Chapter 10
Stupid Meetings? Try Some Steak, Sizzle, and Style
Most meetings stink. They reek of poor organization and indecision. Worst of all, they are boring time wasters.
In the five zillion meetings taking place in the United States right now, how many participants do you think are really happy to be there? How many do you think would prefer an emergency call on their pager? Managers tell me that meetings are the number-1 cause of unproductive time—even outweighing complaints about paperwork, mail, phone calls, and travel.
You’ve seen how the steak, sizzle, and style techniques apply to presentations. In this chapter, those concepts will be applied to another type of presentation challenge: conducting creative and productive meetings.
92. Say “No” to Meetings
93. Meeting Steak: Cut the Fat
94. Keep It Quick and Snappy: Twenty-Five Steps to a Fifty-Nine-Minute Meeting
95. Keep on Track With the Fifty-Nine-Minute Meeting Guide
96. Gather Your Guts: Evaluate Your Meeting
97. Have Fun! Add Meeting Sizzle
98. Assign a Cast of Characters
99. Become a Fantastic Facilitator
100. Waltz Through Sticky Situations
101. Rate Your Meeting Style
“A meeting leader needs to be a bright spot of intelligence—a person that gives the group direction . . . a forward thinker . . . one who is perfectly at ease and in authority.“
—Manager, Advanced Training Technologies
92. Say No to Meetings
The best meeting is the one that never happens. In fact, 90 percent of the time, there’s a better, quicker way to get the job done. Someone once said that meetings are called by managers who get lonely. When you’re thinking about having a meeting, think again. It seems as though the more successful you are in the organization, and the jazzier your title is, the more time you spend in meetings. It’s time to take a giant “whoa.”
There’s only one good reason for having a meeting: to develop and promote team spirit within your organization.
Ask these questions when you are thinking about scheduling a meeting:
What is my objective in having a meeting?
Is there a quicker, better way to accomplish this objective?
Will this meeting utilize the team and promote team spirit?
What is the worst thing that could happen if we don’t have a meeting?
After answering the questions above, pick one of these alternatives. Be a meeting cop. See the stop sign, then choose a different route 90 percent of the time!
Meeting Alternatives:
Memo |
Delegating assignments |
Hallway discussion |
Company newsletter |
Phone call |
Questionnaire |
Suggestion box |
|
Fax |
Bulletin board |
Electronic mail |
Project teams |
93. Meeting Steak: Cut the Fat
So you’ve pondered the alternatives, you’ve decided that a meeting would help to develop and promote your group’s team spirit, and you’ve come to the conclusion that a meeting is indeed a true and honest necessity. It’s the best way to accomplish your objectives. Then it’s time to take the meeting leader’s pledge.
Meeting Leader’s Pledge
I promise to stay out of the depths of Meeting Hell. From this day forward, I will hold 50 percent fewer meetings. No meeting shall last longer than fifty-nine minutes. I will have a clear and simple agenda. I will keep the meeting focused. I will invite only those people whose attendance is absolutely necessary. I will do my homework before the meeting and send out an agenda. I will start and end the meeting on time. I will use visual aids to keep the meeting moving. I will become an expert facilitator, helping each person to contribute to the meeting objectives in an efficient and positive way. I will be sure that each person in attendance has an opportunity to speak at each meeting. I will help the group focus on solving problems and creating action items. I will do my homework after the meeting and follow up on action items. And when the meeting is over and all of the troops go home, I will ask myself this simple question: “Was it worth it?”
94. Keep It Quick and Snappy: Twenty-Five Steps to a Fifty-Nine-Minute Meeting
Pre-Meeting
1. Write down the objectives, expectations, and desired outcomes. What question should the meeting answer? Write it down.
2. Why have a meeting? Is there a better alternative?
3. Who absolutely positively needs to be there? (Remember that everyone should contribute.)
4. When should the meeting be held?
5. Where should the meeting be held? What is the best room arrangement?
6. How many people will be attending?
7. Determine the process for conducting the meeting (short presentations, question and answer, brainstorming, small group discussion).
8. Set a time limit.
9. Prepare an agenda and write down a time limit for each item.
10. Distribute the agenda before the meeting.
11. Arrive early. Set up the meeting room. Claim the head of the table.
The Meeting
12. Start on time—no matter what!
13. Make introductions (quickly).
14. Review the agenda, objectives, expectations, and the question to be answered by the end of the meeting.
15. Announce the time limits and post the agenda (with time limits indicated). Pace the meeting to the agenda. Assign a timekeeper to monitor the time.
