Presentation/workshop delivered at the international Executives Association 100th-Anniversary conference in San Francisco, California, on November 3, 2016.

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There’s a Better Way
Executives Association
November 3, 2016
James P. Ware, PhD
Meeting Design Strategist
Making Meetings Matter

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Meetings…

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Meetings…

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“Tired Meerkat” (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPQFWEl5YkE)
Filmed by Jan Wenzel in the Dortmund Zoo on March 24, 2012
Meerkat for Print

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Worst Meeting Ever?What was worst meeting like?

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What Made It So Bad?

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My Purpose and Passion:

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Our Process Today
Why are meetings important?
Why are there so many lousy meetings?
How can we lead meetings that matter?
What is a collaborative leadership mindset?
How should we lead distributed meetings?

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Let’s Make This a Conversation

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Our Agenda
Why are meetings important?

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“... the manager’s job [in the new
economy] is to create an environment that
allows knowledge workers to learn – from
their own experience, from each other,
and from customers, suppliers, and
business partners…
…The chief management tool that makes
that happen is conversation.”
-- Alan Webber
“What’s so new about the new economy?” Harvard Business Review, 1993
Why are Meetings so Important?

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Why are Meetings So Important?
Source: Lifeblood Marketing, YouTube, CC license

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Why are Meetings So Important?Why are Meetings So Important?

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Source:
Rick Gilbert, Speaking Up: Surviving Executive Presentations
Why are Meetings So Important?

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Why are Meetings So Important?

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Our Agenda
Why are there so many lousy meetings?

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Lousy Meetings…

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Lousy Meetings

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Lousy Meetings

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Lousy Meetings

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20132005 What’s Going On?

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The World Has Changed

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The World Has Changed

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The World Has Changed

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The World Has Changed

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How can we lead meetings that matter?
Our Agenda

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Leading Meetings that Matter
Preparation ProcessParticipants
Purpose
Place

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Purpose
“If you don’t know
where you’re going,
any road will get
you there.”

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Purpose

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Participants
Who has relevant
expertise or
experience?
Who will be
impacted by
the outcome?
What are their
personal skills
and styles?
Will they help
or hinder my
purpose?

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Process: Your Road Map

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Process: Your Road Map

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A Good “Road Map” is…

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BoardroomPlace

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Employee LoungePlace

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Amtrak TrainPlace

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Trail in the WoodsPlace

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Blue Chairs at City Hall

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Preparation
Preparation
ProcessParticipants
Purpose
Place
Preparation

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A Word of Caution

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White Water Kayaking- Opal Creek, Little North Santium River, Oregon
Source: Youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WhZTD-U5J0
(posted by Clinton Begley, November 10, 2015)
Whitewater Video for Print

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Our Agenda
What is a collaborative leadership mindset?

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Leadership Role Models

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From Command and Control to Collaboration
Image: www.brainprick.comImage: www.military.id.me

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Shifting Our Leadership Mindset

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Two Basic Mindsets

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Two Basic Mindsets

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“Not Yet” “Not Yet”

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The Mindset of a Digital-Age Leader

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“Nobody is Smarter Than Everybody”*
* Rod Collins, in Leadership in a Wiki World

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Acting on that Mindset
Listening for
Feelings
Listening for
Understanding
Drawing out
individual differences

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Drawing Out Individual Differences

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Listening for Feelings

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Listening for Feelings

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Listening for Feelings

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What’s
going
on?
Listening for Understanding

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Two Different Points of View…
Feelings
Assumptions PerceptionsAssumptions

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The Mindset of a Digital-Age Leader

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Our Agenda
How should we lead distributed meetings?

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Leading Distributed Teams

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Leading a Distributed Meeting
Be explicit about your
mission, purpose, and
goals
Rule #1:

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Leading a Distributed Meeting
Make individual roles and
responsibilities clear to
all team members
Rule #2:

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Leading a Distributed Meeting
Send out your agenda
and statement of
purpose in advance
Rule #3:

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Leading a Distributed Meeting
Make personal experiences
and activities part of the
conversation
Rule #4:

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Define explicit
communication
protocols and
etiquette
Rule #5:
Leading a Distributed Meeting

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Your Turn

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A Final Thought
How much time do you spend
focused on…
The world outside your organization?
The next three to five years?
Building a collective view of the future?
30%
40%
20%
Source: Competing for the Future, by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad

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A Final Thought
That means:
Senior executives spend
30% x 40% x 20% = 2.4%
of their time building a common
understanding of their collective
future.

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That is Why Meetings are so Important!

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Keep in Touch
Website: http://www.makingmeetingsmatter.com
Order from Amazon: http://amzn.to/1SKV1Rp
Order from iTunes: http://apple.co/21EW3Q2
James P. Ware, PhD
Chief Meeting Design Strategist
Making Meetings Matter
Walnut Creek, California
+1 925.956.1795
jim@makingmeetingsmatter.com