Back to back meetings. Oh joy. Most people appreciate that back to back meetings and long meetings are a great way to kill productivity and boost terrible decision making, yet in a culture of presenteeism and busyness they not only survive, they thrive. For example, I recently spotted an online exasperation when someone found out they were booked in for back to back meetings from 8am until midnight. I agree this is an extreme example but how anyone – even the brightest spark – can be expected to be capable of good performance and sound judgment after that lot is anyone’s guess. Yet it goes on, a lot.
Important Stuff
‘We’ve got loads of important stuff to discuss.’ Really? Well good for you – and if it is that important then do your stuff some justice and make time to deal with it properly. You don’t cram a good meal chock full of too many courses then try and wolf it down in double quick time, that way lies indigestion and worse. So why treat your important work any differently? I’ve never understood the logic behind the maths of ‘this stuff matters so let’s rush it.’
Time Travel and A Tactic for Having Better Meetings
I was giving a talk at Louisiana SHRM conference a few weeks back when the subject of time travel came up. I suggested an extremely simple tactic that is often cited as a way for having more effective meetings. Why use this tactic? Well as HR leaders, in fact leaders of any kind, you help to influence and shape culture through leading by example. Here’s a two minute clip from the talk complete with a free technical blooper for your enjoyment.
I’ve got some important meetings later today, including a catch up with Joe Gerstandt and an interview with Jo Dodds on Engage for Success radio. I’ve planned in a gap between these two sessions so I can devote my time and effort to each one separately. In the meantime, seeing as it is such a nice day, I’m going to practice the flexible working message to the max and indulge in a short mountain bike ride. Right now.
Conversation and the human element are at the heart and mind of great work. We need to stop trying to force the vagaries of humanity into a four box model and think more about how we adapt the models, processes and restrictions of work to fit us humans better.
In March 2010 Ziona Strelitz of ZZA published a paper called Liveable Lives. In the words of the author, this paper seeks to:
alert Human Resources and Corporate Real Estate professionals to the tensions employees face in managing their commitments towork and the rest of life, challenges that are magnified when long travel time is involved.
It’s a powerful and easy read. The paper talks about a range of subjects which circle the dreaded ‘work-life balance’ and you can grab a copy here.
In the Autumn of 2011 Neil Usher took Liveable Lives, turned it into a set of lyrics and kindly gave it to me to play with. I gave the song an airing at Stop Doing Dumb Things 2011 and left it, hanging in the air. The truth is I wasn’t too happy with the arrangement I’d concocted.
The song has bounced around inside my head ever since. Yesterday I found myself with a few minutes between tasks and the mood took me to have another go. I made this tune up on the fly and I think it suits Ziona’s and Neil’s work much better than the first attempt. I hope you enjoy the paper and the song – I’ll be revisiting some of these humanising concepts throughout 2012 and beyond. And if this subject interests you I recommend you buy a copy of Humanize by Jamie Notter and Maddie Grant it’s a fabulous invigorating read about putting people at the centre of organisations in this social world of ours.
Liveable lives
Well they shut my office and consolidated
me, all the way to the city
Now I spend three hours incarcerated
In vacuum-packed self-pity
They said it helps collaboration
And competitive position
But I only leave my workstation
For coffee – and micturition….
We’re masters of our destiny
But no-one wants our opinion
Our liveable lives are a fantasy
As a 21st century minion
Well, they declared me an agile drone
Took away my rolodex and chair
then sent me home to work alone
in a bedroom only ten feet square
I bought this condominium
To avoid the grim commute
Now I’m stuck with the barest minimum
Can’t work – and I’m skint to boot
We’re masters of our destiny
But it still feels most unpleasant
Our liveable lives are a fantasy
As a 21st century peasant
Well, they can’t see me panicking
The departmental bedrock
And they can’t hear the faint ticking
of my biological clock
I still feel fairly saleable
When perfumed, buffed and lacquered
I’m lonely and available but
But overworked, stressed – and knackered
We’re masters of our destiny
But lost in hopeless wondering
Our liveable lives are a fantasy
As a 21st century underling
Well, we’ve all agreed I’m flexible
Work when, where and how I choose
And as childcare costs are miserable
Its homework, and nothing to lose
But there’s marmite on my laptop
And my iPhone’s in the toilet
Its a perfect life if you can stop
The little ones’ will to spoil it
We’re masters of our destiny
But we’re overcome by hassle
Our liveable lives are a fantasy
As a 21st century vassal
Well, I declared myself a professional
Dad, a five-year blue-collar sentence
Its the hardest job that I’ve ever had
No leisure time for repentance
I never thought I’d miss the life
Where I wasn’t consumed by intrigue
Or the ice cold thrust of a corporate knife
From an underachieving colleague
We’re masters of our destiny
But don’t recognise our werf
Our liveable lives are a fantasy
As a 21st century serf
Well, I got my cherished promotion
To a Senior Vice President
And the office buzzes like a bee
on heat, I so long to be a resident
But my parents need me to be around
As they play out their encores
and my absence only brings the sound
of a corridor – of closing doors
We’re masters of our destiny
But fast-tracked to the grave
Our liveable lives are a fantasy
As a 21st century slave
We’d be masters of our destiny
If we could only see what’s wrong
Our lives need not be the fantasy
Of a 21st century song
Our lives need not be the fantasy
Of a 21st century song.