Are Meetings Killing Efficiency- 5 Steps Efficient Operation
What is a meeting? Too often it is an event where one person at a time gets up and speaks about something that many of the supposed-to-be- listeners have little or no interest. People attend this event because they been told they have to attend because their attendance was “MANDATORY” or they just wanted to justify their time at work while not doing real work.
Business in our society is no doubt meeting-driven. We have meetings about everything; especially in larger organizations. But does every announcement really require a meeting? We’re getting to the point where we’re having meetings about having meetings. Many of us have been subjected to the weekly waste of time some companies call staff meetings where you leave wishing you could have brought some work in with you.
Let’s monetize the cost of a meeting- Imagine you have 20 people coming to a meeting and 10 of them have to travel 30 minutes from a different site. Let’s say these meeting participants produce at a rate of $150 per hour. Just from the 10 people who have traveled a total of an hour to and from the meeting you lost $1500. If the meeting lasts 3 hours (the average is 2-2.5 hours), that’s another $9000 (or on average 6000 – $7500). The big questing is, are all these meetings being held worth more than $10,000 to the organization? Most meetings are not really worth the $7500 to $9000 they cost the company, so why are they still happening? There are many reasons, including:
- The monetary value is usually not calculated
- That’s the way they are used to doing things
- Lack of awareness that alternatives exist
So what can be done to help this issue?
- 1. Complete a cost/benefits analysis
Before a meeting is scheduled, it’s important to know if it’s worth disrupting everyone’s productivity. You need to know how much that meeting really costs, not just the obvious costs, but also the ones included in day to day operations.
- 2. Explore alternative to meetings
As you consider ways to share and gain information, you should explore alternatives. Are there ways to get the massage to your team without disrupting the flow of productivity? Could this information be relayed in and email? The 4-Sentence Email To Replace Meetings shows how efficiently an email can accomplish what we use meetings for.
- 3. Create an agenda
Once you schedule a meeting, decide exactly what you want to address and the succession of things from the introduction to the end. When you don’t know this information you are more prone to deviating into things unrelated to the meeting and transitioning from one point to the next takes longer. And don’t forget time for questions and discussion are a part of the agenda if they will be allowed in the meeting
- 4. Strategically invite participants
The more people you have in a meeting the longer it will last. One way to avoid too many people is to only invite people who need to be at the meeting. If the meeting is not relevant to some members of your team it’s a waste of their time to have them attend. It will also be a waste of everyone else’s time because they are likely to be less aware of some of the details the others already know and ask more questions.
- 5. Stick to the agenda
One of the main reasons that meetings run on longer than anticipated is deviation from the agenda. The purpose of the agenda is to guide the meeting. If you take the time to create an agenda and distribute it to invitees and give them the opportunity to submit input, then there is no reasons things should be coming up at the meeting. This includes the general input time. If you have 20 minutes set aside for input or discussion, that segment of the meeting should not last a whole hour.
Meetings do have a rightful place in the operation of every organization, but we need to be careful of over-using them. When you start having meetings too frequently, you diminish their effectiveness. You don’t want your team to just attend meetings because they were ordered. Meetings must be something that people attend because it was the most efficient method for the organization to communicate the particular agenda and they gain something from participating. If those two things are not present it may be more efficient to let your staff stay on task and earn money for the company.
I’m just saying though…
Dream Big… Live Bigger…
DrJudiC
www.DrJudiC.com
Life & Success Lessons From The Golf Course 2: It’s About The Process
Since the first time I ever swung a golf club the ball was going so straight and so far, my assumption that I had all this natural talent was almost inevitable ;). Of-course, the next times I went out I was expecting similar results, but then discovered that my “natural talent” needed much honing. On one of my best strokes, the ball moved an inch but that club went about 50 yards. What was happening was that I was so focused on getting the ball to go straight and far, I forgot to attend to the steps in the process that will get me that result.
