I have been a HUGE fan of Michael Hyatt for several years. I ran across his twitter feed and then his blog. He is committed to being an intentional leader and to making the most out of the talents and abilities that the Lord has blessed him with as an individual as well as leading his family and his business. He has a keen mind for organization and has really put a lot of thought into the details of leading and serving others.
A friend who posted that they had received Hyatt’s No Fail Meetings for Christmas and I knew that I had to get a copy for myself. This book is a super quick read (read it on a plane in one sitting from NYC > ATL) and it’s packed full of great tips for hosting meetings that are intentionally designed to be beneficial for all involved…and explains how to cancel the rest! This is a great read for anyone who is in the position of leading and serving anyone…even just themself!
I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those notes below…
5 Steps to No-Fail Meetings-The path to transforming your company’s meeting culture starts with five simple steps that make up the heart of the No Fail Meetings System:
-
DECIDE if the meeting is even necessary and, if so, what type and format it should be.
-
SCHEDULE the right people at the right time for the right length in the right location.
-
PREPARE a results-driven agenda.
-
MEET AND ENGAGE in a powerful, productive conversation that moves the needle for your business and projects.
-
FOLLOW UP by reviewing your meeting notes, completing your assigned tasks, and holding others accountable for theirs. Location 89
If you don’t put boundaries in place, you’ll allow other people to dictate your entire schedule. And you’re not helping anyone by stretching yourself too thin. If your default invitation response is yes, it’s Tim etc flip the switch. Challenge yourself to say no to everything unless there’s a compelling reason to say yes. That may mean having to retrain your team to send better, more informative meeting requests. Location 172
Print out a blank weekly calendar. You want to start with zero appointments or commitments. You’re going to organize your Ideal Week by three categories of tasks or activity: Front Stage, Back State, and Off Stage.
-
Front Stage: These tasks represent your most important work. These are the things you were hired to do.
-
Back Stage: These are the tasks that enable you to do your Front Stage work.
-
Off Stage: This is the time when we’re not at work, not doing work, not thinking about work, not even reading about work. Location 276
We’ve implemented a version of the Ideal Week for our whole company. How? We schedule times when our entire team does not have any meetings. That is, we block off time each week (Thursdays) when no one is allowed to schedule any meeting with anyone. That may seem counterintuitive, but it ensures everyone gets uninterrupted blocks of time for their most important tasks. We know that we show up as our best selves for meeting when we haven’t already spent all our working hours in meetings. Because we’re aligned on an overarching schedule, it’s easier to preserve time for what Georgetown computer science professor Cal Newport calls “deep work” on Front Stage days. Location 287
Shaking things up by breaking the traditional corporate mold will unlock a surprising amount of creativity, productivity, and inspiration in your meeting—and all these things will make not only the conversation but also the quality of the work ten times better. Location 334
Natural light is important. Most people forget to consider appropriate lighting when setting up an office space or selecting a space to meet, but nobody wants to work—or have a creative discussion—in a windowless cave. In fact, a global survey of employees found that 75 percent of workers value natural light, but only 56 are satisfied with their lighting conditions at work, according to Bob Ford in Workplace Design. Consider these words from Christopher Bergland in Psychology Today: “There is a strong relationship between workplace daylight exposure and office workers’ sleep, activity, and quality of life…Compared to workers in offices without windows, those with windows in the workplace received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours and slept an average of 46 minutes more per night. Workers without windows reported lower scores than their counterparts on quality of life measures related to physical problems and vitality. They also had poorer outcomes in measures of overall sleep quality, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, and daytime dysfunction.” Location 456
We aren’t born knowing how to lead a meeting; it’s not a genetic trait we get from our parents. It’s a skill we must learn. After learning hundreds of good meetings (and suffering through thousands of bad ones), I believe a good conversation comes down to four things:
-
Staying on topic
-
Guarding against distractions
-
Asking good questions
-
Facilitating transformative conflict Location 540
If you’re responsible for leading a good meeting, you’ve got to be on guard for these ten behaviors—not only in others, but also yourself,
-
Arriving late
-
Taking phone calls
-
Checking email
-
Engaging in side conversations
-
Not taking notes
-
Talking too much
-
Interrupting others
-
Not coming prepared
-
Chasing rabbits
-
Not speaking up Location 634
In the book Crucial Conversations, authors Kerry Patterson, Joseph Granny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler say this (End with Action) should be the very last step that happens in any meeting. They conclude: “You’ve engaged in healthy dialogue, filled the pool of meaning, decided how you’re going to draw from the pool, and eventually come to some decisions. It’s time to do something. Some of the items may have been completely resolved during the discussion, but you may require a person or team to do something. You’ll have to make some assignments…Determine who does what by when. Make the deliverables crystal clear.” Location 658