Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh)
The 22-Minute Meeting
Rethinking Productivity in Corporate Gatherings
Scott sent this to me a few days ago, and I finally got a chance to watch it tonight. I did enjoy it and am guilty of taking my laptop and phone everywhere I go because most meetings aren’t productive, so I disagree with those two rules. Nicole Steinbeck says: “Meetings can be a huge productivity & time suck. So what if you took out all the stupid, wasteful stuff and left only the useful parts?” Below is a summary of her talk by Scott Berkun (but as he reminds us, all credit goes to Nicole).
The 9 Rules for a 22-Minute Meeting
- Schedule a 22-minute meeting — Who decided meetings should be 30 or 60 minutes? What data is this based on? None. 30 and 60 minute meetings leave no time to get between meetings, and assumes, on average, people need an hour to sort things out. Certainly not all meetings can be run in 22 minutes, but many can, so we’d all be better off if the default time were small, not large.
- Have a goal based agenda – Having an agenda at all would be a plus in most meetings. Writing it on the whiteboard, earns double pluses, since then everyone has a constant reminder of what the meeting is supposed to achieve.
- Send required readings 3 days beforehand – The burden is on the organizer to make this small enough that people actually do it. Never ever allow a meeting to be “lets all read the documents together and penalize anyone diligent enough to do their homework”. (note: I think 24 hours is plenty).
- Start on time – How often does this happen? Almost never. Part of the problem is Outlook and all schedule programs don’t have space between meetings. By 2pm, there is a day’s worth of meeting time debt. 22 minutes ensures plenty of travel/buffer time between meetings.
- Stand up – Reminds everyone the goal isn’t to elaborate or be supplemental (See Scrum standing meetings). Make your point, make your requests, or keep quiet. If there is a disagreement, say so, but handle resolving it outside the meeting.
- No laptops, but presenters and note takes. If you’re promised 22 minutes, and it’s all good stuff, you don’t need a secondary thing to be doing while you pretend to be listening. One person taking notes, and one person presenting if necessary.
(I disagree with this rule – Jeremy)
- No phones, no exceptions – see above.
(I disagree with this rule – Jeremy)
- Focus! Note off-topic comments. If you have an agenda, someone has to police it and this burden is on whoever called the meeting. Tangents are ok, provided they are short. The meeting organizer has to table tangents and arguments that go too far from the agenda.
- Send notes ASAP – With 22 minutes, there should be time, post meeting, for the organizer to send out notes and action items before the next meeting begins.
Time Efficiency
Shorter meetings with buffer time between them
Clear Purpose
Goal-based agendas keep everyone on track
Actionable Outcomes
Quick distribution of notes and next steps
The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Daniel Pink’s RSA Animate on the Science of Motivation
Three Counterintuitive Motivations
I learned three counterintuitive motivations behind our actions:
1
Autonomy
The desire to direct our own lives and work
2
Mastery
The urge to get better at what matters to us
3
Purpose
The yearning to serve something larger than ourselves
A focus on pure profit alone hurts businesses, workers, and consumers.
About Daniel Pink
Daniel H. Pink is the author of several bestselling books about business, work, creativity, and behavior, including “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” which is the basis for this RSA Animate video.
Pink’s research challenges traditional views about motivation, showing that the carrot-and-stick approach is often ineffective for today’s creative, conceptual work. His insights have influenced organizations worldwide to rethink how they engage and motivate their people.
Applying These Principles
For Leaders
Create environments where autonomy thrives, mastery is encouraged, and purpose is clear.
For Teams
Focus on collaborative goals with meaning rather than competitive, profit-only metrics.
For Individuals
Seek roles and projects that offer autonomy, growth potential, and alignment with personal values.