Run Meetings like Google

Isn't it something from Murphey's Law that at meetings people keep minutes but lose hours? Though they seem to be a neccessary evil; people hate meetings, but we all know we need them to get things done in teams. Actually, I recently read in an article that within some organiztions, meeting organizers are putting the total time cost on the doors of their meetings. This means, if they are having a one hour meeting that involves ten people, the meeting actually costs 10 person/hours. Multiplied by an average wage, this can add up pretty quickly.

As a Young leader, you need to learn how to use meetings effectively. In a school environment this could be even more important than in a working one, at school everything is voluntary and if people feel their time is wasted.... they won't show up (unless you offer free pizza - and even that doesn't work all the time).

So how can you run an effective meeting? Recently Businessweek wrote an article about How to Run a Meeting Like Google. Most of the points are pretty standard, so I'll outline them here:

• Set a firm agenda: This is a no brainer. What is the purpose of the meeting, What are the main points for discussion? Who is invited to attend the meeting? When/Where is the meeting to be held? How long will the discussion of each point last? And always leave time for extra questions!
• Assign a note taker: This is another critical piece. If you are presenting during the meeting, you need someone else to take notes. It's also great to have notes for those who have missed the meeting to get back up to speed.
• Carve out micro-meetings: Sometimes you only need 5 or 10 minutes to get something accomplished, it's also analogous to putting a solid item into the agenda for a larger meeting, which could be more efficient.
  
• Hold office hours: Hey if it works for college professors... Well sometimes it's just too difficult to schedule a meeting, but you set up a time every week (or everyday) that people can just drop by and discuss their concerns, it might lighten the load from your other standing meetings.
• Discourage politics, use data: Politics is a bad thing. Negative emotions make for a negative work experience and less productivity. Make sure ideas are chosen on their objective merits instead of subjective feelings, which can be construed to favoritism.
  
• Stick to the clock: Google sometimes uses a giant 4 foot tall projection of the clock on the wall in order to keep meetings going. Instill this discipline in yourself... and your meeting attendees will thank you.
  

So go out and get googled. (Oh wait does that sound wrong?) Anyway, wext time I will discuss some of the more "human" aspects of meetings.

Until then,
-Jason

Ice Breakers

Most people shiver at the sound of the word “Ice Breaker”. Maybe this is because we all have been to a meeting where an unenthused organizer has forced us to perform an embarrassing task along with a random bunch of strangers. However things don’t have to be this way. Ice breakers by their very nature should be fun activities that get a group of strangers or people who have never worked together before to begin to feel a little more comfortable with each other.

How can we avoid the “cold shoulder” when doing an ice breaker? Well this is all up to the meeting organizer. Anyone can follow the instructions of an ice breaker, but it takes a leader to pull it off successfully. So what’s the trick? ENTHUSIASM If the meeting organizer is not truly excited about the ice breaker (I’m not talking about playing phony here), how do we expect the participants to get excited about it?

So in short, pick an ice breaker that you feel will be fun, and matches the dynamic of the audience. You would definitely want to have a different icebreaker for senior citizen librarians than for the Monty Python Society at the local college. Also keep in mind that ice breakers should be pretty short, under 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the group.

To help you out I’ll list a few ice breaker ideas as well as my opinions on them.

1. Two Truths and a Lie – The old standby. Everyone writes their name and two truths and one lie about themselves on an index card. The organizer collects the cards and reads them off asking the group to guess which “fact” is the lie. It works for pretty much any group, and because of this, has been done to death. Use it only if you really really want to.
2. Snowball Fight – A flurry of fun. Break the group into two teams. Each person takes a piece of paper and writes down their favorite music band, movie, book, and etc… on it. Then crumple up the pieces of paper and have an indoor snowball fight!! After a few minutes, everyone picks up a “snowball” uncrumples it and tries to find the owner. This one is a lot of fun, but some people might not appreciate getting whacked in the face with a crumpled up piece of paper.
3. Birthday Line – More difficult than you think. This one is simple, the group is to form a line in order by birthday… with only one catch… no talking! The Birthday Line ice breaker is fun, especially when you see all the wacky body language people use to try to convey when their birthday is.
4. The Name Game – “A person’s name, to them, is the sweetest and most important sound in the world.” This works easiest in a circle. Have the first person state his/her name. Then the second person states the first person’s name and then their own, the third states the first’s then the second’s, and then their own, and etc… By the end everyone will pretty much have learned everyone else’s name. This ice breaker is great for new teams, the only thing is that it takes a little bit longer to do.
5. Story Relay – Yeah so maybe this is a modified drinking game… But that’s why it’s so fun! Bring the team into a circle choose a theme (maybe something relevant to your group/meeting) for your “story”. Then start the story with only one sentence, the next person to the right then continues the story with another sentence. This should continue until the story is finished or the story doesn’t make sense anymore (each person should go at least once). This ice breaker is mainly just for fun. Maybe better for groups that already know each other.

-Jason