Scott Berkun: "No one likes meetings and for good reason. In most meetings, most of the time, most people think most of what goes on is a waste of time.
So what if you took out all of the stupid, wasteful stuff and left only the useful parts?
Enter the 22 minute meeting. This is an idea from Nicole Steinbok, and she presented the idea at Seattle Ignite 9.� When I saw her present this concept at Microsoft a few months ago, she gave one of the best short talks I’ve ever seen."
Via: Lifehacker
8 comments:
These are great tips for keeping a meeting relatively short. The cartoon they have to show the steps is awesome. Many of these tips seem like common sense, like no phones or laptops, but sometimes it is good to have a reminder like this article. Standing up and noting that a comment is off topic are both good ideas I had never really considered to help keep a meeting flowing smoothly and on time.
I have seen some "tips" about certain inefficient business situations, which are invented by somebody who wants to find rules or theories in the symptoms by human society. It all comes down to the manner of each person. Especially, the number 8 "focus!" tells everything.
Before this discussion, if ones know the meeting is going to be "a waste of time", do not have that meeting. That would be the best choice ever. Or at least the meeting may not concern those who think that way.
I think our current life with the network technology decreased the roles that a meeting used to play; "mass communication". Let's try to examine the goal of the meeting before it is planned.
I think that these tips are very on point. I was at first curious to see how you could conduct a meeting in 22 minutes successfully, but with the tips given it makes you wonder how there could be a another meeting longer ever again. yes many of these steps do seem like common sense, but that doesnt mean that people would adhere to them, having a reminder is always hlepful. I particularly like the one about staying on track no tangents. Because I am a big fan of tangents and that usually gets me into hot water sometimes
A lot of these meeting articles seem like they're just common sense but, I say that knowing that I often forget some of the basic "rules" for meetings. I agree with Hidenori: if several people are going into the meeting thinking that it's a waste of time, then they probably aren't going to be very effective in the meeting and may even distract some of the other more interested people. Although, if email is sent out, sometimes that information my not be accessed until it is too late since often people are flustered with tons of emails. So, if the informations which is to be relayed at the meeting is time particularly time sensitive, then it may be more effective to have the meeting that to send out emails.
Like everyone said, this is common sense. But, more often than not, common sense is forgotten in meetings--at least in my experience. People get stuck in minutia within five minutes, and after an hour, they've gotten no where. These rules/guidelines are great for keeping on task, and very to-the-point. No one likes have their time wasted, and this kind of meeting would prevent that. And, come to think of it, probably make the meeting much more productive than if it were longer. If people know beforehand that there isn't much as much time, they might think about topics BEFORE the meeting, and come with ideas.
I think the most important piece of advice that is given in this article is to listen first, and talk second. So much time in meetings is lost by people saying the same things over and over again. If you let them, people can argue the same problem to death. It is important to note pros and cons to a problem, possibly writing them on the board so everyone can see what has been said, and not say it again.
I love the idea of a 22 Minute meeting. The tips like cell phones and laptops are very very obvious, and should always be followed. I am a particular fan of the statement of clear objectives before the meeting. I have refused in the past to go to meetings that do not have published objectives that the entire attendance has not reflected on before the meeting. Also, an interesting idea of not arguing in meetings is mentioned. figure out in the meeting that there is an argument, then solve it afterwards.
While meetings are definitely important and a key tool in any collaborative process, many meeting could be replaced by an e-mail or an old-school memo. Meetings should be reserved for items that require collaborative discussion. Simply an update of where someone is in the process could just as easily be distributed without collecting everyone in one space at one time.
When a topic does require a meeting, efficiency and productivity must be balanced. On one hand, time must be utilized as to not waste anyone’s time. On the other hand, the meeting must also accomplish what it was set out to do. All to often, in the name of “efficiency,” topics are not fully flushed out. This completely defeats the purpose of the meeting. While, of coarse, each meeting is different, with different goals and different methods of getting them, a balance must always be found between efficiency and productivity.
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