Beating the Drum

This week I have some questions for you.

Is your day full of meetings? If it's scheduled for an hour do you find you fill that time regardless? Do you have time for coffee, lunch, quick walk or are you jumping between calls? And if so do you find it a challenge to then do the work you all agree in the meetings? And how much time do you spend in the meeting all trying to agree on the day and time of the next meeting only for it to be cancelled later due to (?) and have to go through the process all over again?

You may have found the solution to this challenge already but if not here's a hot tip.

Don't meet. DrumBeat. Same time and day every week. It becomes a habit. You don't need to reschedule or cancel. Whoever is free to turn up turns up. Use QUBEculture that means record the thought trail - write and then talk so anyone who misses can bring themselves up to speed fast and completely.

Don't meet. DrumBeat.

You can start with a 5P if useful to create the framework for the session or jump straight to Hopes&Fears. Kill the fears (aliens) and organise the hopes into the agenda.

Work through the agenda doing the work, not just talking about it. If stakeholders come up do the mapping now, or write the stakeholder communication using again the 5Ps. If project update is on the agenda do a quick Here2There using images to tell the story.

Involve everyone, keep the extroverts quiet and draw private insights form introverts. Transfer ownership and probe everytime you SpinCast inviting comments from each individual

If there is a big risk that needs discussing, don't discuss it, use FixItNow and agree actions to kill it dead (see previous posts for these PETs and instructions). In minutes everyone is aligned, up to speed and you've done at least one or two bits of work together as a team.

Tricky decision to make use ISWON. Then converge all the thinking and actions (which should be small and achievable) before capturing who will do what by when, and to prevent delays who gets the power to make the final decision without coming back together, use a RAPID (sharing the actions equally). You'll be done in 38 minutes.

Now you get 22 minutes to reflect and get some fresh air knowing you've already made good headway on the project (and not a talking shop). And your take away action is doable before the next session. If you're away on holiday for the next drumbeat - you can still complete your actions and leave a message for your crew. And see what you missed when you get back as it will be all have been captured and immortalised on the PETs.

HINT: Although there are many options available, for example you could be face-to-face or you could be virtual or a hybrid mix. I recommend QUBE for face-to-face hybrid or entirely virtual. It's ideal. And even though I'm biased it's still true!

Don't meet and talk and talk and talk with your own agendas. Do DrumBeat and do and do and do, all aligned but able to work asynchronously, freeing you up from diary tyranny, giving you time back, making rapid project progress and an all round feeling of goodness.

#PET #FoldingTime #Drumbeat