of dialog can be more personal, we end up being more emotional and animated.  In other words, we create drama (remember: drama bad….no drama good).  And, all these topics….T.B.U!

There are only two things to focus on to stay on track:

1.       Fix It – what do we need to know to take care of the immediate problem.

2.       Prevent It – what do we need to know to prevent the problem from happening again.

Stay out of who did, said, forgot what and who was right/wrong.  We have enough stress outside our control; don’t choose to add to it. 

Also, keep issues separate, and “eat the elephant one bite at a time.”  When working on solving a problem, address one issue at a time to keep things as clear and simple as possible.  When you start throwing everything on the table at once, it becomes confusing and it is harder to figure out what is TBU and what isn’t. 

General Barnicke: Where have you been soldier?    John Winger: Training, sir.    Soldiers: Training, sir. 

General Barnicke: What kind of training?    John Winger: Arrrmy training, sir.    Soldiers: Army training, sir.

General Barnicke: Where is your drill sergeant, men?    John Winger: Blown up, sir!    Soldiers: Blown up, sir!

General Barnicke: Are you telling me that you men finished your training on your own?    John Winger: That's the fact, Jack.   Soldiers: That's the fact, Jack.

-          From the movie Stripes (1981)

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