Want to change your business forever? Change the way you look at meetings.
I’ve recently noticed how much I want to change the way Outlook schedules my meetings. You’ve probably noticed, too; it always wants your meetings to be exactly 30 minutes long, or 60 minutes, or whatever you change it to use as a default.
I understand why software needs a basepoint and I need to implement change to make it happen. So why do we all schedule our meetings like software robots, incapable of change?
I once made a successful bid on a house by offering a figure with an unusual number. It implied to the seller that I had done my homework on the house’s value, got their attention, and got me the house at way below the asking price. I CHANGED THE BALANCE OF POWER.
How about if you change the way you schedule meetings? Say, start at 3:25 instead of 3:30? See what that does? Your colleagues get the sense that you are in control, precise, and busy enough that they need to respect your time. Talk about change!
Now that you’ve started something new, change what’s expected of people: give them action items to accomplish ahead of the meeting. Not prepared? Not welcome. Now set a hard limit on the end of the meeting. We start at 3:25, we end at 3:50, and when the appointed end-time arrives, Get up and walk out.
You know how hard change seems? This change isn’t hard at all. It takes little preperation, and just a small amount of strength. And you’ll be more productive, and change the way you’re seen.
For the better.
