Miri McDonald

Top 10 Tips for Designing a Productive (and fun!) Meeting

I recently met Nadine Owens Burton via a HARO inquiry. She is in the midst of a neat series of interviews for her Power of Care blog. She's asking practitioners to talk about a passionate topic for her readers. She specifically asked for a top 10 list so we could provide a tool for people to use. I'm pretty passionate about the idea of eliminating unproductive meetings in the workplace and when possible, not having a meeting at all. But, when a meeting IS needed, I think we owe it to everyone involved to get our ducks in a row and have a meeting that is productive and fun! 

You can listen to our interview by clicking play on the little viewer below or by visiting Nadine's blog. For those that can't listen right now (because maybe you are reading this while sitting in a boring meeting!) I've provided the top 10 list below the audio version.

Top 10 Tips for Designing a Productive (and fun!) Meeting

1. Why have the meeting? Get clear on purpose and outcomes first!
2. Who needs to be there? Confirm with meeting owner that all stakeholders are invited to ensure a key individual or group is not left out of decisions. Or worse, meeting cannot move forward because individual is not present.
3. Is there baggage? Gain understanding of relationships among participants. Do they know each other? Are there any personality conflicts or rifts? Do they enjoy working together? Is this the first meeting? This will help shape the way you design exercises, if you decide to have a team building exercise, the need for ice breakers, and what to be prepared for when you facilitate (if there will be arguements).
4. What is success? A few weeks before the meeting, interview meeting owners and key participants to gather criteria for success
5. How can you engage them? Be creative when developing exercises to engage people in different ways and accomplish outcomes.
6. How can you get them to talk? Develop a list of open-ended questions to engage discussions.
7. What are the rules? Develop a clear list of rules for the meeting such as keeping discussions confidential, being respectful during debate, no cell phones, etc.
8. Can technology enhance the experience? Consider using tools that can enhance the experience such as conversation mapping software that allows for tracking the discussion or anonymous voting tools that can capture quick real-time votes.
9. What's the physical space like? Ask to see the space before your meeting happens so you can decide the layout for the chairs/tables in advance. If it's possible, ask if you can help choose the room based on your design preferences.
10. What treats are you going to bring? Have food, snacks, and candy! People need energy to keep going during these sessions and feel cared for when you take the time and spend a little money to provide good coffee and a variety of healthy foods. Provide water, caffeine free options, and don't forget the vegetarians!

What are your favorite tricks for a great meeting? Any cool tools or exercises to share?

What motivates you?

I wrote a guest post on motivation for Miriam Salpeter's blog and it is featured on her site today. Read it here:

Job seekers and motivation – Things to consider when job hunting: Have you ever really thought about what it takes to motivate you? In a guest post, organization development and communications strategist Miri Zena McDonald suggests that job seekers have an obligation to themselves and the companies where they would like to work to determine what really motivates them. Read more...

Miriam Salpeter, owner of Keppie Careers, is a job search and social media strategist. CNN named her a "top 10 job tweeter," and she has appeared in major media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, ABCNews.com and NBC news for her cutting-edge career advice. Miriam teaches best practices to land great opportunities and offers clients clarity, confidence and social media know-how. Miriam tweets @Keppie_Careers.

Exceptional service = An unsolicited "do-over"

I recently had professional photos taken for this blog as well as my social media profiles by David King of King Carnahan Visuals. I found out about the photographer through my friend Laurel Cavalluzzo.  Personally, I think he did a great job with them and was very satisfied with the experience for several reasons:

• The price was very reasonable
• The photo shoot itself was a fun experience
• David has an easy way about him that allows you to be yourself in the photos
• He sent me the online proofs later that SAME DAY
• I was able to choose my photo(s) from about 50 different shots of which many were great

So, I went away from this experience very happy and I have a great photo to show for it on this blog and am using a slightly different one as my avatar for Twitter and LinkedIn.

About two weeks ago I get an email from David that basically says he was looking back at the photos he took of us (my friend Laurel and me) and he is just not 100% happy with them. He assured us that we look fabulous but that he just knows he could do better. He said he'd love the opportunity to shoot us again at no charge and provide us with other options. Then he thanked us.

Um, hello? What? I've never experienced anything like that in my life. Have you? Think about it. Have you ever received great service, even told the service provider you were happy with it, and then, completely UNSOLICITED, were contacted by the service provider asking if they could try again because they didn't think it reflected their best work?

Considering many of us are service providers, I think we can all learn some lessons from this experience. If you are a small business owner (like David) you might first wonder why someone would bother doing this. It costs money and time right? The person was happy with the service. Why bother? I think its a few things and we all need to stop and learn from them.

• Strong dedication to and love of his craft: You can tell immediately that David loves his work and it shows when you work with him. He would not offer to do a free photo shoot for a satisfied customer if he didn't love taking photographs.
• Exceptionally high standards for his work: The fact that David went back and reviewed work that was already done and paid for by a happy customer says he is constantly looking to be better. But he took it a step further, he didn't just say, "I am not happy with these. I'll do better next time." No, he said, I can still do better on THAT one and I am going to contact that person and exceed my own standards.
• Understanding the power of connectors and word of mouth marketing: This one is big, especially now with what we are learning about social media and how people strongly rely on personal recommendations. He actually has no idea I'm writing this blog entry but I'm sure he must know that an amazing move like this would cause me to recommend him to anyone that asks me about photographers in the area!

