Work That Works

Principle #4Creating A Meeting Of The MindsWEteam Cognitive Collaboration

I don't have a problem with meetings. Research has shown that the collective intelligence of a group is greater than the intelligence of any one member of the group. But I do have a problem with how meetings are usually held.

I've attended meetings all over the world, and in my experience they're largely the same, whether I'm in Singapore or Sioux Falls. At an assigned hour, people drop their work, gather in a conference room, and exchange pleasantries. Sometimes high-carbohydrate snacks like bagels or muffins are on a side table. Except for the chairperson, every face in the room shows the same expression: “Why am I here, and how am I going to contribute?” Many people today are being asked to do twice the work in half the time, and a badly run meeting is an anathema. An agenda is passed out, a scribe and timekeeper are selected, and the most important person in the room outlines the topic that will absorb everyone's time for the next two hours.

Some people are at this meeting because they always have been. Division meetings are usually composed of managers above a certain job level. Company meetings are usually composed of executives from each division. But what guarantee is there that selecting people by the length of their experience at the company or by their job title is the most effective way ...