Meeting Notes - Horizons Matter

Hey,

I hope you are safe and had a good weekend. It was my Birthday this weekend and I had a super pleasant Sunday. A family walk, a drive in my car, a gym session and some nice food. Hence, this newsletter is a little late.

You’ll notice a new format to the newsletter.

This is a very conscious decisions to move the newsletter to a curation of short helpful ideas around communication, strategy and the perennial pursuit of enriching workplaces.

Longer form articles are now being published to the website every week.

I’ve listened to the many people who have been in touch to say they’d rather have shorter snippets of actionable insights in the newsletter. Consider it done.

For those new to the Meeting Notes newsletter, welcome, I’m Rob, Chief Birthday Officer at Cultivated Management. This newsletter is about mastering the art of communication and creativity - and creating a bright future of work.

Horizons define focus (and results)

Imagine if we're told to only consider the next quarter of the business and the need to make money as an organisation.

You’ll get weird short-term efficiency, often at the expense of long term growth and value.

Horizons matter.

If we’re just looking at the short-term, we’ll prioritise short-term wins, cost reduction activities and immediate reportable results. If we’re only looking at the long-term, we may not release enough value to stay alive.

Balancing all horizons is important. If we’re thinking long-term we’ll get strategic clarity and alignment, and when we combine this with short-term horizons, we’ll get a focus on delivering the right things quickly.

Here are three horizons I use when consulting with clients:

• Strategic Horizon - 1-3 years.
• Alignment Horizon - 6 months to 1 year.
• Delivery Horizon - 0 - 6 months.

Focussing on any single horizon, at the exclusion of the others, will give you spurious, weird results. Keep in mind your strategic goals, align across the business and deliver in increments towards it.

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Meetings

Saw this and realised it sums up pretty much every badly run meeting.

Everyone talks about the same topic but comes away with different understandings and interpretations. Here’s how to run effective meetings.

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Different Opinions

It‘s not uncommon for people to avoid conflict, to shy away from disagreements and to merely say “yes” to bad ideas. I deal with this every day. But, as long as we’re not being disagreeable, and we’re communicating with purpose, there is nothing wrong with differences in opinion. They should be welcomed.

“Differences in opinion are part of collaborating with other people” - Van Halen

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Expectations

A general consulting rule I try to apply every day is this:

Rather than asking the question “What do I expect from them,” I try to ask “What do they expect from me?”

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The burden of proof rests with those who propose the idea

It’s not uncommon for leaders and manager to pass the burden of problem solving (or strategic change) to external sources.

What they get back is plausible sounding theories and ideas that may or may not work. Managers and Leaders are then tasked with actioning these theories and the expected results…..only for things to not happen as expected.

But, the burden of proof should rest with those who propose the idea. It’s precisely why I share actionable ideas that I’ve seen work.

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Being wrong

I remind myself of this every single day.

We can be confident that we’re right yet terribly wrong at the same time

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Pause

Pausing when speaking (or presenting at a conference) is essential. Not any random pause, but a well placed pause. Here’s a mantra I use to practice pausing:

• Transmit a feeling. Pause.
• Pose a question. Pause.
• Make a well considered point. Pause.

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Visual Communication

I use visuals all the time in work. We must help people to ”see” an idea, or strategy, or solution, and visuals can replace, or support, the words used. Visuals however, should contain all three of the following elements:

1. Have visual appeal (look good)
2. Aid in comprehension (be simple, clear and complete)
3. Aid retention (rhymes, diagrams, flow charts, acronyms, mnemonics)

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Problems can build long-term customer relationships

Did you know that customers who have a complaint dealt with really well, form stronger long-term connections to your business.

What does “really well” mean?

Start with an apology, have positive intent, use time speak, apply effort in resolving the problem quickly, fix the problem (correctly the first time helps) and maybe a little free gift as icing on the cake. We’re all in customer service, no matter what role we have in the business.

Problems will always happen but when you solve a customer problem, with no push back or drama, it communicates a reliable sign that you’re on their side. The result of which is commitment, repurchase, brand evangelism and most importantly, a long term relationship.

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Thanks for reading.

Until next time.

Rob..

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