In the frenetic post covid marketplace, people are struggling to figure out a new way of doing business and interacting with people in a more risk mature market. More technology and less people interaction seem to be two of the driving forces. While the pandemic has forced us to interact selectively and via tech platforms like zooms, it also taught us how much time we waste attending useless conferences, traveling oversee to network and to do business development. The Covid crisis has acted as an accelerator awareness for all individuals helping us all to better manage our lives. In this blog, we will share tips to increase your impacts and performance. The two basic decisions at the base of a long-term personal success are the following: a) be super-selective on your engagements; and b) say no to meetings if you are not adding value or are not getting paid.
Meetings are for the most a waste
The biggest challenge with business meetings is that they lock up unnecessary resources that could be allocated more productively. Unless it’s a board meeting or a financial decision meeting most of the time too many people are forced to attend meeting without contributing in any way. Rather than spending time at meetings, conduct your communication via email as this is the best way to keep a paper trail of the business at hand. Avoid also chat voice message as these are often impossible to locate and use. Instead of vocal messaging use video-messaging such as Slack as these at least gives the perception that you are creating the in-person meeting conditions. If you are the leader and you are calling the shots, organize only quick meetings that address execution priorities and avoid unnecessary meetings formalities that require minutes taking and add bureaucracy to your business.
Mark Cuban and Elon Musk Hate Meeting
The two self-made billionaires have been consistently defining meetings as the biggest time waster in business. Mark Cuban, back in 2016 during an interview said, “No meetings or phone calls unless I’m picking up a check” The Maverik basketball owner further elaborates that people goes to meetings because they nothing better to do. Elon Musk similarly discourages meetings, and when he is in one, he keeps it short, focuses on execution urgency and leaves as soon as he is not adding value.
Final Thoughts
In the great book the Power of No we learn that a quick and polite no prevents us from time waters down the line. Similarly, we should not be afraid of leaving a meeting and or dropping off a Zoom call as soon as we realize we are not contributing or not learning anything. Get serious and understand the value of time. This is a nonrenewable resource and we have only 1440 minutes a day. Let’s make sure that before deciding on a meeting we are getting high return on the time invested, be it a check or invaluable information we acquire. As you go through this change in your life, ask yourself “how busy am I?” If the answer is very busy with meetings, you are most likely not prioritizing.