16. Focus the group on the issues. Include input from everyone.
17. Use visual aids to stress a point.
Wrap Up
18. Summarize. Answer the question posed at the beginning of the meeting.
19. Identify action items. Who? What? By when? Write them down.
20. Arrange for follow-up.
21. Make a closing statement. End on time, no matter what!
Post-Meeting
22. Evaluate the meeting. Have the participants complete written critiques occasionally. Welcome the feedback.
23. Prepare a memo and send a copy of action items to participants.
24. Follow up on action items.
25. Whew! Are you sure there isn’t a quicker, better alternative to having a meeting?
95. Keep on Track With the Fifty-Nine-Minute-Meeting Guide
The fifty-nine-minute guide is shown in Figure 10-1. The plan and agenda sections should be filled out prior to the meeting and sent to each attendee. List the action items during the final stage of the meeting. After the meeting, give each attendee a copy of the action items.
96. Gather Your Guts: Evaluate Your Meeting
You’ll never know how effective your meetings are unless you ask. Don’t let your position get in the way of reality. Gather your guts and ask how the meeting is going. You can do this with a five-minute discussion at the end of the meeting, or you can hand out feedback forms to the participants—to be filled out before the meeting is over. Have the evaluations done immediately. If you ask that the forms be filled out and returned later, you’ll rarely get them all back.
Here are some questions you can ask:
Did we achieve our meeting objectives as indicated in the agenda?
What two things did you like best about this meeting?
What are two things that could be improved next time?
What can the meeting leader do to improve the meeting?
What can the participants do to improve the meeting?
Was this meeting really necessary? Was it worth the time?
What is a better alternative to a meeting?
Other suggestions?
Figure 10-1. Fifty-nine-minute meeting guide.
Sometimes it is helpful to conduct a mid-meeting pulse check. If you sense that you are “bombing,” take action right away. Participants generally welcome the opportunity to get things back on track.
What do you do when you are a meeting participant and the leader is not conducting the meeting in an organized way? Speak up! The group will thank you for it. Think “focus” and “action.” You might say something like this: “We’re getting way off track here. Let’s focus back on the issue: Where should we put our extra advertising dollars? Let’s list some possibilities on the flip chart.”
97. Have Fun! Add Meeting Sizzle
Beware: If you arrive late at one of Art Clark’s meetings, he’ll make you stand up and sing an entire song. Art is a senior vice president at Boat/U.S. in Alexandria, Virginia. He’s famous for putting fun and energy into his meetings. By the way, people rarely show up late! Here are some ways to add to the fun factor:
Reward people for coming on time. Bite-size candy bars, stickers, and small tokens are great for this.
Admonish people (in a humorous way) for arriving late. One manager uses an inexpensive flushing-toilet bank. If you come in late, you have to put a quarter in the toilet and flush it! The sound is very realistic and is a funny announcement that you’re late.
Establish a policy of fining people if the meeting goes overtime. One group fines everyone ten cents per minute of overtime. The leader is fined a dollar per minute.
Use a funny timing device, such as a honking horn or a talking doll, when it’s time to move on to the next topic.
Use koosh balls to throw at meeting offenders: time wasters, sidetrackers, or people who fall asleep.
Have a stand-up meeting: no cushy chairs, no food, no coffee. These combat conditions ensure quick progress.
If there is a lull in the action, get the blood flowing again. Have the participants stand up and do ten jumping jacks.
Give each person a few participation tickets. When a person contributes to the meeting, one of his or her tickets goes into a basket. Draw for a prize at the end of the meeting.
98. Assign a Cast of Characters
Have fun and increase involvement by distributing some of the meeting responsibilities.
Timekeeper. This individual is critical to the success of the meeting. Assign this job to someone who is overly verbal at meetings. It will help this person condense his or her thoughts. Remember to use an unusual timing signal, such as a honking horn, a bell, or a mooing cow toy. It’s also the job of the timekeeper to be sure that the meeting starts and ends on time.
Maestro. Choose a person who is an excellent observer and facilitator. This person is in charge of meeting harmony—the process of getting things done. It’s best to establish a list of meeting guidelines and post them. When one of the guidelines is being violated (and the meeting leader doesn’t do anything about it), the maestro speaks up and gets things moving again. Some guidelines might include:
Meeting Guidelines
Stay focused on the agenda.
Be positive and action-oriented.
Don’t dominate the discussion.
Discuss issues, not personalities.
Recorder. This is an unpopular but necessary role. People generally do not enjoy being the meeting secretary. The recorder writes down important information, especially the action items.
Scorekeeper. The scorekeeper is in charge of collecting feedback on the meeting. This can be done in writing or verbally. What went right? What went wrong? Keep it short and simple.
