I was thinking the other day about comparing athletes to information workers. An odd comparison I know. Don’t ask how I got there…..Anyway, athletes train intensively as a team. They practice and practice plays until they can do it in their sleep. It becomes like instinct to them when they need to perform on the field for a game. They understand each others’ reactions and how to work together efficiently. Practice makes perfect.
What if we thought about preparing for meetings like athletes prepare for a game? Imagine if all employees actually had meeting skills and had trained together as a team to prepare for meetings.
We could have fewer and more efficient meetings. Companies underestimate the cost of not having this kind of preparation and skill. A badly run meeting can suck the life out of a team but a well run efficient meeting can actually be exhilarating and make a team more effective. And maybe a little more fun too!
Actually, in the words of an old music teacher, “Practice makes permanent.” Maybe that’s part of the problem; teams are practicing by default instead of by design. Perhaps giving thoughtful consideration to your suggestions and implementing them would give them much better results. But to be effective, we need to practice much better meeting and communication skills.
Andy, I very much agree. I’ve posted an entry quoting you as it triggered something I’d been meaning to write about. Also, I was wondering if you had come across the ‘Full Engagement’ book.
Patrick