Many people do the same thing with their goals. They focus so much on their desired result that the process is overlooked. Sometimes that desired result is not necessarily the goal, but a result of a successful goal completion. For example while I was thinking of where I wanted the ball to go, the goal was actually to make contact with the ball in a way that makes it go far and straight. There was a process involving my stance, my grip, back and forward swings and more. If you focus so much on succeeding that you attend to the steps to achieving that, then you are almost defeating the purpose of the action, but that’s not the only danger.
My out of whack golf swing was not only failing to get me the desired results, it was also introducing an element of frustration which was most discouraging. That’s one of the main reasons that many people don’t achieve their goals: when they start off and don’t find themselves getting the desired result they start to lose motivation and become so discouraged that they forgo the pursuit.
If I said that the goal of an entrepreneur was not to make money most people would think that I’m out of my mind, but I mean that. The goal of anyone starting out in a business or even a new career, is not to make money; it’s to build a strong foundation, an organization which will continuously generate income. When I started out in my career, I wanted to develop the reputation of being the type of employee that organizations wanted and would be willing to promote- That in turn gave me more money. When I started out in business it was the same- build the reputations that made clients want to work with me. As a result of the organization I built and the reputation I have earned, individuals and organizations want to work with me and when the contracts come the money follows.
As a golfer (yes, I just called myself a golfer already) I had to get myself to thinking that “it’s not about the ball. It’s about the process.” If you ever see my lips moving before a stroke that’s likely what I’m saying to myself. I took a couple of lessons and the pro was surprised to hear that my eyes are closed during my swing. When I keep my eyes open I start to make it more about the ball and less about the process, resulting in some amusing/frustrating moments. If I take the time to set up my shot and am confident in the preparation I don’t have to see the ball to know I’m going to hit it. If I’m true to my process, my head will still stay down even if I’m not looking.
In business it’s the same way. It’s not about the money; rather process that leads to having money coming in. If you just focus on making money and don’t invest in delivering a product or service, you may get lucky and make a bit of money, just like I could accidentally get a good swing, but that does not guarantee recurrence. Unless your lucky day in business generates billions so you never need to make another dime, you need a plan that allows recurring luck.
When you focus on the product or service that will bring value to your client and an organizational structure that will allow you to continue to provide this value, then your luck shall runneth over. You will not need to focus on the money because the system you have in place will be making the money for you. I always say that preparation is the best luck in the world and an unlimited supply is always available for us to take as much as we want.
Don’t take this to mean that I am advising against setting financial goals. I believe that those are quite valuable. A financial goal is still important because when you know how much money you want to make you, get a better idea of how much work you have to do to make your system generate the level of income desired.
I’m just saying though…
Dream Big… Live Bigger…
DrJudiC
www.DrJudiC.com
The 4-Sentence Email To Replace Meetings
While some companies opt to have a meeting for every announcement, there are ways to communicate the message effectively and not completely disrupt the productivity of an entire staff to give them information they are likely not even paying attention to. An email is one way of making this happen that could eliminate constant meetings.
Quite often organizations call meetings to announce news and changes. The truth is, the people who listen for 20 minutes of the hour-long meeting will take the time to read a quick email. Those who don’t bother reading the email more than likely don’t care enough to listen at the meeting either. New processes and procedures announced in meetings often require and get individually addressed in one on ones or supervision, so that would not change in email announcements.
When announcing changes there are 4 things that matter to the people who will have to implement these changes
- What
- How
- Why
- Where
People want to know what is being asked of them. They want to know how to do what is being asked. Most importantly, they want to know why they are being asked to do something. Once they have this information they need to know where to turn if they need assistance with implementation. All of that can fit nicely in a 4-sentence short email.
Good Morning Team LTD…
At the last directors workshops we discovered a new clients intake system that has been very effective for one of our departments and are looking to have it implemented companywide.
All new intakes will be prescreened by the department coordinator and you will receive a copy of the screening form for al new clients you are assigned.
This new method will help reduce the number of intakes completed on clients who doe not qualify for our services, which will save you and the company some time and money.
A copy of the new screening for is attached, but do please speak with your direct supervisor or the client coordinator in your department if you have any concerns or questions.
Have a great day!
