Book Review: Read This Before Our Next Meeting by @Pittampalli , via @ProjectDomino
Raise your hand if you have ever been in a meaningless, pointless meeting.
Al Pittampalli’s book will (hopefully) revolutionize today’s meeting structure, to one where the decisions have already been made prior to the meeting, and that we as producers actually do the work.
Meetings insulate us from doing actual work. If you’re not frequently seeing and talking with your co-workers, staff, management in a face-to-face style, then you are setting yourself up for the need for the old-school meeting format.
I’ve recently started a new position, and I held two introduction meetings with my staff, and then advised them that I would not be scheduling any more recurring meetings.
The glow in their eyes and faces affirmed they were in agreement with my comments.
Meetings can cause interruption in the creativity of one’s work. We are all creative, whether as artists, accountants, or zoologists.
Peter Drucker is quoted in the book: “We either meet or work. We cannot do both at the same time.”
Are you paid to meet?
My favourite (favorite for my American brethren) quote in the book is that meetings are to be less like the endless commercial breaks during football games, and more like pit stops at the Daytona 500.
Meetings can also be used as stalling tactics. If you have parties that are not willing to change, then meetings can be called to delay the process, with the hopes that the agenda will die off, like many initiatives do across corporations.
Be sure to read the section covering conflict and coordination. You’ll never hold a meeting the same way again.
Buy this book!
Never Stop Learning (via @RickWarren ) #Leadership
Rick Warren discusses the 8 Nations of Innovation.
Theme of the message: We can fix our issues, but we have to look at them in a different way.
Book Review: How to End the Turf Wars by Ron Knowles, FCMC #Leadership
Ron Knowles’ book : How to End the Turf Wars and Build Cohesive Relationships Between Units in your Association is a great how-to book, on how to deal with associations, federations, etc.
Too often in an association-type model, there is a lot of “effort duplication”, where each member is doing something slightly (or maybe) identically the same as another member.
My hunch is that as many stars there are in the sky, the wheel has been reinvented.
Why? How much further along would we be, if we did one thing: Communicate!
Communication is often hampered by perceptions, false beliefs, misunderstandings, all of which can be reduced or eliminated if we would pick up the darn phone, or had face to face meetings. E-mail doesn’t cut it, when there are communication problems.
Relational skills also plays a big part in ending disputes between members. As Knowles mentions in the book, there should be a philosophy of internal relationships, which sets the guidelines on how we are to work together.
If you have a positive, cooperative partnership with your members, then maybe you don’t need such a framework.
This is a good book for executives, both not-for-profit, and the for-profit leaders.
You Matter
Angela Maiers is an education and technology consultant from Des Moines, Iowa who shares with us how two words can change a life.
Note: The video sometimes freezes, but the audio works well.
Start with an envelope, and a $20 bill
Here’s what I ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ need you to do, starting tomorrow:
1. Acquire an envelope. Can be a normal business envelope, or maybe one of those return envelopes from the multitude of bills you receive.
2. On the outside of the envelope, write “MIKE”. Don’t worry, you’re not going to give me this envelope, or what you are going to put into it.
3. Once a week, put a $20 bill in that envelope. Keep that envelope in your house, hidden, and you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT TAKE ANYTHING OUT OF THIS ENVELOPE!
Repeat step 3 weekly. In 52 weeks, or roughly August 18, 2012, grab the envelope and you should have $1,040 in there.
Congratulations, you are now part of only 36% of the American population that have $1,000 in an emergency fund.
…the reason why I asked you to write MIKE on the envelope? It will remind you of who helped you get an emergency fund started.
Book Review: The Six Fundamentals of Success by Stuart R. Levine
In leadership, or any walk of life, there are fundamentals which one should follow, to help guide your career.
Stuart Levine’s book provides a multitude of advise, crafted in short bursts to allow for quick reference.
We are all creative, but what bogs us down is the follow-through. The getting the job done right the first time is often hampered by the demands of our environment, which can be rigid.
Establishing fundamentals ties in with establishing boundaries in your work and personal lives.
Also, when taking on a new task, ask yourself: Does this meet up with the overall strategy of your organization? Does this move me closer to my personal goals?
Know your organization’s mission statement and vision statement. Put it on top of all your meeting agendas. If your organization doesn’t have mission/vision statements, first ask your boss why, and then either help create one, or update resume.doc as soon as possible.
This book is not just a leadership training guide, it’s a guide for personal growth.
Invest in yourself. Never stop learning.
A refreshing way to look at work #Leadership
This TED video is from July 2009, but the message is timeless.
Elsewhere
