Shorter Meetings

I've never met anyone who enjoys going to meetings, especially long ones. Yet, we spend a significant part of our lives, planning, scheduling, leading or attending them. Whether or not there should be a meeting is an entirely separate subject. But, if it's determined a meeting is necessary, how can we make them better? A good start is to make them shorter. Why are meeting blocks almost always assigned an hour or 30 minutes of our time? Is it simply the result of the default block in our computer calendar? What happens to the meeting if we commit to only 15 minutes instead? Or, 5, 10 or even 12 minutes? What would happen to attendance? How would the attendees posture change?

A 30 minute, thrilling roller coaster ride is too long for most people. 5 or 10 minutes is enough. However, the same could be said about a mundane and gentle roller coaster, like those for small children. An adult has usually had their fill after a short trip. Making something longer doesn't usually making it better. A longer speech or plane ride rarely qualifies as better. Almost always, the opposite is true. Shorter is better.

The question then is what to do with the shorter to make sure it's better. What does the ride need to feel like in order to be successful? What can we do to our short meeting to achieve the desired result? Most Ted Talks are less than 20 minutes...on purpose. This is the length of time most of us will endure to see what's on offer. This puts the burden of making something impactful, remarkable, something which shouldn't be missed, on the presenter. If the rules apply to some of the best presentations in the world, they apply in the meeting world as well.

Treat every meeting like it's the only one, like it's the last time to meet...the opportunity to make people feel like they're glad they came. And please, make them shorter.

P.S. Go to Calendar Settings to change default meeting times in Google Calendar. Alas, there isn’t an option to adjust the meeting length in IOS settings. But, using Siri is a good workaround. Hey Siri, add a meeting with Dave tomorrow for 15 minutes.

Some Thoughts on Meetings

Meetings are very expensive mostly due to the time commitment from the participants. So in order to be respectful, it’s imperative to carefully determine if you should ask people to prioritize this meeting above something else.

Definition- for the purposes of the following suggestions a meeting occurs when two or more people set aside time to interact directly with one another (in person, on line or telephone).

Purpose

There are only two reasons to have meetings:

1. to receive immediate input from another person or group about a compelling idea

Creative session- no defined boundaries or established outcomes…just idea flow

Urgent Group Decision Making- A sprint style gathering to provide mission critical information and obtaining immediate feedback which will affect the outcome of the mission.

2. to create change through teaching and inspiration (Presentation)

Otherwise, you probably don’t need a meeting. The information can be shared (and input collected) more efficiently in other ways.

If you decide to have a meeting, consider making these declarations...

1. On Time Start- Arrive 5 minutes early or don’t come.
2. Preparation- Have an agenda with clear, time defined topics. Attach any background information which requires feedback or needs to be reviewed in order to make a decision. Everyone commits to enough preparation so ideas can be presented succinctly (strive for 30 seconds or less). Any ideas that require analysis or review of more than one minute must be shared in advance (define a standard for how far in advance).
3. Sprint- Come prepared to sprint, not to relax. Consider standing up. and remove all distractions (phones, text, email, etc.). Think of the meeting as really hard work.

If people leave the meeting looking forward to the next one…you know you have a successful meeting. Otherwise, you need to change the content or style…or eliminate the meeting altogether. If you eliminate a meeting and no one misses it or the mission doesn’t suffer…it was a good call.