Are meetings often a waste of your time? Are you usually bored at meetings? How about this question: Are meeting conveners using you as in “get everyone in here, I need to be coddled?”  If your answer to these questions is “yes” and “yes” and “yes,” perhaps you are attending too many meetings that are poorly planned and conducted and for which there is little or no follow-up.

Being bored, making poor use of your time, and being used are frustrating. You are pulled in so many directions, seem to have so little time, and meetings are gobbling up too much of your time. You’re not alone. When asked what “bugged” them at work, 40% of Canadian workers said having to attend meetings that go nowhere. Psychologists and authors Robert Kriegel and David Brandt put it this way: “Meetings are a lot like the hot air they produce — they’ll expand or contract to fill the space available.”

You and your organization do not have to accept poorly planned, conducted, and followed up meetings. Instead, improve your meeting effectiveness and efficiency. Consider these eight ways to reform the meeting culture where you work:

·         Meet, whether face-to-face or via conference call, only when necessary. Halve the number of conference rooms to make scheduling face-to-face meetings more difficult and perhaps other means of communication, such as email, will be used more.

·         Adopt a policy requiring pre-meeting agendas and post-meeting summaries or minutes. Explain the purpose of the meeting with emphasis on expected outcomes. This extra effort will require meeting planning, eliminate some meetings, and improve those that do occur.

·         Start meetings one hour before “lunch” or one hour before “quitting time”—you will be pleasantly surprised with the increased focus.

·         Establish a fixed start time – and start on time – and do not exceed the completion time noted in the agenda.

·        Ban anyone from “sitting in.” Each potential participant should have something to contribute or not be there. Individuals who need to know “what happened” can receive meeting minutes or summaries.

·         Meet standing up—I once had a boss who often did this.

·         Conduct “problems first” meetings. Relegate routine reporting to writing. Use valuable face-to-face time for problem solving collaboration and to creatively pursue opportunities.

·        Hold meeting participants accountable for doing what they said or were asked to do.

I have routinely used most of the preceding suggestions and know that they work. Sure, if you try them you may initially experience push back. But, over time, your ideas (which will become “their” ideas) will be appreciated because, while meeting time will diminish, meeting productivity will increase.

Interested in more ideas for orchestrating more meaningful meetings in your private, public, academic, or volunteer organization? Then click here  for self-study aids including a meeting eBook.

Although I am an engineer and, at least according to the stereotype, should be mechanically (and electrically-electronically) proficient, I am not and never have been. For sure, I have been involved as a project engineer, project manager, and/or discipline manager in the planning and engineering of facilities and systems such as stormwater detention ponds, diversion structures, and flood control works. But the detailed “nuts and bolts” aspects and the construction specifications have not been my strength. I am a detail person, but not with mechanical and similar devices.

However, every now and then I take on a mechanical or electrical-electronic challenge—and they are all challenges. I do this because my wife says I have to as in “please replace that dimmer switch.” Other times I simply have to as when we purchased a trawler 15 years ago and lived on it for six months, or, recently, when we acquired a 1970 MG with the idea that I would complete the five percent that remained on the restoration. While five percent of the overall mechanical, electrical, and other effort may seem small to you, it looks like 100 percent to me. My work on the car’s mechanical and electrical systems will not exemplify effectiveness and efficiency.

But, guess what, in the case of the trawler and the MG, and in spite of my ineptness, I find satisfaction in the little, embarrassingly little, things I’ve done. Examples are changing diesel fuel filters and replacing the muffler on the trawler. Recently, I diagnosed a hydraulic problem on the MG and fixed a sticking door. In all these cases, I was surprised—and thankful for the little things in life.

We all can learn in our areas of least competence, even if it is only the simplest of tasks. While we should be thankful for our strengths and build on them, let’s also acknowledge our weak areas and move forward in them. Doing so broadens, at least in small ways, our capabilities and helps us appreciate even more the expertise of others. Click here for eBooks and other self-study aids to help you build on your strengths and also move forward in your areas of least competence.

