Tag Archives: meetings

Jason Fried: Why work doesn’t happen at work

Posted on November 26, 2010 by John Hunter

In this TED talk, Jason Fried, founder of 37 signals, discusses how people get work done. When asked where do you go when you really need to get something done, almost no-one says: the office (unless it is early in the morning or late at night)? This is especially for creative people and knowledge workers. They need long stretches of uninterrupted time to concentrate. “The real problems in the office are the managers and the meetings.” The main theme is … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Psychology, Software Development, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Technical Non-Support

Posted on August 12, 2010 by John Hunter

A bit of fun from Dilbert. I have had the exact experience Dilbert does of tech support refusing to think about the actual symptoms of the problem and insisting on following some script and wasting my time – repeatedly. The second act takes on another time waster with a management tip from Dogbert: “Always postpone meetings with time wasting morons.” Dogbert hasn’t quite adopted the respect for people principle. via: The final word on making meetings better Related: Dilbert and … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Fun, webcast | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Better Meetings

Posted on July 7, 2008 by John Hunter

Meetings are perennial problems. People sit through meetings and then complain about how big a waste of time it was. Here are a couple very simple tips to try and actually improve (instead of just agreeing that meetings are wasteful, but doing nothing to improve). Have an agenda (with desired outcomes – decision on x, or whatever) and stick to it (I think you can successfully adapt as the meeting goes on, but be truthful, can you do so successfully … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Meeting Like Google

Posted on September 29, 2006 by John Hunter

How to Run a Meeting Like Google [the broken link was removed], offers good advice like agendas distributed ahead of time, having a note taker… Instead, she encourages such comments as “The experimentation on the site shows that his design performed 10% better.” This works for Google, because it builds a culture driven by customer feedback data, not the internal politics that pervade so many of today’s corporations. Also definitely read: Most Meetings are Muda and meeting advice from 37 … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Management, Quality tools | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Most Meetings are Muda

Posted on April 29, 2006 by John Hunter

Most Meetings are Muda (Waste) from Got Boondoggle: I will not waste your time and regurgitate all the expert based meeting protocols like following an established agenda, having a meeting plan, taking meeting notes, etc. All these ideas are great and work well. Instead, I have a list of a few meeting musts that may guide you to more productive meeting time. The post provides good tips on what to avoid. Given how many people know that many meetings are … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Quality tools | Tagged , , | 4 Comments