October 20, 2010
Meetings suck. There I’ve said it.
Go to any meeting, anywhere, and you won’t have to scratch very much to find dissatisfaction, grumbling, discontent, sarcasm, cynicism, criticism, over-analysis, and posturing. I’m sure you can add to the list.
Even ‘good’ meetings have their share of malcontents, either openly or covertly, intentionally or not, disrupting the meeting. And I think they are on to something – because that’s exactly what our standard meetings need, disruption. A good shake.
Johnnie Moore writes about the tired Q and A format and makes a good case for at least trying something different.
And here’s some ideas for disrupting our meeting habits (to be considered individually or collectively):
1. Cancel the meeting
2. Throw away the agenda, goals, purpose, group norms or any other standardised procedure
3. Remove the tables – yep, all of ’em
4. Sit in a circle
5. Sing, play music, dance, move (helps your brain work better)
6. Ask people what they want to talk about
7. If all else fails, try #1
What else would you add?
By the way, if your meetings don’t suck, then I’m curious. Please tell us what makes them work.