BROKEN MEETINGS (and how you'll fix them)

[September, 2010 / Twitter.com HQ]
There's a big elephant in the office today that's becoming harder to ignore—meetings.

Even the best meetings can eat up massive person-hours, but those really awful ones will just kill you. You know the type.

Those time-wasting, rudderless, repetitious, zombie meetings where "deep dives," "drill downs," and "face time" often mean much is debated, little is accomplished, and everybody leaves feeling broken--AND, often as not, late for their next meeting.

In the premiere of this all-new presentation, Merlin Mann attacks Bad Meeting Culture with the same brand of practical, funny, and thought-provoking advice that his popular Inbox Zero talks brought to the topic of email.

You'll learn:

- what got us into this meeting mess
- why meetings have special powers to waste time at scale
- how "The 'Meh' Virus" propogates
- why even scrums and one-on-ones aren't immune
- how your meeting needs a parent
- 10 insanely practical tactics for improving your own meetings--starting today

Transcript

1. Broken Meetings (and, how you will fix them) by Merlin Mann 43Folders.com Broken Meetings, by Merlin Mann is ©2010 Merlin Mann. It is licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND License. Based on a work at www.43folders.com.
2. ODEO OFFICE THE CANNERY, 3RD ST. October, 2005
3. Petty Crime vs. Manslaughter
4. Hell is other people. Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit (1944)
5. Hell is other people’s meetings. Me, Here (2010)
6. “Tim”
7. [kill me hand]
8. Here’s the problem.
9. Nobody thinks their meetings suck.
10. Ask around.
11. Treating The “Meh” VIRUS (Before it kills again.)
12. There are many crummy reasons to call a meeting.
13. Bored Dunno what else to do Everybody calls meetings Free snacks Cool new laser pointer Prefer to be seated Need to just think out loud Light in here’s so flattering Not sure Meetings are what I “do.”
14. For someone on the maker’s schedule, having a meeting is like throwing an exception. It doesn’t merely cause you to switch from one task to another; it changes the mode in which you work. Paul Graham bit.ly/9KHXHf
15. • Distracted & Bored • Unprepared • Apathetic • Late, Late, Late • Ragnarök Where’s it hurt, people?
16. •Lack of Focus •Lack of Preparation •Lack of Care •Lack of Respect •Lack of Parenting Ow. This does hurt.
17. Buh? “Parenting?”
18. Yes. “Parenting.”
19. Every meeting needs a Parent Because, it’s not all about You any more. (Sorry.)
20. Key Thing Don’t wait for others to do the right thing. You first.
21. Demand First-Person Transitive “I verb noun.”
22. Verbs are your job. So, why not verb your meetings?
23. Two Heroes.
24. MR. MASON PHOTO: THOMAS HAWK http://i-0.us/cYTsdJ MR. HAND (RAY WALSTON) PHOTO: FAST TIMES
25. MR. MASON PHOTO: THOMAS HAWK bit.ly/cYTsdJ
26. MR. HAND (RAY WALSTON) PHOTO: FAST TIMES
27. Like, HOW?
28. 10 Patterns to Improve Meetings 1. Purpose 2. Agenda 3. Grazing 4. Edges 5. Guests 6. Timekeeper 7. No Ratholes 8. Focus 9. Follow-Up 10. Consistency
29. 1. Purpose (set it and stick to it)
30. 2. Agenda (set it and stick to it)
31. 3. Grazing Policy (set it and stick to it)
32. 4. Edges (set them and stick to them)
33. 5. Guests (schedule them and stick to it)
34. 6. Timekeeper (set “acts” and stick to it)
35. 7. No Ratholes (set expectation then stick to it)
36. 8. Focus (restate purpose and stick to it)
37. 9. Follow-Up (set accountability then stick to it)
38. 10. Be Consistent (yes: stick to that, most of all)
39. 10 Patterns to Improve Meetings 1. Purpose 2. Agenda 3. Grazing 4. Edges 5. Guests 6. Timekeeper 7. No Ratholes 8. Focus 9. Follow-Up 10. Consistency
40. Caution! Some of these will get you killed or fired.
41. Resolved. Nothing matters until it gets: • a budget • a deadline • one owner (otherwise it’s just a poster of a boat)
43. People aren’t dumb. They just chase Big Dogs.
44. I know, I know: “Too much!” Fine. Start here…
45. The Four Quick Wins: 1. One Agenda 2. Two Hard Edges 3. Ruthless Grazing Policy 4. Transitive Follow-Up
46. 10 Patterns to Improve Meetings 1. Purpose 2. Agenda 3. Grazing 4. Edges 5. Guests 6. Timekeeper 7. No Ratholes 8. Focus 9. Follow-Up 10. Consistency
47. Meeting adjourned. Thanks.
48. Broken Meetings (and, how you will fix them) by Merlin Mann 43Folders.com Broken Meetings by Merlin Mann is ©2010 Merlin Mann. It is licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND License. Based on a work at www.43folders.com.