Tag Archives: meetings

When is a team meeting NOT a team meeting?

Posted on August 17, 2017 by

Q: Does your manager cancel it if they cannot attend? A: It’s not a team meeting. It’s the manager’s meeting.Q: Does your manager set and send out the agenda? A: It’s not a team meeting. It’s the manager’s meeting. Q: … Continue reading →

Posted in command and control, systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How to do a SWOT

Posted on April 1, 2015 by

In the most strategic of rooms in my building, I found an agenda on a flipchart. It is not exceptional, it is typical. This probably happens in your building. This is how decisions are made…. *the photo is real **the words … Continue reading →

Posted in communication, learning, public sector, systems thinking, thinking | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Quick! To the Puppy Room!

Posted on December 15, 2013 by

Where could stressed staff retreat to to escape the hurly burly of organisational life? The endless complexity, troubling questions with no immediate answers and the work that won’t work, where to go to escape it and be rejuvenated by something … Continue reading →

Posted in all wrong, command and control, leadership, plausible but untrue, systems thinking | Tagged , | 3 Comments

How to measure a meeting

Posted on November 26, 2013 by

I’ve been in a meeting today! How can I tell how successful the meeting was? Measure it! With numbers! -it was held in room 42 -it lasted 75 minutes -there were 10 people -there was 1 PowerPoint -I ate 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in command and control, public sector, purpose, thinking | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Empty chairs and Teddy Bears

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

Who’s the most important person in your meetings? In Amazon, it’s an empty chair. When Amazon was starting out Jeff Bezos , the founder, made sure that at every meeting there was an empty chair brought to the boardroom table … Continue reading →

Posted in customer, knowledge, purpose | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Futile Flipcharts

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

I saw this flip chart yesterday, left behind in a meeting room.  I felt so sorry for those beleaguered slightly pathetic three words, curvy bubble and wonky line. I thought, “they deserve more than this, let’s make them famous!”, or as famous … Continue reading →

Posted in command and control, systems thinking, thinking | Tagged , | Leave a comment