For the past 24 years, I have been volunteering with groups that produce computing standards.  We did good things, albeit slowly.  But that’s the nature of these groups – it’s hard to get good help; it’s even harder to get good free help!  Being a fan of productivity, I usually tried to impose some structure and process on the group in the hopes that it would get things done more predictably.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.   There’s a saying in the computer industry – “Managing programmers is like herding cats”.  It’s more or less accurate.

My epiphany about this sort of work came in 1990, when I was charged with “project managing” a collection of these volunteer groups in a formal way.  Now, in retrospect, that was just insane.  These are creative, passionate people who were trying to do their best to develop “standards” for the computer industry.  Most of them are doing it in their free time. Many with no support from their employers at all!  How can you “manage” a group of people that not only doesn’t report to you, they don’t even get compensated or reviewed based upon their performance?

My answer?  You cannot.  The creative process isn’t one that can be managed. It doesn’t work on a schedule.  You can’t say “today you three people will write a symphony” and expect a result that is anything other than noise.  I expect this is true across the board when working with creative people.  It takes as long as it takes.  We will sell no wine before its time.  Just because a saying is trite doesn’t mean it isn’t true!

So, getting back to my epiphany, I realized that my job as a manager wasn’t to try to ‘herd the cats’ so much as to manage the expectations of the people who were waiting for the output (I will spare you extending the metaphor to what cats might output).  Sure, we had schedules; but those schedules were guidelines, not deadlines.  It is important that in work, and in life, we make room for the creative process.  So I would continually update MY managers with progress reports, and in each report change the targets.  Sometimes they got earlier, usually they got later.  I stopped pressuring the creative people to create on a schedule.  As a result, we delivered better, more mature, well thought out products.

So that’s my message for today.  Whether we are talking about your real job, or your real life, or something you do in your free time that is neither work nor life, don’t forget that if a task requires creativity, it almost never gets done “on time”.  The creative process is one that is impossible to predict.  If your boss tells you to write a paper and have it done in an hour, push back a little.  If you are the boss, don’t set unreasonable constraints on creative tasks.  Even if you are doing something as simple as making a bird house with your child, don’t just set aside an hour.  Do it until you are both happy you created something!  And along the way, revel in the knowledge that you are doing it until you get it right, not just until time ran out.

How do you make time for the creative process?  Let’s talk about it in the forums?

Scott Ginsburg has a great column in the latest newsletter from Jeffrey Gitomer. In the article he discusses a double-handful of ways that you can make someone feel important, valued, and needed. These are, of course, important ways to develop and enhance your relationship with your team at work, even your family and friends.

If you don't write it down, it will never happen!

I was struck by three of these tips, involving the use of notes:

3. Take notes. Taking notes is proof. Taking notes keeps you mindful in the conversation. Taking notes honors someone’s thoughts. Taking notes is respectful. Taking notes increases someone’s self-esteem. Not to mention, if you don’t write it down, it never happened. Do you carry a notebook or jotter with you at all times?

4. Come back to notes. At a later date, refer back to the notes you took while listening to somebody. If possible, physically show that person the notes you took. Explain how you’ve applied their ideas since originally writing them down. How are you reinforcing the size of your ears?

5. Tell people to write things down. This practice takes note taking one step further. Next time someone says something powerful, instead of YOU jotting it down, tell HER to jot it down. It not only honors her thoughts; it gives her a chance to capture something valuable that she may not have recognized until you said something. How are you encouraging people’s inner poet?

Note-taking is an important skill for everyone, but I find it very interesting that Ginsberg suggests that we should encourage the note-taking skills of those we work and live with. The line, “if you don’t write it down, it never happened” (or never will...) is one of the gold nuggets in this article, and instilling this principle in those around you could go along way toward improving communication, teamwork, and eventual success.

What say you? Let’s discuss Note-taking and Relationships in the forum.

If we do business of almost any kind, we are going to endure meetings.  You might be a freelancer who has clients to meet with.  You may be like myself and, work in a corporate environment.  If you do, you are more than likely used to recurring meetings with a large number of players.

For as long as there have been meetings, there have been people who are managing meetings who have no business being in charge of a meeting.  See if you can place names on any of these…

- Meeting leader has an uncanny knack at taking an issue that can be resolved in 5 minutes…and stretching it to over an hour by analyzing it to death.

- Meeting leader LOVES to hear self talk.

- Meeting leader will not step up when another Type A in the room takes over their meeting.

- Meeting leader spends untold amounts of time sharing info that would much better have been distributed via email (i.e. reads wordy charts, or rereads and email everyone has already received).

You know any of those people?

Did you attach your name to any of these?  OUCH!!!

The hard thing to remember sometimes is that meetings should have purpose.  That purpose is NOT to feed the meeting leader’s ego or insecurity.  It is also NOT to give the meeting leader and opportunity to be heard.

Meetings are about getting input from others for the purpose of getting something accomplished.

What about recurring staff or status meetings?  From my perspective, they are largely unnecessary.  Most of the items communicated can easily be shared via email.  Staff meetings should, in my opinion, be only held as often as needed.  If there is no info that requires a face-to-face to cover…cancel it!!!

Don’t have a meeting  just to be having a meeting.

The key to leading effective meetings…is preparation.  Where have you heard that before?  Plan ahead.  What do you need to be mindful of?

- Do I have ALL of the people who are relevant to this discussion in the meeting?

- Do I have ONLY the people that are relevant to this discussion on my meeting invitation?

- Have I prepared an agenda to keep me on topic and help the meeting flow?

- Have I left enough time in my agenda for questions?  What about reviewing assigned actions? Are those actions and the expectations for those actions clearly defined?

What’s the point?

The point is that every meeting you attend uses an asset that is not being manufactured anywhere these days…TIME.

As we have seen on many discussions on the forums, to some degree, proper management of time is essential to improving productivity.  I have been in the business world for a while, but I have never checked off an action item sitting in a conference room with 20-50 other people…unless I was leading the meeting.

- Plan the meeting

- Invite the right people

- Get to the point and cover the revlevant info

- Do not lose control of the meeting

- Wrap up…cover actions…answer questions, etc.

- Get the heck out, and get the action items done.

That is my manifesto on meetings.  What do you think?  Let’s take it outside…into the forum.