Module 5: Improving Meetings at Your Organization

Work Focused Improvement®

Management Essentials for

Daily Use and Ongoing Improvement

By Sam Pratt

© 1986-2013 Samuel H. Pratt / SHP Consulting Limited

Module 5

How to Improve Meetings

By Creating Universal Meeting Guidelines

Funny, shocking and Interesting statistics on meetingsfrom MeetingKing

1. 37 percent of employee time is spent in meetings

2. Managers attend more than 60 meetings per month

3. 47% consider too many meetings the biggest waste of

time

4. 39% of meeting participants admitted to dozing off

during a meeting

5. Over 70% brought other work to meetings

6. It is estimated that 25-50% of meeting time is wasted

7. The researchers found that the more meetings employees

attended, the more exhausted they felt and the higher they

perceived their workload to be

Universal Meeting Guidelines Session1. Before the 1st meeting, give each team member a copy of the 4 slides below

[suggestion: use print option of 2 slides per page]

2. At the 1st meeting, have the selected team members pick a Team Leader

3. Allow 10 minutes for members to select up to 8 good rules … and editing a

rule or creating a new one is just fine

4. Show the team the 4 slides below one at a time, and solicit comments

5. After discussion, ask for additional rules or revised rules and list these on

easel board

6. Give everyone a five minute quiet period to rate items

a. 2 points for each person’s top idea , 1 point for all others

b. Go around the room asking people to read their top rule (not yet on list)

c. Continue circling the room until it’s clear that key rules are on the board

d. Now circle the room recording final votes for rules on board with each person allowed to

give 2 points to the top idea on board

e. Voting results are information ... this session is not for final resolution

7. Before 2nd meeting, the selected rules 8 or less will be organized,

wordsmithed and published by the Team Leader for review, tweaking, and

approval at the 2nd meeting … which should be very short!


Google’s Meeting Rules1. Every meeting needs a leader

2. The meeting needs a clear purpose and structure

3. Meetings used for sharing information or brainstorming still need owners

4. Have a meeting only if it's necessary

5. Don't include more than eight people

6. Include only the necessary people, and no more

7. Strictly follow time constraints

8. Be fully present in the meeting

Prompts

Things to Thank Steve Jobs For

How to Have a Great Meeting

1. Throw out the least necessary person at

the table.

2. Walk out of this meeting if it lasts more

than 30 minutes.

3. Do something productive today to make

up for the time you spent here.

Prompts

Team AdvancementMeeting Guidelines

1. Focus on the work (performance and enabling of organization)

2. Stay away from personalities, politics, turf, blame, rigid positions, and “me” issues (hygiene)

3. Let it be known early in the discussion if a decision will be Type I, II, or III (I decide, I decide with your input, we decide)

4. Emphasize the understanding and use of Key Performance Indicators

5. Value listening & cooperating more than persuading & winning

6. Spend enough time on issues to develop widespread understanding and support

© 1986-2014 Samuel H. Pratt / SHP Consulting Limited Prompts

Performance Review Meeting Guidelines

1. One Hour Time Limit Enforced (this is a fast paced review of performance with limited discussion on specific issues … stage hook at 5 minute mark)

2. If follow-up is needed on a topic, agree on who/when/where and move on

3. Focus on the work (performance and enabling of organization)

4. Stay away from personalities, politics, turf, blame, rigid positions, and “me” issues

5. Emphasize the understanding and use of Key Performance Indicators, but do not spend more than 5 seconds on a new data point close to a positive trend line

6. Value listening & cooperating more than persuading & winning

7. Manage with, and focus on facts

8. Keep an eye on Strategic Targetsa. Become one of the very best companies to work for in the world

b. Insure that business mechanisms are fair to individuals and the company

c. Continuously improve and be able to show this factually

d. Be world class in every respect

© 1986-2014 Samuel H. Pratt / SHP Consulting Limited Prompts

The following slides are included because

they have been helpful from time to time in

Meeting Guideline Sessions …

Universal Rules for Meetings

of a Performance Company

1. Add rule

2. Add rule

3. Add rule

4. Add rule

5. Add rule

Work Focused Improvement

... in a nutshell

Endorse & understand the underlying premise: When a group of people work in concert to advance the business, a by-product of the effort is a better functioning social unit