Someone said Madonna is a success; Mother Teresa is significant. Madonna, “the Material Girl,” has apparently accumulated considerable wealth, an indication of success. In contrast, Mother Teresa, while she certainly was not materially well off, had and continues to have a significant and positive impact on thousands of poor people. Her life was very meaningful because of the comfort she provided to others, initially through her personal acts and later through the order of nuns she founded.

Perhaps the Madonna-Mother Teresa perspective, with its sharp contrasting of success and significance, can help guide our lives. As we navigate through the sea of our existence, we are faced with many decisions involving our personal, business, community, and other affairs. Decision areas include employees, colleagues, projects, clients, continuing education, finances, spouse, immediate family, friends, neighborhood, community, and country.

Some of these choices could be given the success-significance test. For example, in contemplating opportunities, which one(s) would feed success, that is, add to our material or other well-being? Which would offer some significance, that is, benefit others? Which might do both?

While I don’t know about you, I’m neither a Madonna nor a Mother Teresa type; both success and significance are important. A varied and financially-secure lifestyle is high on my agenda. But, I also seek significance; I want my life to mean more than successfully accumulating “stuff.”

When visiting a cemetery, we see names and birth and death dates on tombstones. Hyphens, which often separate the two dates, are “shorthand” for all that the deceased persons did with their lives. We can only imagine the highly-varied life stories represented by the hyphens.  For some of the deceased, the hyphens are mostly about worldly success and for others the hyphens reflect lives of great significance. If the tombstones could speak, those who focused excessively on success would have epitaphs like “Here lays Mary. She had a big corner office” or “Here lays Jose. He drove a luxury car.” For those who led more balanced lives that included seeking significance, that is, having a positive impact on others, the epitaph might be “Here lays Joe. He left the world a better place than he found it.”

As professionals, many of us bring much to the table: intellectual gifts, a demanding formal education, valuable knowledge and skills, and a solid work ethic. Frankly, we have great potential. Accordingly, most of us are positioned to pursue, if we so desire, both success and significance.

As we consider personal, professional, community and other opportunities, let’s apply the success-significance criteria. Do this so that, when the final accounting is made, we will have achieved some measure of both success and significance; we will have been good stewards with our potential. Act now to avoid regret later. If we err, I suggest erring on the side of Mother Teresa, on the side of significance. Mother Teresa would probably approve while Madonna could care less.

Each of us can pursue significance by leading change, that is, change that benefits others. Release the leader within you. Click here for goal-setting study aids and here for change resources.

I barely noticed the waitress talking with customers at the booth next to mine. Then, very unexpectedly, she ended the conversation by loudly declaring “I was 15 and stupid!”

How many of us have thought, if not said, that or something like it? Besides vividly remembering whatever it was that stimulated our stupidity and its consequences, maybe we still harbor regret, guilt, embarrassment, or sadness.

Perhaps we can draw some good from our stupid moment. For example:

·         If it, the stupid moment, hurt someone’s feelings and we never apologized, maybe we can still do so and even receive forgiveness.

·         If the mistake taught us a lesson, perhaps we can share what we learned with someone else; derive some good from the bad.

·         If it caused physical damage that can no longer be fixed, perhaps we can proactively fix something in our neighborhood or community.

·         If our mistake almost killed us, maybe we can offer, or offer again, a prayer of thanks.

“We all do dumb things,” according to author Dave Crehore, “what matters is what we do afterwards.” In my view, mistakes should be cremated, not embalmed. Then let’s learn from and act on the light of the flames rather than dwelling on the body.

Click here for additional guidance on rectifying and/or learning from mistakes.

Good to excellent speaking ability is essential, although not sufficient, for professional success. Having struggled with speaking fear and worked on speaking since grade school days, when speaking was pure terror, I’ve learned much and made progress. One observation: Most speakers, especially younger ones, can greatly improve their effectiveness by making simple changes. That is, if the speaker knew about the necessary changes, he or she could easily implement them and greatly improve his or her performance.

Consider an example of a young speaker who could readily improve his speaking effectiveness and, therefore, his professional opportunities. This young academic spoke at a conference for about 15 minutes. From the start he excessively used “ah” and “um.” I became distracted from what he was trying to say and began to count his “ahs” and “ums.” He averaged eight per minute over an eight minute period. It was very distracting. As part of the evaluation process at the end of the session I wrote a brief note to this speaker gently suggesting that he recognize and rectify his speaking problem.

