Brainwaves in your Boardroom
None of us is as smart as all of us
Why have meetings anyway? I mean, by far the most common insight we get from talking to people about their meetings is that they wish they were having less of them. What if we just cut them out all together?
Okay, obviously we need meetings, but visiting that extreme solution as an exercise challenges us to answer the granddaddy of all questions— why? Reader beware: long-winded metaphors ahead.
Let’s imagine that your company is a nervous system, and that you and your co-workers are neurons. When you’re in a meeting, your job is to pass or process signals from your part of the nervous system to another. Not unlike the specialized regions of the brain, your company’s teams are responsible for certain kinds of signals. When it comes down to it, your meetings are your company’s thoughts. Some thoughts lead to action, others are habitual traversals of well-worn pathways that serve to reinforce things like personality, brand, and culture.
Let’s be honest, some thoughts are a waste of your processing power.
Who cares? Well, an organism whose neurons are firing on all cylinders has a serious competitive advantage. It is able to respond to stimulus quickly, think fast, think clearly, capitalize on opportunities where they exist and create opportunities where they did not before. Ultimately, all else being equal, the smarter rat gets the cheese.
So, why do we need meetings? Because an organization that doesn’t meet is like a brain that doesn’t think.
Are your company’s thoughts clear and intentional? Do they lead to positive action? Or are they disorganized, repetitive, and lacking purpose? Some companies, like some grandparents, are bound to thought patterns and belief systems that once served them well, but have not adapted to shifting ecosystems. Ask yourself — how can I help my company think better and faster?
How can I think less, and do more?
