Escape From Meeting Hell

 

"We always peter out"

Leave the room like George Costanza

In a classic Seinfeld, George Costanza offers an astute insight into giving meetings a needed shot of flair and excitement. George took the old comic saw of "Always leave them wanting more" and began exiting meetings the moment after he threw out a well-received witticism. Costanza wouldn't seem to be the gold standard for productivity, but in this case he's in step with the eggheads. John Clemens and Scott Dalrymple, professors of management at Hartwick College and co-authors of Time Mastery (due out this summer), spent two years researching effective leadership for their book about using time as a strategic tool. They strongly encourage leaders to seize the big moment of a meeting. The Wednesday 3 p.m. meeting might have its climax at 3:17, so cut it off on a high. There's no need for a denouement--this is a meeting, not a novel, and besides, there'll be another one next week. Clemens says that to truly own the room, managers have to develop a sixth sense as to when a major moment is at hand so that employees walk out jazzed up--and never discount the natural high of exiting a meeting early.

"This conference room puts me to sleep"

Get out more

Who made up the rule that all meetings have to be held inside the same four drab walls? Greg James, CEO of consumer software company Topics Entertainment, considers his off-site meetings a secret weapon, which is why two or three times a month he takes his employees on reconnaissance missions at the mall. They grab some nosh at the food court and then undertake a thorough examination of the software departments of stores all in and around the mall. They analyze packaging, pricing, endcap placement, and markdowns, and check out new products from the competition. They've also been able to identify nontraditional selling arenas where they might make headway, such as when they realized Topics could place needlepoint software at the arts and crafts chain Michaels. "Our meetings are a form of reverse engineering," says James. "We make products retailers want, instead of we made it, you buy it." James is such a fan of lunch-hour mall trolling that he recently moved the company closer to a major Seattle-area shopping center.

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."

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