If you are serious about improving your meetings, here are three ideas that you can try alone or in combination today: Establish Clear Objectives In planning your next meeting, use a 3×5 note card. You need to be able to write the objectives on one side of the card using 3 – 5 bullets. Use verb-noun pairs to ensure the focus is on results. Involve Everyone in the Effort A meeting involves a group of people, right? Well, successful meetings are a group effort. Here is a method to get your team more involved in that effort.
I am sure there are more good reasons to call a meeting than poor reasons. However, I think I have been to more meetings that happened for poor reasons. These include: We always meet on the 4th Tuesday of the month or first thing Monday mornings (meeting because it is time) We haven’t had a meeting in a long time (meeting because it is time) The boss formed this team so I guess we better have a meeting (meeting because we were told to) We need to tell people what is going on (meeting as a substitute for written communication) We need a meeting to figure out what we should do at our meeting (meeting as an alternative to doing the homework of planning and/or analysis) We need a meeting so people will feel they were heard and believe they had a say (meeting as manipulation) We need to meet or this just won’t get done (meeting as an alternative to self-discipline and accountability) Note: This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t meet if the above are true, it just means these are not reasons in themselves for having a meeting.
Wondering when it makes sense to call a meeting? Here are some excellent reasons: You need to leverage multiple perspectives and varied expertise in order to understand a situation or sequence of events, identify alternatives, make a decision, uncover risks, assess consequences, etc. You need to quickly compare plans before everyone runs off in opposite directions as a means of clarifying priorities, communicating last minute changes, and minimizing resource conflicts You want everyone to have the opportunity to hear the same message, particularly when part of that message will be delivered through hard-to-predict Q&A It is important for everyone to hear the message at exactly the same time
Ever been left with a bitter taste in your mouth despite receiving a great product? Ever felt the anxiety build as a supplier provides you with a steady stream of reasons to be worried about your order? Ever been left on hold for 5 minutes just to learn that the person able to answer your question is out? We are all customers and we know what we hate. But do we know what it is like to be our own customer? A great product isn’t good enough if the effort needed to obtain that product is painful. A great service will disappoint if even more was expected. A question without a quick, complete answer will send a customer looking elsewhere. What are your customers experiencing?
Are you “doing it for ISO”? Do you spruce up your documents, records, processes and memories just before the quality auditor visits? Do you have documents that are rarely used in the interim? Do employees complain about wasted effort or grin and bear it when the quality management topic is raised? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, your quality management system is wasting your time, energy and money. Whether you are certified to ISO 9001, AS 9100 or any of several similar quality standards, you don’t want to be “doing it for ISO”.
If you are looking for permission to cancel a meeting, consider it granted! If you aren’t looking for permission to cancel a meeting, let’s hope it means: The purpose is clear A plan for achieving the purpose exists The attendees will focus on the purpose and stick to the plan You will fight to retain the good meetings. Why? Because good meetings are essential! And, good meetings are a joy to attend! Afraid to cancel? Or worried that cancelling one will lead to cancelling them all because none of your meetings really have a purpose, a plan, and attendees who can focus on the purpose and follow the plan?
You tell them over and over again, but they don’t seem to get it. They don’t get it, so you don’t trust them. You don’t trust them, so you don’t give them more responsibility. You have to do things yourself. Plus, you have to keep them under control. How will you ever make real progress? You won’t. Not alone. You need their help. All of them. But first, they need your help. Read the first sentence of this article again. See how much trouble is caused just because they don’t seem to get it? But that isn’t the root cause – their inability to get it. It all starts with the telling. Have you really done what you can to help them understand what you are trying to tell them?
Change Management, Process Improvement, New Directions – call it what you wish, but avoid these common mistakes: 1. Fanfare “Here we go again.” “Another program to weather.” “This too shall pass!” Sound familiar? All too often organizations announce big changes and new programs with big events and fanfare, but then very little actually happens. The initial energy and enthusiasm fades, specific changes are never identified let alone implemented, results aren’t realized, managers don’t adjust, or maybe something even better comes along leading to a new “launch” with new fanfare.The easy part is the announcement. And the fanfare is fun and contagious. But if your staff isn’t capable of the details, the follow-through, the implementation, then your program will die and the cynics will reign supreme, ever bolder in their determination to out-last any new program. Furthermore, while ostensibly trying to generate energy, the fanfare simply signals big change and thus, raises anxiety. An impoverished understanding of the program purpose, path or impact will leave most people uneasy.
We’ve all heard it. Employees Hate Change. Do you believe it? I don’t. I think employees are getting a bum rap. I think they are being used as an excuse for poor change, poor results, poor communication, poor planning. First of all, have you asked them? No, I don’t mean have you asked them if they hate change, I mean, have you asked them what they would like to change? Have you asked them specifically what is driving them crazy about their jobs that they would love to change? Have you asked them what your company needs to improve? Where it is wasting time, talent and money? Where it is disappointing your customers? Try it. You might be shocked at how eagerly they would encourage change.
I have a secret formula for getting the answers to your toughest questions. Interested? There’s one catch. The formula will work only if you search for answers to very specific questions. No general questions will do. You must articulate exactly what it is you don’t know, but need to know. To put you in the right frame of mind to get specific, imagine that you are going to ask your question of someone who is known to be monumentally impatient, tremendously helpful if you come prepared, and absolutely unwilling to grant second chances to those deemed lazy.