WASHROOM TECHNIQUES

"Boy, what a waste of time that was!"

Be honest, did you ever say that at the end of a meeting?

If not, you are indeed one of the fortunate few. If so, who did you blame for wasting your time? My guess is you blamed the person who ran the meeting. He or she is the most obvious "blamee." When all is said and done (and it usually is at a meeting), who has the responsibility to insure that your valuable time is not wasted? I'll give you a hint. You were in the shower with that person this morning.

You know intellectually how you use your time is your responsibility, but accepting that fact rationally is difficult and even more difficult is doing anything about it. So what chance do meeting leaders have to correct what's wasting your time if you don't tell them?

In The classic book, The Empowered Manager, Peter Block gives some remarkably practical advice to meeting leaders. He suggests that if you really want to know how well a meeting you are running is going, during the break you should slip into the washroom, go in a stall, put your feet up and listen to what everyone is saying!

Typical meeting scenario:

A leader asks, "Any questions, comments or concerns?" Attendees say, "no," then go on break and complain like hypochondriacs at an AMA convention. Back in the meeting after the break, leader asks for any questions or comments before going on and is greeted with total silence. And after the meeting, the "waste of time" litany commences.

Lesson:  Only you can waste your time.