If you are a service provider, what do you think? Do you think he should have left "sleeping dogs lie" since I was satisfied with my photos? Have you done anything like this before?

The culture hype

I find it interesting that everyone talk about corporate culture these days. It didn't used to be like that. When I started working (it wasn't THAT long ago but I will say that my first work computer only had DOS), only organizational psychologists, organizational development professionals, and human resource folks talked about it. Now, its a must-have attribute on Gen Y lists of cool companies. You can't read an article about culture without seeing names like Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines), Tony Hsieh (Zappos), and Steve Jobs (Apple) -- the executives and companies that have popularized corporate culture and created the desire to work inside such great environments. We see images of cool people with wildly decorated cubicles, dogs at work, bikes hanging from the ceiling, and glass-walled meeting rooms.

As an organization development professional, I am in two minds about this. I love it because it means more companies are trying to do the right thing for their people. I also get more consulting work and that is always nice! However, knowing how many companies suffer from mediocre cultures, I think it's unrealistic for job seekers to think that they will all work for a company with a stellar culture. I will also say that as a more experienced (see reference to DOS in first paragraph) professional, I think it helps you to grow and learn your best cultural fit by working in a variety of cultures. I will go so far as to say, even a bad one. Of course, when you are in that soup, it can be awful. But afterwards, you can look back and learn what doesn't work for you and why.

As a job seeker, I think it's important to be honest with yourself about the type of culture that really will suit your personality. You may find that you work better in a culture that is not in line with the hip cultures of late. It's easy to get caught up in the corporate branding and social media frenzy of which culture is now a big part. For example, I used to work for a company that had a completely open floor plan. No cubicles, just desks. The physical environment created collaborative behavior across the organization that happened in real time, all of the time. Pretty hip right? Well, this was great for extroverts who get their energy by working with others. But not so great for introverts that recharge by being alone. Another example would be a company that has a casual dress code. You may be someone that feels strongly about wearing a suit with clients. There is nothing wrong with that. The focus should be on finding the culture that fits. Not the hippest one.

I'm not suggesting you work for a company with a known toxic culture. However, I am saying that if you find a job that sounds challenging, a manager that seems fair and inspiring, a smart group of colleagues, and a salary that works for you, take it!  Even if the culture seems kind of ordinary! You may be able to influence it along the way or learn more about what attracted you to it in the first place. Worst case, you have more experience to add to your resume' and can pay the bills while continuing your searching for that place where you can ride your bike in the halls and bring Fido to the office.

I don't want to be the Mayor

While on a trip last week, I started using FourSquare to experiment with location-based networking. You see, I don't have an iPhone (I know, the horror!) but I do have an iPad (you all breathe a collective sigh of relief) and decided to bring it to save on space. After only two "check-ins" and an almost a 3rd, I quit. Maybe I'll go back some day but for now, it’s not for me.

It's not that I don't see the benefit to businesses and individuals. Businesses get a snapshot of their demographic for targeted marketing, reward frequent visitors, etc. Users get coupons, discounts, learning about new places, etc. I get it. I really do.

What I don't get is the need for us to be logging EVERYTHING we do online. Does this make us feel more important or validated in some way? As a yoga teacher, I think its so important to experience the now. It feels artificial to me to stop and "check in." We hardly ever see people sitting alone without a cell phone, game, or laptop. Why can’t we sit with ourselves and just be?

It also begins to feel like if we don't tell our online "friends" about something then it's not important or we aren't really doing it. It kind of reminds me of the feeling I sometimes get when I am on vacation and I am taking too many pictures. I often purposely forget my camera when going out so I can just be there having fun.

As I was walking through the Milwaukee airport. I realized I hadn't "checked in" yet. I stopped walking, took out my iPad and then looked at myself. I felt a bit pathetic. I thought, “Why should check in? Do I care that I'm here?” Then FourSquare asks, "Do you want to share this with your friends?” This was the clincher for me. Definitely not. I put the iPad back in my purse and never looked back.

I once had a Facebook “friend” (this person friended me through someone else so I hardly knew him) write on my wall saying “are you a real person or a made up by Facebook?”  He was knocking me for not being more mundane, telling the world about what I ate for breakfast or that I broke a nail. It made me laugh and I realized I am just not that kind of social media user and never will be. I replied saying that we all use social media for different purposes. I think it’s important to stop and think about what kind of user you are and stay true to that.

So, when you read my Twitter feed or Facebook page, you won’t see me checked in at the Middleton Barriques. But if you walk through the doors and see me sitting there, please join me for some great java and conversation.

Are you living your change?

