founder of naked leader
How to Hijack a Meeting…
Please add your comments at the bottom… many thanks.
Time to Read: 52 secs
Time to Listen: 1 min 29 secs
- Show up – this is always a good start – the more people, the greater your chance of a hijack.
- Wait for people who are late, before you begin (it would be discourteous not to).
- Put a very tall pile of papers in front of you – any papers – shows you are prepared.
- The Key – ask questions under “Actions from the last meeting” – get people talking about the issue itself, rather than the importance of the issue.
- Always go for consensus – which means a lot of discussion, debate and disagreement while being sickeningly nice to each other along the way, and, once you have achieved it, it is always so anodyne.
- Ensure that each action has more than one name next to it, or ideally, the name of a function e.g. Finance or HR. – that will never get done, then.
- Lead “the merry dance” – this is where you all dance as close to the main point as possible, without anyone ever raising it directly.
- Periodically comment on how well the meeting is being chaired / going.
- Write frantically – it doesn’t matter what you write, as long as you do, at the right times.
- Towards the end of the marathon meeting ask “I think it is important to remember what we want to achieve here.” Brilliant – the meeting is hijacked, much expensive time has been wasted and you come out the hero.
Have you experienced a hijack?
With my love and best wishes
David
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Comment received by email –
David
I love it
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Yes, all meetings involved being hijacked because in my experience we rarely go to one and learn anything.
Meetings for meetings sake.
Rarely are things achieved in meetings.
Waste of time, generally.
Often for the benefit of the speaker’s ego rather than for the benefit of the staff.
So right about depts never getting stuff done.
A task will only get done if there is accountability for it.
The only way to achieve that is to stick a name to it.
That individual is then responsible, no excuses, no hiding behind the ‘team’ banner.
I’m often led a merry dance in the office!
Comment received by email –
LOOOL!! Me thinks you’ve attended one too many NR meetings Mr Taylor :-)!
All so true of meetings. they all end up like this.
Very perceptive, David, and what is actually achieved at them? Not a lot.
I love the pile of papers line. Absolutely brilliant!
The whole NL Week is genius and hits the right notes.
Why are we all having meetings where nothing is actually achieved!?
Madness and DT cuts through the issue like a knife through margarine.
Why do we place so much importance on meetings?
Meetings mean nothing if the objective isn’t reached and it very rarely is.
People need to speak to each other although doing this via meetings is becoming less commonplace.
There are so many other ways to interact now, there really is no need.
The merry dance line, superb.
I think we all actually get led a merry dance when we get summoned to a meeting.