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Newsletter

Enhancing Executive Effectiveness
Volume 1, Issue No. 1
January 2000

By

Dan Coughlin

Turn Meetings Into Windshield Experiences

One of the most often used tools in modern corporations is holding a meeting. Unfortunately, it is also one of the least efficient in terms of maximizing potential. Gatherings of two or more people create tremendous opportunities for collaboration and innovative approaches to be developed that can drive significantly better results. Unfortunately, meetings rarely accomplish anywhere near their full potential.

There are four keys to generating maximum value from every meeting. They are:

  1. Look through the windshield, not at the rearview mirror
  2. Combine ideas to create breakthrough solutions
  3. Establish plans and accountabilities
  4. Be feverish about follow-up

LOOK THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD, NOT AT THE REARVIEW MIRROR

Most meetings still run on the antiquated approach of going around the table to each member, giving reports on what has been done and clarifying the results of what has been achieved. On more than one occasion I have attended meetings where individuals flew in from various parts of the country at great expense to follow this approach. At the end of a long day, they fly back to their offices wondering what they had just learned that made the day worthwhile. I call this approach the "staring at the rearview mirror" process. Individuals are simply announcing what has already happened. Whether it was good or bad doesn't matter because it's over. All the reporting in the world will not change what has happened. Unfortunately, there are millions of dollars spent each year doing exactly that. The exercise is essentially an opportunity for each individual to receive a verbal pat on the back from peers. This information could easily be distributed through e-mail, fax, or hard copy. Top performers today need more of a reason for getting together than to just hear what people have already done.

I propose the following approach, the "looking through the windshield" process, is much more effective in terms of driving better results in the future. In this scenario, each individual goes around the table and shares three to five lessons they have learned since the last meeting and offers three to five suggestions as to what the organization could do to achieve better results in the future. If someone asks what the basis of their suggestion is, they can explain a specific situation from the past that they are basing their input on. Each of these lessons learned and suggestions for improvement are recorded so that each individual can see all of the ideas at the same time. This could be done on a flipchart or on sheets of paper that are collected, copied, collated and distributed to each person at the meeting. This approach forces each individual to reflect on what they've learned and how they could apply these lessons toward achieving better results. The emphasis shifts from what has been done to what could be done.

COMBINE IDEAS TO CREATE BREAKTHROUGH SOLUTIONS

Once the ideas have been captured, the opportunity for collaboration is ready to unfold. Collaboration happens when people work together to generate a better way of doing business. It is not enough to hear each other's ideas. That's cooperation. The real breakthroughs happen after everyone has heard the various ideas from each individual. At this point, I suggest that you place the members of the meeting into small groups of no more than six people. Then have each group answer the question, "How could we combine two or more ideas that we've just heard into a new product or service that would provide significantly greater value for our internal and/or external customers?" Give each group fifteen to forty-five minutes to generate a rough draft of their new product or service. Then have each group explain what their idea is and why it will be of value to a specific group. They need to explain what specific outcomes their new product or service could potentially generate and why those outcomes are of value to the organization.

ESTABLISH PLANS AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Once each small group has explained their idea, the whole group discusses which of the ideas they want to put into motion. I suggest that no more than two ideas are committed to at this point. The key is to implement the idea on a small scale to see whether it has potential on a much larger scale. The main questions to answer are:

The main downfall at this point is that no one wants to volunteer to take on more work when the potential for benefit is still unclear. Many times I have heard people say, "I have lots of good ideas, but I'm afraid to offer one because it will mean more work for me." It is crucial that no one's plate become overly full because once that happens creativity gets a bad reputation. When individuals are stretched in too many directions, they become burned out and other people see what is happening and avoid the risk of offering new ideas. Therefore, the critical piece in the implementation stage is for the manager to truly remove less value-added activities so that the individuals working on this new project can give it the time and energy necessary to find out if the idea has the potential the group believes it has. This way it becomes an honor to work on something new and exciting as opposed to extra work on top of an already ridiculous schedule.

BE FEVERISH ABOUT FOLLOW-UP

Another major downfall of meetings is the phenomenon of everyone getting excited about an idea at that moment, but then allowing several months to go by without any type of follow-up as to what is happening. After a few times of this behavior, the members of the group stop taking these types of discussions seriously. If it takes two or three months to stay on top of an idea, then make that a priority before adding new projects. The key is not to have twenty projects running simultaneously, but to really move the needle forward on three or four potentially value-added projects. Commitments that are made at the meeting need to be taken very seriously. Updates should be sent to each member via e-mail or voicemail. Progress or lack of progress should be regularly communicated so that adjustments can be made when necessary. Every individual at the meeting should feel they are capable of asking for an update at reasonable time intervals without any negative feedback. If individuals are not held accountable, then the best of intentions soon fall to the wayside of an overly busy schedule.

While this approach is fairly straightforward, it does require discipline and concentration. However, the upside of driving your organization forward by looking through the windshield is far greater than continually checking the past in the rearview mirror.

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