One of the most interesting things I observed over the eight years I spent working with Toyota was how a team of designers or engineers working on the same project might hold several short meetings over the course of the day—sometimes as many a five different times. The interesting aspects were two-fold.
First, the meetings were not necessarily scheduled. They were held as needed, ad hoc. Further, they weren't anchored by any scheduling software timeblocks. In other words, they weren't slave to some multiple of 15 minutes. They might be 7 minutes, or 22 minutes. I saw one meeting last barely over a minute.
The second aspect follows from the first: very little discussion occurred. The meetings were held to make a key decision. I learned that the Toyota project teams held a completely opposite view of the "meet and confer" philosophy held by most organizations. The Toyota teams employed a principle known as nemawashi, which actually comes from gardening, and translates loosely to "preparing the roots for planting." The "confer" part was held outside the meeting, conducted by individuals in one-on-one dialogs, so that by the time the meeting was held, all team input had been gathered and an informal consensus had been achieved. The meetings were a formality.
This approach was incredibly successful in facilitating the communication and collaboration efforts needed for the teams to function effectively. The good news is that with a small investment in time and by following some simple guidelines, you can dramatically improve the results of your meetings in the same fashion. The critical starting point is to think of meetings as a short project.
Here's a simple guide to “lean” meetings:
Step 1: Purpose
First, determine why you're meeting. This seems obvious, but I'm always surprised by how many meetings don't have a clear purpose.
In one to three sentences, define the overall purpose of the meeting. (Example: Develop alternatives and develop a “cost reduction” solution to offset a recent budget overage of $120K).
Next, break the meeting purpose into goal statements that identify clear outcomes. (Example: Goal #1 is to develop support among team members for addressing the budget variance. Goal #2 is to identify the root cause of the overage to avoid future problems. Goal #3 is to develop and review alternatives to offset the overage. Goal #4 is to build consensus for one of the alternatives. And Goal #5 is to develop a preliminary implementation plan.)
Step 2: Process
Now, determine the best way to accomplish the goals established in Step 1. It’s best to plan the meeting in three stages (before, during and after).
Before the Meeting
What needs to be accomplished that will enhance the effectiveness of the meeting? Prepare any relevant information, focusing on the vital few things instead of the trivial many, and any pre-work for participants.
During the Meeting
Build an agenda around the goals and determine the appropriate process to accomplish each goal. Here's a sample agenda using the example goals above:
• Opening: Welcome and brief overview of meeting objectives.
• Goal #1: Develop support among team members for addressing the budget variance. Group discussion on current budget variance.
• Goal #2: Identify the root cause of the overage to avoid future problems. Conduct a root cause analysis.
• Goal #3: Develop and review alternatives to offset the overage. Brainstorming of alternatives and selection criteria.
• Goal #4: Build consensus for one of the alternatives. Create a decision matrix.
• Goal #5: Develop a preliminary implementation plan. Who does what by when.
• Closing: Plan next steps. Decide on key follow-up plan.
After the Meeting
Allow for time during the meeting to determine next steps. Assign time targets, person(s) responsible, and next meeting date if required.
Step 3: People
Determine the participants and the roles required for a successful meeting. Here are the typical leading roles required:
• Meeting leader: responsible for the overall outcomes.
• Meeting coordinator: responsible for planning the event.
• Facilitator: neutral party responsible for facilitating the processes designed to achieve the meeting goals.
• Recorder: responsible for documenting the output.
Remember, meetings don’t have to be memorable, but they do have to be good. Here are a few pointers:
• Overall, shorter is better. Try to cut projected duration time in half!
• Start and end “on time.”
• Have a strong opening and close. Most meetings start and end on a flat note. Use the opening to stir excitement for the agenda and use the close for special recognition of efforts.
• Meet “virtually” when possible using e-mail, phone conferences and shared drives to keep the ball rolling. Virtual meetings are particularly great for large projects that require many meetings. Use them to facilitate progress between significant, milestone meetings.
Finally, not having a meeting is also OK. Make sure that the meeting purpose supports getting together in the first place!
