Your Meeting Culture Sucks. Fix it.

The incredibly boring and dull subject we need to talk about.

#lascot16

Mike SuttonAgile Coach and Improvement Partner

“I help technology organisations become more effective in meeting their business goals by applying simple and effective tools - that reduce risk, increase value and create knowledge - and by nurturing a culture of open and joyful collaboration.

Startup Founder. Partner & Practitioner“I help technology companies become more effective at meeting their business goals by

applying simple and effective tools to reduce risk, increase joy, create knowledge and get good stuff

shipped.

23 11 ~200 ~2200years in

techyears as a

coachteams helped

people supported

Helping teams and individuals build resilience, their own good

habits and responsibly own their working process

Helping organisational leaders develop modern, human centric strategies for knowledge work

based industries

Spark Communities of Learning

Advise management teams and executives

Mentor agile teams and their support structures

I help to bring focus on the need for continuos learning within and

outside practice. For competence and joyful fulfilment

I make tools to help businesses be more collaborative and effective.

…and

Cuts down crappy meetings

https://amazemeet.com

Measure and visualise meeting culture

https://mayalytics.io

In the next 30 minutes…

Reframe what meetings represent Appreciate the tangible and

intangible costs of poor meeting cultureDiscover a way to start

fixing meeting culture now.

Find 5 simple things you could do to reduce ineffective meetings and improve others.

Explore 5 universal smells of ineffective meeting culture.

Let’s unpack meetings

Why does this matter?

source: August 2012 - Atlassian. https://www.atlassian.com/time-wasting-at-work-infographic

Because the opportunity cost, costs!

The greatest cost is your time - your only

diminishing and non-renewable asset

“Our meeting

culture sucks

because…”

Our meetings lack clarity of purpose

“I don’t know what we were meeting for”

They have the wrong people participating

“I don’t know why I was there.”

They focus on the wrong things

“We wasted so much time and energy talking

about trivial things.”

They result in no tangible outcomes

“We never achieve anything”

Fundamentally, we are lazy

So how do we fix our meeting culture?

Start with yourself

How clear are the purpose of your meetings?

Do the people you invite know what is expected of them?

What do you do when you are invited to a meeting that

has those smells?

When you have your most productive/enjoyable/effective

meeting, what is it like?

Don’t do it aloneOne person is a “lone nut”, two are a movement.

Gather data to show and track the health of your

meeting culture

[Cheap plug]

Make it OK for people to leave if they feel they aren’t

adding or receiving value from the meeting (including you!)

(modified law of 2 feet)

Don’t have a set end time. Time box each agenda item and let the duration emerge

from that.(see the sneaky trick?)

Say why you are inviting the people you are inviting. What are

you expecting from them?

Insist on clarity of purpose before you accept a meeting invite (a bit like 2-factor authentication!)

Check that your agenda has a reasonable chance of helping your meeting reach its purpose

grazie

@mhsutton

http://mhsutton.me

dankeThank you

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gracias

תודה.

merci

kiitos