99. Become a Fantastic Facilitator
Meetings that sizzle need a strong leader, one who can ignite group interaction. Here’s how:
Remember that you are a facilitator, not a participant. It is your job to involve the group and move their ideas toward positive action. Let them come up with the ideas and the solutions.
Your best weapon is the pause. When you ask a question or seek a response from the group, count to twenty in your head. It will seem like forever, but it takes about twenty seconds for ideas to kick in. Good facilitators become masters of the pause.
Let the participants feel free to discover and make mistakes. Hold back. Let them come up with the answers. Fight off the urge to have the last say.
If someone has a question or concern, ask the whole group for reactions.
Be an example of enthusiasm and energy. Be interested in the participants. Be curious! Be positive! The group members will emulate you.
Listen! Listen! Listen!
Listen with your eyes as well as with your ears. Look for signals of disinterest, confusion, excitement. Adapt as needed.
If you are recording information on a flip chart, write down exactly what is said. Abbreviations are fine, but use the participants’ words, not yours. For example, if someone says “personality indicators,” don’t change it to “personality styles.” There’s something psychological about this. When the words are recorded exactly as they were spoken, the contributor feels as though the leader is truly listening and understands the message. If the words are changed, it seems as though the leader is guiding the meeting toward his or her own objectives.
Be flexible, even if it means killing the original agenda. Keep the ball rolling.
Have fun!
If the goal of the meeting is to solve a problem, follow these seven easy steps.
Facilitator’s Guide to Solving a Problem
1. Define the problem. Write it on a flip chart or transparency. Be sure that everyone understands the problem.
2. Brainstorm solutions to the problem. Go around the room and obtain feedback from each person. If someone doesn’t have an idea to contribute, it’s OK to say “pass.” This method gets everyone involved. Write down the possible solutions.
3. Discuss possible solutions.
4. Select a solution.
5. Write down an action plan.
6. Implement the action plan.
7. Evaluate the success of the plan.
Group involvement in meetings is not a quick process. However, it accomplishes the objectives of promoting team spirit and spreading responsibility for problem solving to the team. When people suggest solutions to problems, they have a tendency to buy into the change.
When I was the Quality Circles (problem-solving) facilitator at General Dynamics in San Diego, I was in charge of a team of machinists who needed to solve some problems. Solving just one problem required about five one-hour meetings. However, the pride and camaraderie that developed within the group was well worth the time and effort.
100. Waltz Through Sticky Situations
Perfect meetings are about as common as gray palominos. Things happen; agendas go awry; attendees will throw you a curve. Put these ideas into your hip pocket, and you’ll become the Arthur Murray of the meeting world.
Sticky Situation 1: It’s time for discussion, and no one has anything to say.
Don’t panic. Remember that most folks have been trained to take directions. Many do not know how to take an active part in decision making.
Encourage comments: |
“Harry, what do you think?” “Let’s go around the room. I’d like to get everyone’s reaction.” “Linda, what would you do in this situation?” |
Write down ideas: |
“I’d like everyone to get out a piece of paper and write down three possibilities.” |
Sticky Situation 2: Someone is dominating the session.
Equalize involvement: |
“Just a minute, Bob; let’s hear from some of the others.” “Tom, what do you think?” |
Sticky Situation 3: There’s lots of discussion, but no decisive action.
Survey the group: |
“Can we have a quick show of hands? How many think this would work?” “We’ll go around the room and let everyone voice an opinion on this.” |
Discuss possibilities: |
“Let’s list some possibilities.” |
Imagine outcomes: |
“Imagine that you are the customer. How would you react to this?” “Imagine that we go ahead with this idea. What would the situation look like in a month?” |
“Let’s formulate an action plan on the flip chart.” “Joan, can you start us off?” |
Sticky Situation 4: People are arguing a point. They’re divided on an issue. No progress is being made.
Clarify the objective or the problem |
“Time out. We need to take a pause in the action and focus back on the objective/problem.” |
Turn opinions into positive suggestions: |
“We’ve had enough time to air our opinions. It’s time to turn those opinions into solutions. First, state your opinion in one sentence; then suggest something positive we can do about the situation.” |
Combine needs/ prioritize: |
“We have lots of different concerns and suggestions here. We need to prioritize these and come up with a plan we can live with.” |
Other options: |
Take a break. Table the issue. Do some fact-finding. Turn it over to a committee for recommendations. |
101. Rate Your Meeting Style
Instructions: Check yes or no for each of the following. These items are based on what audiences like most about a presenter’s style. Be honest.