“Let’s Stop Meeting Like This: Tools to Save Time and Get More Done” by Dick and Emily Axelrod (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $19.95).
“Ugh meetings. They’re where productivity goes to die, right?” Not if you follow the Axelrods’ “Meeting Canoe” approach. Their “narrow at the ends and wide in the middle” shape of a canoe allows a meeting to follow a defined meet-in-the-middle pattern: “Welcome, Connect, Discover, Elicit, Decide, Attend.”
The welcome does more than greet the people; it identifies purpose and creates mindset. Meeting leaders should arrive early and put the agenda on the board. As attendees arrive, they should be encouraged to add to parts of the agenda. This connects them to “What’s in it for me?” and cues the leader and the participants about discussion topics. “Connection to task unleashes energy.”
Those topics should first focus on discovering the way things are. The authors caution about the use of PowerPoint presentations and reports as lead-ins because they tell people the way things are. Discovery and learning can’t build on such one-way communications.
Instead, let participants give voice to the “reality” of their various perspectives. Doing so ensures a broader understanding of the task. Shared understanding elicits the discussion of ideas about what might be done, and the impact of alternatives on various areas. It also recognizes the how of what it will take to reach the outcome.
With respect to that how, the authors suggest that participants present their view on what the outcome should look like. This may well surface a new alternative.
When it comes to decision-making, the leader must be explicit about the process. Regardless of who makes the decision, alignment with the organizational goals must come first.
“Attend to the end” reviewing the important points, and creating the next-steps roadmap — including the responsibilities of the participants and a timeline.
Key takeaway: “A meeting has meaning when you know what you’re doing is important, that the outcome will make a difference to you, to others, to the organization as a whole.” Rowing together ensures the meeting’s success.
Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.
