An Underrated Skill
By Capital Thinking · Issue #896 · View online
A new hire starts their career with an orientation and training program that teaches them all about the company culture, vision for the future, their plan to get there, and what they can and can’t expense when they travel.
What no one ever thinks to teach them is how to run a successful meeting.
How Much Did Your Last Useless Meeting Cost?
Julian Clayton | Blue Collar Business School:
Several years ago another executive asked me to attend a meeting to help solve a problem the company was having deciding which of two different pieces of hardware to purchase for a new project.
I was new to the organization, and no one else in the meeting was in my department. I walked in the room with no context, no connections, and no point of view.
For the better part of an hour, I sat quietly while eight people discussed the two options. I heard tons of technical specs, warranty claims, and color options. The two options were almost identical with two exceptions.
The first option was twice the price of the second option, but it only had a 0.1% failure rate. The second option had a 50% failure rate, and it could often damage other equipment when it failed.
During the last five minutes of the meeting, just as I was about to accept the fact that someone had asked me to attend a meeting where I offered zero value, I realized why I was there.
The same eight people that had just demonstrated they were subject matter experts on each device had no idea how to formalize the decision on which one to purchase. Or better yet, they had no idea “who” could make this decision.
As the meeting was coming to a close, the organizer leaned back in his chair and asked the room, “Ok, we have all the information. Who are we going to get to decide which one to buy?”
As I looked around at a silent room, I leaned forward in my chair and said my first words of the meeting, “I’ll make that call. We’ll buy the first one.”
The room sat silent for a few more moments and then the organizer confirmed I was comfortable putting my name on that decision. I assured him I was very comfortable making a decision that saved the company money, and the meeting adjourned.
As you read that story, I’m sure you recognized multiple issues. But in the moment, the thing that stood out to me the most was that my new company didn’t have a meeting strategy. The individuals in that room had no issue working in an environment that allowed eight hours of salary to sit in a room together and accomplish absolutely nothing.
As ridiculous as it sounds, we all know how common useless meetings are in today’s world.
A new hire starts their career with an orientation and training program that teaches them all about the company culture, vision for the future, their plan to get there, and what they can and can’t expense when they travel.
What no one ever thinks to teach them is how to run a successful meeting. What’s worse is they can spend entire careers without ever learning this simple skill.
Everyone just assumes if you were capable enough to get your job, you must know how to run a meeting. Well, I’m capable of making it to LA by tomorrow, but I have no idea how to fly a plane.
If it seems strange to include something as small as a meeting strategy in this content, then you haven’t done the math on how much money you’ve lost on useless meetings.
(This link may require you to sign up. No worries, it’s completely free and Julian is certainly somebody who has a lot of hard-won wisdom to offer. Just click the “join free” button. You will be glad you did. Trust me on this one. )
Photo credit: Headway on Unsplash