Distinguish between the two basic types of work: linear and non-linear and design all business mechanisms to match the work

Focus on the work, performance and result, not on …

– Hygiene: company policy, wages, working conditions, security, status, supervision, and interpersonal relationships

– Feelings & Emotions

– Turf, politics, personality, or blame

Be a student of management and build a profound understanding of all leadership and management mechanisms, tactics, and concepts

Background

Work within an established process Work on a case by case basis

Focus on facts (descriptive) Focus on opinions (evaluative: characteristic

based)

Communicate openly Communicate guardedly

Be preoccupied with the work and

performance

Be preoccupied with hygiene, personalities,

turf, politics, emotions, blame, and credit

Exhibit respect for group member opinions Exhibit intolerance of others opinions

Driven by priorities and knowledge of what

flows to bottomline

Use deadlines to delay action in short term &

then extend deadlines in small increments

Deliberate with all key impactors Decide by power play or control of

information

Refer to recorded plan (or Advancement) Fly by seat of pants

Live by consensus, tradeoffs, accommodation Live by confrontation & stonewalling

Do as you say Don’t do as you say or just don’t say

Build and value trust Ignore trust considerations

Work Group AssessmentRobust Fragile

Organizational Dynamics

Types of Decisions

Type I I decide

Type II I decide with your input

Type III We decide

Type IV You decide

More decisions

at lower levels

under Team

Management

Leadership Styles© 1986, 1986-2012 Samuel H. Pratt

WFI Team Advancement Meeting

Expected Outcomes

Improve bottomline performance of organization

Enable the organization

Enable individuals and teams

Emphasize inter-departmental communications

Foster cooperation and respect

Build a robust organization with widespread ownership,

understanding, and alignment

Assure that all key business mechanisms are continuously

improving and working in concert

Continuous Improvement© 1986-2014 Samuel H. Pratt / SHP Consulting Limited

Define objective in terms of KPIs, outputs, and

other measures or results

Communicate

clearly with the

objective of two

way understanding

Build natural follow-up

points for feed back such

as month-end reports, and

Performance Reviews

Document discussions, agendas, actions, issues, performance over time

Follow-up as promised (lead by

example)

5 Step

Closed Loop System

A. If project or task,

repeat until

complete

B. If process, repeat

on ongoing basis


Deliberations According to

Pava ... Pratt ... Deliberations are sequences

of exchange & communication used to reduce the equivocality of a problematic issue

Deliberations are not decisions, but are more continuous sequences of activities from which decisions occasionally crystallize

Deliberations are not meetings, which are simply gatherings of people

Organizations always have a lot of ongoing problem areas that people talk about in an effort to make improvements

In struggling with any particular subject, gains are made gradually … usually two steps forward and one step back

Good discussion and debate can take place anywhere, including the golf course

Organizational Dynamics© 1986, 1986-2012 Samuel H. Pratt

Discretionary Coalitions According to

Pava … Pratt ...

Discretionary Coalitions

are the populations

(from 1 to n) dealing in

deliberations

Effective coalitions

reach informed tradeoffs

and avoid lapses into

ritual posturing or

arbitrary battles over turf

Discretionary Coalitions

are groups of people that

informally band together

to make improvements

Effective coalitions

focus on the problems

and the work and ignore

politics and individual

credit


Topics & Forums

Topics are deliberated in forums by discretionary coalitions

ProcessSocial

group


Performance Review Agenda (example)

Quick Hitters (urgent, important, but most of all quick)

Finalize Meeting Guidelines

Review Financial Performance

Review Department KPI Performances

Discuss Communications Options

– Newsletter Schedule and Ownership(s)

– Scoreboards

– Core Worker Attendance at Performance Review Meetings

Discuss impact of “silos” in our organization

Training: “Fast Decision Making Organizations”

Review FMLA policy

Other


Module 5: Improving Meetings at Your Organization

Business

Transcript of Module 5: Improving Meetings at Your Organization