Make meetings matter

"I can't seem to get anything done because of all of these meetings!"

Too much of the wrong thing

As individuals matriculate through careers, it is quite common for blind spots to develop.  Some common blind spots have to do with interpersonal relations, focus and direction, and delivering on hard-to-quantify soft skills for the good of the organization.

Case study: the annual review

Kaitlyn is a process engineer. She has worked for Jeremiah for quite some time, and feels like he understands her contributions to the team.

Several days ago, she had been looking forward to her annual performance review. She had saved the company $4 million in March of this past year, and remembered the praise Jeremiah had heaped on her in front of the company president. Shortly after this big win, the president asked Jeremiah to broaden her responsibilities. Kaitlyn expected a glowing review and a nice bonus check to cap off a stellar 2010.

Sun Tzu for Execution: How to Use the Art of War to Get Results

When I'm reading, I like to highlight passages and important nuggets of information that might be interesting or helpful to read again in the future. It directs the eyes and helps me maximize my reading based on my learning style.

At the end of Sun Tzu for Execution: How to use The Art of War to Get Results, by Steven W. Michaelson, I noticed that a great deal of the text had been underlined, something on just about every page.

Catching Negativity

My three-year-old son picked up a bad habit at school. When asked why he was behaving this way, he said “I don't know. Adrien does it!” And with that, he repeated the behavior again.Unbelievable. My impressionable, well-behaved boy was being corrupted by this child! It must be true that one apple spoils the whole bunch.

Communication Timing

Scenario 1:  Driving down the interstate on a recent evening, I notice a car in front of me with a right turn signal on. I assume the driver will be taking the next exit. We pass one exit, then another. Since the vehicle is in the right lane, I assume the driver has inadvertently left the signal on, perhaps after changing lanes. After several miles, the vehicle turns on the third exit as the signal is extinguished. It's almost a surprise to see the vehicle take the exit.

Scenario 2:  A new information system is being rolled out across an enterprise. In January the project team launches a robust communication strategy that touches all employees, sharing the benefits of the new system and what to expect. During the last week of the first quarter, a small group of key stakeholders receive a brief email stating a new go-live date in the third quarter. The communications to all employees continue with the same focus on the benefits of the new system and what to expect. In the fourth quarter the system goes live. Adoption of the new information system is abysmal. The project team discovers that several groups in the business have created their own siloed solutions, and there is no appetite to convert to the new system.

Both scenarios share a lesson about communications: timing is everything.

Lunch

It's almost always enjoyable to connect with someone over food or coffee.  I really like sitting down with someone over lunch, learning more about the individual's purpose, work, and what makes him or her tick. There are lots of reasons to connect with others, and each type of interaction has its own benefit:

• History. The other person's experience reminds me of things I've done before, maybe not as well, or maybe better


• The Now. We're experiencing the same pains or joys, and compare notes and next moves


• Virtual Travel. I get to take a vicarious journey to an situation or place I've never been (skydiving, anyone?).


• Improvement. We philosophize or have a mental jousting of sorts, sharpening one another with competing logic and new information

I have a very strong preference for the other person to select where we'll have lunch. Very.  There are specific reasons for this:

Better Speakers, Better Leaders, Better Communicators

I've just completed a term as president of my local Toastmasters club, Gateway to Speaking Excellence. During my year in office, the theme of the club was the same as the title of this blog post. When asked to describe Toastmasters, I say something like this:  “Toastmasters is a safe-to-succeed, safe-to-fail environment in which we practice becoming better speakers, better leaders, and better communicators every single day.”

Wondering about the cheesy name?

Professional networking

After I earned my MBA, I joined the Career Services committee of the alumni association.  This year, our focus is to deliver seminars focused on two things:  professional networking and personal performance.  It's how we add value to both the school and alumni - creating a resource where individual can equip themselves for professional success.

The first component of that is called professional networking.  Interesting concept by itself, but we took some time to define it.  Here's what we came up with:

Professional networking is the creation and maintenance of relationships for mutual benefit and advancement, within the context of your own personal and professional goals.

What It Means: Finding common ground

"Be proactive and drive results."

The manager (let's call her Susie) was entering comments on the annual review of someone on her team (let's call him Jack).  He was a fine performer overall, but he never really seemed to push to make things happen, and never raised his hand for special projects.  It was near the end of the day, and Susie didn't want to have a long discussion that would keep Jack at the office unnecessarily.  She attached the review to an email and clicked "send."  Plenty of time to have the actual conversation the next day.

Jack happened to be working late - again - that evening, trying to accomplish everything asked of him in his compliance role.  Bing!  An email showed up in his inbox from Susie.  He was surprised to see her on this late, and opened it right away, in case it was something urgent she might need first thing in the morning.

Pop...pop...pop...the office chair creaked as Jack read the attachment.  His faced flushed red, and he felt that twitch that comes when fatigue and frustration meet.