Bizerm?: "Conference Slaw"
Rick Weaver
Award-winning Senior Recruiter | National Talent Acquisition Specialist in Executive Search and Management Recruiting
With the expense of travel today it is not uncommon to have meetings on Skype, Facetime, GoToMeeting, Zoom, or a traditional telephone service. It seems to go something like this: some of the participants log in and then they wait for more parties to be added. Usually there is some banter or ice breaking until it is perceived everyone that attends has arrived. Then they have a lively discussion with great exchange of ideas and information. An hour later everyone hangs up or signs off. Days pass and nothing else happens.
This is what Max Impact calls “Conference Slaw”. The term refers to a multi-party real time communication event involving several people but during the call there are no solid outcomes that are enacted upon.
How many times have you witnessed people gathered in multiple locations huddled around a black telecommunication box to discuss a problem to be solved or decision to be made? Sure, they have good intentions but without effective meeting strategies participants will end the call without solid outcomes.
It is important to take conference slaw off your menu of meeting formats. Skype is experiencing double digit growth and is often featured on television shows. For business and pleasure, Skype has revolutionized conferencing and increases the possibility of you serving up some conference slaw.
Prevent “Conference Slaw” by having a clear agenda, a moderator to monitor the conversation against the agenda, and someone to ensure the decision to be made or problem to be solved is clearly understood – and that all conversation is focused on the solution/decision.
About the author:
Rick Weaver has half a century’s experience in leadership development in retailing. He founded Max Impact Corporation, a leadership and business development consultancy company in 2002. His major accomplishments include working himself from stock clerk to director at a Fortune 50 retail chain and building a $40MM+ construction company in under 5 years. Today he works as an Executive Search Consultant with Patrice & Associates matching management talent with the job culture for which they are uniquely wired.