I urge each of us, no matter where we are in our speaking development, to at least occasionally record our presentations. Or ask friends to be present when we speak and urge them to thoroughly critique what they see and hear.

On listening to the recordings and/or your friend’s comments, you may be disturbed, if not embarrassed. If so, don’t view the new information as a problem. Instead, it is an opportunity for you to improve your speaking ability. We can’t fix something unless we know it is broken. The good news is that you will find that the vast majority of areas needing improvement are easily fixed—that’s my principal point! They exist, not because they are difficult to remedy, but because we are not aware of them. Take consolation from Ralph Waldo Emerson who said “All great speakers were bad speakers at first.”

For example, if you learn that profuse “ahs” and “ums” are your liability, start speaking, in normal conversation without them. And, of course, next time you prepare for a speech, practice it out loud at least three times each time avoiding “ahs” and “ums”.

Other common, easily fixed speaking distractions are looking at the screen rather than the audience, exceeding the allotted time, speaking in a monotone, excessive use of bulleted slides, fiddling with eye glasses, and mispronouncing words.

Want to benefit from improved speaking? Then click here for a speaking eBook and other speaking aids.

The projects we do for clients and owners typically must meet deliverables, budget, and schedule requirements. Schedule includes the date of the final deliverables and intermediate milestones such as completion of draft reports or plans, conducting certain meetings, and completing parts of construction projects. The schedule presents opportunities to, as the title of this blog suggests, give those we serve more at no cost to us. How can this be?

Assume you, as a service provider, have entered into a mutually-acceptable agreement with a client or owner. While not easy, you will be able to meet the project’s three requirements—deliverables, budget, and schedule.

Now take an even closer look at the schedule—the milestones and the end point of the project. As the project proceeds, strive to come in early on each milestone and, of course, on the final delivery. My experience suggests that you will be successful for most of the target dates. And, when you do, two good things will happen. First, the client will be pleased to have important things happen or to receive valuable results earlier than expected. Second, working toward a series of time goals will enhance your and your team’s effectiveness and efficiency. You will find that you need less absolute time—person hours—then anticipated because of fewer time-wasting start-stop-start cycles, more focus, and enhanced teamwork. Accordingly, lump-sum projects will be more profitable.

Robert Townsend, the President of Avis rental car company when they created the motto, “We try harder,” offered this advice: “If asked when you can deliver something, ask for time to think. Build in a margin of safety. Name a date then deliver it earlier then you promised.”

Click here for tools, including eBOOKs, to help you plan even more successful projects.

Hula Hoops, GPS units, copy machines, microchips, Post-It Notes, and cell phones–why didn’t I think of that? Perhaps the answer to the question is “I did, but didn’t follow through.” Another response might be that we had a similar wonderful idea which we began to implement but stopped when we encountered obstacles.

Original ideas are rare and, when they occur, the necessary follow through is even more rare. The creativity plus persistence combination needed to bring a new idea to fruition as a product or service is highly unusual.

But, of course, creativity plus persistence does happen. When it does, marvelous things flow to the creator and the users of the product or service. Consider two examples of creativity plus persistence:

Theodor Geisel, more popularly known as Dr. Seuss, is considered a premiere author of children’s books. He was a pioneer in linking drawings to text, an approach that appeared in his first book. That book was rejected by 29 publishers before being accepted.

Joseph B. Strauss, engineer and poet, envisioned a bridge across San Francisco’s Golden Gate. In the face of widespread skepticism, including that of his peers, he led the two-decade planning, design, and construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Strauss died approximately one year after the May 1937 opening of the bridge.

When inspiration strikes, whether within us or those around us, let’s first be thankful for the gift of creativity. Then be supportive by thinking, discussing, brainstorming, researching, and yes, dreaming. If the idea is still viable, develop and begin to implement an action plan. And recognize that great persistence is likely to determine whether or not the idea comes to fruition.

Click here to learn about a workshop that will enable you and colleagues to more fully use your creative and innovative assets –- resources that reside in the right hemisphere of the brain. Imagine the added success you and your organization would realize if you released all of your creative and innovative abilities. A half brain is good, a whole brain is much better.

