too much time wasted in meetings. why?

Too much time wasted in meetings.

Why?

A Microsoft Division Case Study

Phillip Endicott, Simona Lazar, Tristan Ford

IMT 580, iSchool, Winter 2006

Introduction “Know Thy Time.” (Peter Drucker)

In previous research, Software Engineers complained they never have time for what they want to accomplish.

Top ranking reason? Too much time spent in meetings.

Oh, those meetings…

Stats and Surveys “Meetings rank among the most inefficient

exercises American perform.” (Seattle PI)

Typical weekly staff meeting: 50 minutes (16 could be saved if inefficiencies are eliminated)

Lack of output: 59% of surveyed people don't take minutes in meetings 56% said action items are never/rarely documented 68% said input from discussions is used only

sometimes/rarely when implementing action items

Source: PI article: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1315AP_Watercooler.html

Case Study: Overview of MS division Sudden awareness of big problem! Too much time

spent in meetings

Most affected: Lower-level managers Number of meetings per week = 12-14 Hours spent in meetings per week = 20-24

Meetings are the ONLY effective tool available for: downward communication AND lateral communication (between feature teams)

BUT meetings take time from production =>low productivity

Meetings: Still a Necessary Evil Meetings ARE unproductive

sometimes.

However… decision-making discussions often demand face-to-face interaction

Solutions? NOT: cut meeting time NOT: have more meetings HOT: make meetings more

effective. How?

Framework: Meeting Traps

Adapted from Steven R Rayner, “Team Traps: What They Are, How To Avoid Them”. National Productivity Review (1986-1998). New York: Summer 1996. Vol. 15, Iss. 3; p. 101.

1. Lack of an Agenda2. Inadequate Reporting3. Poor Planning

1. Disruptive behavior2. Delayed decision-making3. Lack of clear objectives

1. Lack of knowledge in conducting meetings2. Meetings held without key people in attendance3. Participants come unprepared

Leadership

Capabilities Focus

Leadership

Charismatic, yes. Leader, no!

Leadership Problems at MS division

Lack of an Agenda Inadequate Reporting Poor Planning

Possible Solutions Plan, plan, plan! Create and Use an Agenda Assign Roles

Leadership: Plan, plan, plan! Questions to Ask When Planning a Meeting

Is another medium of communication more suitable?

Is there a planned agenda? Is there actually a need to meet?

Zyry, Patrice. “Effective meetings – to meet or not to meet: That is the question.” Nephrology Nursing Journal. 27.1 (2000): 76.

Leadership: Using Agendas Why Use an Agenda?

Agendas help determine if a meeting is truly necessary

Agendas ensure progress Agendas are the pathway to meeting team

objectives

Hagerty, Patricia J. “Effective Meetings.” Journal of Reading. 33.5 (1990): 384.

Leadership: Creating an Agenda The ‘To Do’ List When Creating An Agenda

Decide on the purpose and outcomes of the meeting.

Decide who needs to attend. Decide where to hold the meeting. Decide which roles will be filled and who will fill

them before the meeting.

Leadership: Assigning Roles The 3 Key Roles and Responsibilities

The Moderator (or chairperson) Directs and ‘controls’ the meeting

The Recorder Documents and publishes decisions, commitments,

and action plans The Participants

Responsible for participating, not just attending

Jessup, Harlan. “A quantum formula for improving meetings.” The Journal for Quality and Participation. 17.3 (1994): 80-82.

Capabilities

Capabilities: Overview Problems at MS division

Lack of knowledge in conducting meetings Meetings held without key people in

attendance Participants come unprepared

Possible Solutions Provide training on how to conduct meetings Right mix of composition and information Provide motivation in meetings

Capabilities: Composition Composition/Data and Information

Employee knowledge of meeting topic Employee skills Relevant information and research data

Capabilities: Training Training/Tacit Skill

Cross-training for core competencies Motivation Organization Interpersonal relations

Capabilities: Motivation Motivation in meetings

Seen as useful Organized Participation Appropriate for project Results

Capabilities: Culture Organizational Culture at MS

Philosophy Structure Systems Policies Employee Skills

Focus: Overview Problems at MS division

Disruptive behavior Delayed decision making Lack of clear objectives

Possible Solutions Have the “experts” of the subject in the

meeting Assign clear ownership Have people commit

Focus: Meeting Disrupters Disruptive behavior

Source: Managing Meeting Disrupters. Osburn, Denise. Manage Dayton:May 1991. Vol. 42, Iss. 4, p. 8 (3 pp.)

