@ work:
Throughout my life, I have been required to attend meetings that drone on for hours, and hours. I am sure you know the drill: your boss goes on and on about nothing. The senseless complaints are long, the hot air is choking. The only thing that gets accomplished is a waste of your valuable time. I once sat in a two hour business meeting where our CEO explained a basketball story that went something like this.
The coach said, “Only throw the ball overhead.”
The all star player said, “If I do that I won’t make the shot.”
The coach said, “Do what I say, right or wrong.”
The team lost every game, but they did learn how to do what they were told.
End of story.
What was the point here?
Do what I say, win or lose, right or wrong?
Seriously?
This pretty much sums up my career with this company: we lost a lot of money, but our CEO got a big fat bonus every year.
Sound familiar?
Anytime I wind up in a meeting that serves no purpose, I reflect on that basketball story.
It really could be so different, it really is easier than this.
There is a simple Mana Gardening-inspired method that goes like this:
Send out an email to stating the problem.
Say, “Short meeting- each person has to present a one sentence simple solution.”
“As your boss, I will start the meeting with my solution. We will take only a few minutes to discuss solutions and choose some to try, the meeting will take less than 20 minutes.”
A CEO should be held responsible to condense the problems into one sentence statements and they should be able to present a one sentence solution to every problem.
@ love:
We should use this same simple approach.
Ever been greeted with the phrase “We need to talk”?
This statement makes me want to cry. I know we are about to play the spin our lives upside and ruin everything good about right now game.
Your loved one is unhappy and does not have a clue what is really wrong or what they really even want.
Next time you find yourself in this place, try this:
Instead of talking, think of a one sentence statement of the exact problem plus a one sentence solution.
When you find those two sentences, then ask your loved one to try the solution together.
What a wonderful world it could be…
The mind, body and soul is a garden, our actions and thoughts are like seeds, let us water the mana, and pull out the weeds.
Keti