Earlier retirements coupled with longer life span create rich opportunities for meaningful, on-going engagement in the community or in society at large, whether on a volunteer or compensated basis. Most of us look for continued activity and meaning.

For example, we have the 60-something person sitting at the pool who says “I wish there was something to do around here,” the 70 year old aimlessly surfing the internet, or  seniors engaging in seemingly endless trivial chatter, including condemning the current status of the world or their immediate community.  Sometimes those searches and conversations lead to working crossword puzzles, solving Sudoku, or taking on the challenge of achieving a lower golf score. In moderation, these kinds of more positive activities are mentally and physically invigorating.

However, instead of doing these diversions in excess, how about also working on real issues, solving real problems, and taking on important challenges? They surround us. As long as we are of sound mind and body, we can be productive. Seek, on a part-time basis, a volunteer role or employment as an independent consultant that draws on our life experiences — good and bad — and on our education. 

Mentor others or pitch in, side-by-side with them. Be part of a team or lead it. Learn new technology from younger individuals while tutoring and teaching them about time-tested values. These roles enable us to continue to add value to our community or society. While many of us do so, many more could. So-called retirement areas, like parts of Florida and Arizona, are gold mines of wisdom, knowledge, and skills. These and other geographic areas offer many minds of gold.

As they say, each of us only goes around once. Let’s make it a great trip from beginning to end.

Click here for self-study aids to help your tune up your knowledge and skills. Don’t completely retire. Instead, retread!

At one point in my career, I set a goal of being the manager of one of our firm’s offices. I had worked hard and began to develop ideas that I was eager to implement. However, when the new manager was named, I was not selected. To make matters worse, I learned later that I wasn’t even considered! One reason: I had foolishly failed to share my goal.

Instead, I thought that the quality of my work alone would elevate me to the manager position. In retrospect, this faith in “the cream will rise to the top” approach was misplaced. This negative experience quickly became a valuable lesson learned. I vowed to never make that mistake again.

When I advise you to share the results of your goal setting, the intent is to do it wisely. Selectively share your goals with trusted family members, friends, and colleagues. For example, if one of your goals is to work on a particular type of project, discuss that goal with supervisors. Perhaps you want to serve on a specific task force or board in your community. Share that goal with the appropriate appointed or elected community officials. The same approach apples to committees and task forces within your professional society.

Consider an example of the effectiveness of selectively sharing goals. By means of an email to a trusted colleague, I told him about a service I wanted to provide to engineering firms. He, in turn, shared my goal with executives of about six firms. Within about two weeks, one of those firms retained me for a major project.

Each of us is surrounded by individuals who can help us achieve our goals—if they know about them! Goal setting and then goal getting lead to broader and deeper capabilities and career security.

Click here for additional ideas about setting and achieving goals.

Assuming that we have identified our current critical roles; such as spouse, parent, friend, and professional, our success in each role will depend on the goals we create for it. Thoughtful goals, supportive of our roles, are essential for navigating the rough waters that we occasionally encounter as we move through our family, community, and professional lives.

There are only two futures for each of us, the one we create for ourselves or, in the absence of goals; the one others create for us. More specifically, in our professional lives, “those who do not have goals,” according to self-help author and speaker Brian Tracy, “are doomed to work for those who do.”

Create SMART goals, that is, goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-framed. This level of specificity in goal setting helps us monitor progress toward and eventually achievement of each goal. For example, “I will lose 10 pounds in the next two months” or “I will read one book per month during the next year.”

Frequently look at your goals. Important and urgent activities tend to rule our lives. Accordingly, a special effort is needed to move forward on goals which, while important, are not urgent. Busy as we may be, each of us controls some of our time. Each of us should use our conscious mind to invest some of that free time in reviewing progress on goals and in accomplishing the next action item needed to advance further toward achieving those goals. “Proper selfishness,” a term used by business executive and academic Charles Handy, characterizes making sure we each spend time on our not urgent - but important, activities which includes setting goals and taking actions to achieve them.

The importance of wisely using our free time is nicely explained by writer and lecturer, Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Guard your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gem of a useful life.”

Looking for additional ideas and information about goal setting? Then click here.