Focus: Meeting Disrupters: Case study Non-stop talkers want to impress

Outspoken people derail the meeting

Shy people never get to talk

Intergroup competition is fierce

Source:

Focus: Delayed Decision-Making

First Law of Meetings (Lovelace, Herbert) T=k *P2 , where T = time; P = number of

people in the meeting; and k is a constant that varies with the company culture

10-minute conversation between 2 people takes 1-1/2 hours with 6 people in the meeting

Second Law of Meetings All important decision-making occurs no later

than two-thirds into the meeting.


Decisions are delayed Decisions are not relevant to topic 3M Meeting Management Institute study

shows that people sometimes leave meetings unclear about: decisions reached actions to be taken

Source: Group Decision Making. Johnson, Virginia. Successful Meetings New York: Jun 1991. Vol. 40, Iss. 7, p. 76.


Same study shows that group bases decision-making in meetings on: The "expert" rule (most often): people who

have the most knowledge about an issue

Commitment: decision based on the views of people who showed greatest care for or investment in proposal

Focus: Decision-Making: Case Study The "expert" rule: people who have the

most knowledge about a meeting issue/topic or who “own” the issue are not always present in the meeting

Ownership of the issue is not always clear

Commitment: people are committed to their work, but lose interest in meetings

Focus: Lack of Clear Objectives

Analysis and Recommendations Transfer of information

Problem Solving Meetings Quality Meetings Transitional Meetings Motivational Meetings Status Meetings

Face-to-face meetings Forum for technical explanations Dialogue Human interaction Creative sandbox

Analysis and Recommendations

Meeting Traits at Microsoft Division

Pressure from unfinished work Lack of goals Boredom Burnout Lack of enthusiasm/motivation Failure to reach decisions Dominance by one or two people Conflict Lack of constructive disagreement

Analysis and Recommendations Leadership: Planning, agenda, assigned roles

Capability: People to come better prepared

Capability: Competent people to discuss agenda

Focus: Clear objectives

Focus: Revamp the design/requirements process: make it clear; structure it eliminate ambiguity: use modeling tools

Leadership: Formal reporting back to team

ALSO: Benchmarking knowledge repository for meeting output better feature integration tools and processes

Analysis and Recommendations

Recap: Effective Face-to-Face Meetings

Goal/Outcomes/Agenda Moderator Recorder Participants

Define Meeting Type: problem solving, info sharing, data gathering, decision-making.

Define discussion, decisions, and action items

Discussion: We’ve got 5 minutes… lets here those deep thoughts!

Some things to think about:

What solutions do you think will have the most influence?

Can ‘fixes’ like using formal agendas and having clear objectives counter-act a culture where unproductive meetings are the norm?

Our team limited the scope of our analysis to meetings of a MS division. In reality this is a much bigger problem of which unproductive meetings are but a symptom. From the information you’ve been provided let’s extrapolate about the high-level communication issues that may exist?

ReferencesBodwell, Donald J. “High Performance Team Essential Elements” http://

rampagesonramp.net/~bodwell/hpt_eelm.htm (1996, 1999):.Decker, Philip, J. “Characteristics of an Effective Team.” (PowerPoint Presentation)

http://www.cl.uh.edu/bpa/hadm/HADM_5731/ppt_presentations/29teams/sld006.htm (1996):.

Hagerty, Patricia J. “Effective Meetings.” Journal of Reading. 33.5 (1990): 384.Jessup, Harlan. “A quantum formula for improving meetings.” The Journal for Quality and

Participation. 17.3 (1994): 80-82.Johnson, Virginia. “Group Decision Making.” Successful Meetings 40.7 (1991): 76. Lovelace, Herbert W. “No decision before its time.” Information Week 607 (1996): 136. Osburn, Denise. “Managing Meeting Disrupters.” Manage. 42.4 (1991): 8.Tobia, Peter M., Becker, Martin C.. “Making the Most of Meeting Time.” Training and

Development Journal. 44.8 (1990): 34.Tuckman, B.W. “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups.” Psychological Bulletin. 63.

(1965): 384-399. Zyry, Patrice. “Effective meetings – to meet or not to meet: That is the question.”

Nephrology Nursing Journal. 27.1 (2000): 76.