As CEO of Planet Tan, Tony Hartl oversees eight big tanning clubs in greater Dallas. He thinks fresh air equals fresh ideas, so he regularly takes his top people out for what he calls "BOB"--Business on the Boat. Even when he holds meetings in-house, Hartl tries to make employees feel like they're somewhere else. Planet Tan's monthly all-day strategy sessions kick off with a "circle meeting" in a dark room, with a candle in the middle and bean bag chairs on the floor, all meant to ensure employees are comfortable and feel safe being open and honest. "It sounds strange," says Hartl, "but it's a good way to get reclusive people to open up. Most organizations only get bodies, but we get hearts and minds."
"I already know what we have to do today"
Look to the future
Raymond Sanchez, CEO of Security Mortgage Group in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., loathes meetings because they are so often used to "rehash the hash that's already been hashed." If this Yogi Berra-esque complaint sounds typical, John Clemens and Scott Dalrymple are on your squad. They feel that entirely too many meetings are steeped in the past and present, rather than looking to the future. Their research found that successful managers are forward-thinking in meetings, and also that many leaders direct their attention (and the attention of others) to the future a lot less than they might think. Clemens and Dalrymple came up with a simple exercise, called VerbAudit, that shows whether the language used in a meeting is primarily focused on what's happening today--which is counterproductive for tomorrow--or on what will happen next. The next time you run a meeting, tape and transcribe it. Circle all the verbs in the transcription. See how many of the verbs, particularly your own, are in past tense, how many in present, and how many in future. You may be surprised to learn that your own words are betraying the very vision for the future that you want to convey.
"It's hard to keep everyone's attention"
Lay out some cash
It's nice to believe employees understand that meetings are essential to the heart of the company and are always looking for ways to improve, but putting a little green on the table always helps. Jay Steinfeld, CEO of Houston's Blinds.com, doles out $50 on the spot for good, original ideas (he's the arbiter), creating, in essence, a living suggestion box. "Most employers resist change, but we encourage it," says Steinfeld. One employee threw out a suggestion that made a giant difference and increased the amount of free samples sent out by 25%--and it cost the company the price of dinner and a movie. Gil Bonwitt, president of New Horizons Computer Learning Center of Miami, livens up his monthly all-departments meeting with a $100 giveaway to an employee who has gone "above and beyond" his or her regular duties in the previous month. Anyone can be nominated, and after Bonwitt reads aloud the names of each nominee and describes his or her contributions, a name is selected at random for a C-note. "It went from being a little dorky to great positive energy," says Bonwitt, "and most importantly, everyone looks forward to the meetings."
"I'm so bored I'm cutting myself with a plastic fork"
Make 'em laugh
Sheldon Arora, CEO of Esoftsolutions, an IT systems company in Plano, Texas, does not want gloomy meetings. So the last person into the room at the monthly companywide meeting has to tell a joke. That sets a relaxed tone and also gets seats filled on time.
Then, at the end of the meeting, Arora settles up on his wagers with employees. A year ago, at a company happy hour, Arora overheard a few younger sales folks bragging about the numbers they were going to hit, so he proposed a little bet. If they hit the targets, dinner at a Dallas restaurant was on him; if they didn't, they'd go up in front of the next meeting to perform a song. They ended up singing Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" on company time, and since then the bets have become a staple that the employees love. Things don't always go the CEO's way, either. One lost bet reduced Arora to carting around a napkin and tray while serving coffee as the butler for a day. "I'm willing to make a fool of myself," says Arora, "because the return on investment is so high."
"This meeting has all the excitement of sitting in traffic"
Spark up a confrontation
Name-calling and fisticuffs should be off-limits in the conference room, but confrontation should be stoked and allowed to breathe. "Conflict is the spark of creativity," says John G. Miller. If employees keep quiet because they fear what they say will come back to haunt them or unconsciously ask themselves whether they'll be punished for challenging the status quo, then no revolutionary ideas will come out of the meeting. It's a good thing when people are fired up and have strong opinions about the direction of the business; it means they care.
Alex Lekas, a vice president at Web hosting and servicing company Advanced Internet Technologies in Fayetteville, N.C., says his company thrives on confrontational communication. Now, Army guys founded AIT, so maybe verbal combat is less intimidating to them, but all companies should inspire and foster passion. "We encourage skepticism, because every project is going to have proponents and opponents," says Lekas. "We want honest discussions and vigorous arguments."