Saturday morning I was having one of those "I can't find anything to wear that looks good on me" moments. When I finally settled on the outfit that looked the least bad, I took a look in the mirror and faced the harsh reality. I don't like the way any of these outfits look because I haven't been working out enough. Period. End. I could blame this on a variety of reasons (a.k.a excuses!) but I when it comes down to it, I want to make a change so I need to figure out the root cause of my failure.

 

If I look at this situation objectively as an organization change practitioner, I would identify three problems immediately.  

1. Case for Change: I obviously haven't gotten clear enough on a case for change that drives me to do the hard work when things get tough. The why that is powerful enough to get me to work out even when I'm tired, stressed, or just don't feel like it. Obviously "looking good in my clothes" isn't inspiring enough.
2. Living the Change: Dean Lindsay, author of the The Progress Challenge says to "Be Progress." Same thought behind the famous Gandhi quote "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." That's the hard part about change right? We can want to change. We can talk about it. But how many of us live it? I am obviously not living my change. If you think about this in an organizational context, how many executives talk about how other people have to change but fail to behave in that new way themselves?
3. Prioritizing the Change: This is the more practical aspect but important to the "living the change" aspect. If I want to exercise three mornings a week, I need to find time in my schedule to make it happen consistently. I had committed to working out Mon, Wed, and Fri mornings but then, when I was honest with myself, I realized I was wasting time on the computer in the mornings and then didn't have time for the exercise. In reality, I did have the time, but I didn't prioritize the change so I used the time for something less important.

These kinds of root cause analyses and honest conversations are very important to the change process. Whether we are working with organizations or individuals, the elements of behavioral change are really the same. It all comes down to finding a reason that is uniquely inspiring for the change to be prioritized so new behaviors happen consistently over time. For real change to occur people need to be living the change all the time in their hearts and minds until it becomes second nature.

 

My new case for change: Being a model of health and fitness for my children. How will I live my change?New rule this week: No computer in the morning until AFTER I exercise!

Progress trumps change. Every time.

A package arrived with my mail this afternoon. I don't know about you, but I always love getting a package! Personal mail is unusual these days and packages are even more rare! You can imagine my delight when I opened it to discover a book that I did not purchase, but instead received in response to a comment I posted on a blog. Dean Lindsay sent me a copy of his book The Progress Challenge based on a comment I posted on Miriam Salpeter's blog. I was excited to begin reading it because I was very inspired by his tagline on the book: "To change is human, to progress is divine."

I started reading the book right away this evening. I'm not finished yet but I had an insight I wanted to share in real-time, while I am processing it. I realized why, at times, my work as a change management consultant had me feeling uninspired. I always felt badly about that and tried to push those feelings away because I didn't want to let my clients down. I told myself, "they are making change and I'm supposed to be helping them. I was hired to get people excited about it and help them implement this new way of doing business." But my heart wasn't always in it and that caused me some serious dissonance.

Reading the book this evening, something clicked for me. It's common sense now that I think about it but sometimes it takes someone else to help you realize a simple fact. The idea of inspiring progress feels much better to my soul and spirit than the idea of managing change. The connotation of the term change management, at least to me, is that you are just managing something that is changing and it's not necessarily a change that is good or making things better. In other words, if the change isn't progress, then it's not worth doing. However, the sad truth is that organizations make change all the time without stopping to consider whether its true progress.

Thinking more about past projects, I have been inspired by those that were truly progress. The case for change was clear and it was always something worth doing and meant change for the better. Progress. Forward movement that would lead the organization to a better place.

Progress trumps change. Every time.

Unconference = Unboring

I guest blogged about my experience at the TRU USA Unconference today on Smartblog on Workforce. Check out the posting here: http://bit.ly/9PdvKq

The power of acting selflessly and building community

Thanks to all of you that commented and voted on my blog posting about the TRU USA unconference. I actually won the ipad! I still can't believe it. Thanks again to Pinstripe for donating the ipads for the contest. For those of you coming in late on this, read my previous posting about the contest.

When Geoff Webb (one of the founders of the TRU conferences) announced me as the winner, he asked me how I got so many votes and comments. In the moment, I just said, "I posted it on Facebook and Twitter" but on my drive home I really thought about it. How did I get so many votes? Then I remembered something pretty powerful that Ryan Paugh of Brazen Careerist said during their session this afternoon at TRU USA. Ryan is Brazen's community manager and he said (I'm paraphrasing here), if you do things for people in your community they will do the same things for you.

I realized that this was EXACTLY how I won that ipad. It really was all about the community I've built and the power of acting selflessly for my colleagues and friends. I connect people, offer to help, offer advice, go out of my way, comment on people's blogs, re-tweet great comments on twitter, share facebook postings, and more. I do these things without looking for something in return. I do these things because it brings me joy to help others. So, when I connected with my community and told them I blogged about TRU USA, not only did they WANT to read the posting, but they wanted to help ME by voting. They may have been partially motivated by the chance to win their own ipad, but I am not sure this was enough of a draw on its own. I think the main reason they did it was to help and support me.

So the next time someone asks you to help them, just do it! Don't think about what it will get you or how you can get a return on the favor in that moment. Just do it for the fun and joy of it. You never know, you may win an ipad!