Judi
An email like this takes a few minutes to write and even less time to read and your staff can spend their time producing the value your clients seek, which of-course brings your company more money.
I’m just saying though…
Dream Big… Live Bigger…
DrJudiC
www.DrJudiC.com
Life & Success Lessons From The Golf Course 1
I recently decided to really take up golf. I had many reasons for doing this. One of them being that I was hitting so well the first time I went out- It looked like I had natural talent. I have been talking about this for a couple of years. Bragging about how straight I can hit the ball, and discussing how golfing would be beneficial, but no consistent action. This is where our first Lesson From Golf is found.
Action is key!
While I have been talking about wanting to golf and reasons to golf I made no real effort to fulfill this desire. That is what many aspiring entrepreneurs and others wishing for success in a desired area are doing. Talking about the shoulda coulda wouldas does only one thing- Remind you of what you are not doing. Don’t just talk about it, be about it. If it’s something you truly want, there comes a time when you must begin to act, but that is not to say that you take uncalculated actions.
One of my first actions toward actually golfing was to attend clinics. That exposed me to the sport, but I did not have to commit. I could pay $15 or $35 for a clinic, have fun that day and not do anything else for a few months. How many would-be business owners do we know who talk about starting a business “some day” doing something, but for now they just use that talent for a gig on the side when a friend asks them to? They are doing just what I did- Attending the occasional clinic and reminding themselves how things could be “some day”.
Eventually it was time for me to take some real action, so I began my research. What do I need to do if I want to actually learn and play golf? What dos this really mean? This is no different when it comes to living out these long deferred dreams. You could easily just jump in and hope something works out; however, taking the time to research and develop and a plan of action increases your chance of success. By putting the time and effort into preparation, you move from “hoping” for success and closer to “creating” that success.
When you jump in without preparation you tend to try anything and everything that you come across, which leads to doing a lot of work and not necessarily making progress. When you take the time to prepare, you know what you need to do to reach your desired results, so you waste less time trying every thing else and have more time to focus on achieving the goal.
Lip service fuels envy. Carefully planned and calculated action is what fuels exceptional success.
I’m just saying though…
Dream Big… Live Bigger…
DrJudiC
3 Steps To Help Income Catch Up To Expenses
Everywhere we turn these days someone is talking about the recession. While the economy has affected many business large and small, not every business’ slow down is a result of the external economy. There are several factors that may be affecting an organization’s financial picture, and many of them involve their most powerful resource- Human.
The state of the current economy has allowed for certain things to happen and get blamed on the economy, but there are a few things that should be considered first.
Sales attitude. You have to be able to visualize and believe that the sale can be made and that the contract can be secured. Too many people are going in with a defeatist attitude that may be overt or subconscious. If you believe that because of the economy people will be less likely to buy, then you are allowing yourself some room to not attain your goals by leaving it open that it’s not out of your control. Another down side of this problem is that if you don’t believe the potential client’s decision was result of your presentation then you don’t have as great a need to adjust and improve how you are presenting.
What you can do:
- Know and understand the value you are pitching. In a recession people may not buy as many things, but they are more welcoming to value
- Keep track of the feedback and responses that are coming at the end of presentations/meetings and make necessary adjustments
- If you are the leader of a sales team, take a few meetings with them- This will give you an idea of how your product or service is being presented
Staff behaviors. When business is booming everyone should be working at maximum capacity to meet client needs. When things get slower everyone should still be working just as diligently to get things booming again. This often means that there may be some additional duties for members of the team. You have to establish the importance of this to your team and make sure they understand why that is important to the organization as well as their job security.
Productivity over convenience. There are times when the work load may be more than the staff can handle. As the leader of an organization you need to be able to notice the difference between those times and when you are operating based on habits. When the workload is more than you have staff to handle an option is to use outside companies. You may be sourcing out your printing, copying or packaging during peak times, but when business slows, paying an outsider to do work that can be done by staff already on your payroll may no longer make sense. As a rule, you should only outsource things that cannot be done in-house for less. Calculating this also includes personnel costs.
I’m just saying though…
Dream Big… Live Bigger…
DrJudiC
