Most of the corporates suffer from multiple meetings, the majority of which are unproductive meetings. The biggest problems are Stagnated work, indecisiveness leading to delays, unproductive, meeting too often with members who might not add value to that meeting …list goes on.
What does the statistics say? Source: Georgetown University
- Organizations hold more than 3 billion meetings each year.
- Executives spend 40-50% of their working hours — or 23 hours per week — in meetings.
- 90% of meeting attendees admit to daydreaming in them.
- 73% acknowledge they do other work during meetings.
- 25% of meetings are spent discussing irrelevant issues.
- 50 people sitting in a cookie-cutter conference room, looking both bored and anxious — costs around $177,000 annually
The biggest culprit behind unproductive meetings is the numerous distractions, coming in from multiple gadgets. Checking email, chatting, doing unrelated work , or having irrelevant discussions are the main reasons behind unproductive meetings.
What do we really want to achieve?
- We want to make meetings more productive, so outcomes are relevant
- We want meetings to be more efficient to ensure we have better-utilized everybody’s time
- We want meetings to be more inclusive so all participants have a voice in the meeting and are active
The first step is to eliminate the needless meetings and make the remaining more effective and productive rather than destructive. By applying design thinking, a concept popularized by IDEO founder David Kelly and Stanford’s d.school, which was first applied to the design of physical objects, then other products, such as technological tools, and now to more complex challenges across a wide variety of industries. The idea is to put the “user” at the center of the experience — an approach that works with meeting design, too. Design thinking can change the way we approach meetings, boosting engagement, productivity, creativity. and problem-solving.
What is Design Thinking
Design thinking is a way of approaching meetings that enables complex problem solving to be achieved in a more efficient manner by placing the focus on the end-users and their needs. Design thinking is the process of understanding the problem from a human-experience perspective and then considering the human experience at each step of the process along the design journey so to create a product/service that works both for the business and the customer.
The design thinking process is
empathy— define— ideate— prototype— test— launch
We apply design thinking to meetings to help view from a human-experience perspective while looking at the needs of the attendees and the meeting agenda which is collaborative and a creative process.
(Empathy) The first step is to keep aside your expertise and agenda and think about the people who will be affected by that meeting, both participants and end-users who get impacted due to the decisions taken in the meeting. As per one of the recent HBR articles, the most important thing is to develop empathy for them by asking these 3 questions:
- Who are the participants of the meeting and what are their needs?
- Who won’t be in the room but will be affected by the decisions taken in the meeting and what are their needs?
- What is the broader culture and environment are you operating and what are some of the challenges and opportunities?
Conduct regular surveys and focus groups and ask for feedback on meeting effectiveness and results. Incorporate in the subsequent meetings. This leads to a constant growth mind and improvement that goes a long way towards having more productive meetings which are more of an experience and less of a time wasted in the attendees’ eyes.
(Define and Ideate) The second step is to frame the agenda of the meeting. Here, the most important thing is to articulate the clear purpose and outcome of the meeting. The desired outcome of the meeting should include what will people feel, know, and do as a result? Ensure participants know why they are attending the meeting and tell them what is expected out of them. The goal is to make them feel important.
Focus on Space, Technology, and Food!
- Change the Setting (Space): Move from office to outside area, where the environment might bring in creative and imagination juices better, boosting the innovative thinking
- Technology: Ensure there is no technology glitch in the meeting. Ensure all gadgets and connections are in place
- Food: Productivity and empty stomachs have a lot of correlations. Ensure there is water, drinks, and snacks in the meeting. Ensure you are inclusive and have different kinds of food – Vegetarian, Non-Vegetarian, Non-Dairy, Vegan, etc. Get protein bars as it helps in controlling sleep after a heavy meal in case the meeting is post-lunch!
(Prototype, Test, and Launch) The third step is to execute the meeting effectively. Share the agenda well in advance, ask questions, gain empathy, and frame more questions based on their inputs. This changes the attitude of attendees positively. People feel heard and they feel connected with the meeting host.
Another important technique is to make meetings a design thinking workshop. In meetings, there is usually an agenda and people take it in turns to make a presentation whereas in workshops there is a process that uses the creative tool. In a workshop, every participant has a role and they add something to the process and thus the outcome. Work is done not just by head and hands, but also by heart and the body. Having a “Creative box” helps boost creativity and makes it fun. Useful supplies that help the brainstorming process and make meeting more enjoyable are:
Objects for the creative box:
| Sticky notes | Markers | Smiley Stress balls |
| Notepads | Inspiring pictures | Legos |
| Sketch pens | Coloured Papers | Old Newspapers |
| Coloured tape | Scissors | String |
| Cards | Play-Doh | Dice |
Typically models and prototypes are a part of a workshop. Participants approach the workshop with a mindset that’s open to change hence it’s more effective.
Whether we follow the principles of Design Thinking and make meetings more effective or convert meetings into workshops, in either case, the human cantered approach helps the team to have input in decision making enabling them to feel more valued and inclusive. Collective creativity stimulates ideas and innovation, and a shared plan of action surely helps everyone to feel involved in the project execution.
Picture Credit: BBVA and Stanford d.school
Recent Comments