Unblock Your Meetings 😱 & book launch countdown ⏱️

Use this format to make your meetings effective and relevant

Every Monday morning, Claire and her six direct reports come together for a three-hour meeting. Today, Wanda is invited to share an update about a big construction project. When ready to deliver her presentation, she asked, “Did everyone read the slides, or should I walk you through them?” Some nodded in affirmation. But Claire responded, “Please, talk us through the slides,” so Wanda guided us through all 38 slides, consuming 45 minutes of our time.

When Wanda presented, only a few people paid attention. The others were on their laptops, seemingly waiting for it to end. Claire thanked Wanda and said: “Now, let’s discuss.” One of the managers asked a detailed question. Even though Wanda had previously provided the answer during her presentation (while he was not listening attentively), she graciously answered.

Two other managers started debating the performance of one of our suppliers — a topic that was only loosely related to Wanda’s project update. They went down a ‘rabbit hole’ for about 10 minutes.

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What happens in Claire’s team is not uncommon. Lots of creativity, motivation, and energy are wasted in meetings every single day. Most people hate them, but accept this as a fact of life, saying, “Meetings are just awful, you know?” But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Research confirms dysfunctional meetings are associated with reduced market share, innovation, and employee engagement. Every minute someone spends in a wasteful meeting can’t be spent on meaningful work. Remember, talking about work isn’t the same as doing work.

However, meetings are crucial for coordination, collaboration, and sense-making. But you need a meeting culture that makes it easier, not harder, for teams to reach their goals.

At Unblock, we have helped hundreds of leaders become better at cooperating by improving their meeting rhythm and the structure of their recurring meetings. The meeting structure that we’ve consistently found incredibly effective is the structure we named the “Unblock Meeting.”

The meeting’s purpose is to coordinate and unblock the team’s work: get everyone in the team what they need to make progress until the next team meeting. At the end of the meeting, everyone should know the status of the team’s projects and any actions that they and their colleagues will take.

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Book launch countdown

Here is some exciting news about my upcoming book:

1. There is a new and final cover design (see below).

2. Editing and interior layout are complete.

3. The book’s website is extended and includes the full Table of Contents.

4. Dozens of leaders have provided their endorsement.

5. We have picked a launch date: October 1st. 🥳

"'Unblock' is the ultimate manual for leaders needing to achieve drastically better outcomes quickly. It explains the theory, provides practical examples, and guides you step by step. This is no ordinary business book! ‘Unblock’ is a reference guide, operating manual, and checklist all rolled into one. It’s the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Business Galaxy.”
— Barry Doran, CFO, Sub-Saharan & South Africa, B/S/H/

Stay tuned!

Jurriaan