Go with the 'flow'...breaking the 80/20 rule of meetings

Media release: December 2008

We've all experienced it... the nightmare meeting that you just know is going to be the same as it always is. Unplanned, unprepared and often with a hastily put together agenda that arrives two minutes before the meeting - the precise time that you are in the lift on the way to the meeting.

Those who attend regular weekly meetings also know that 80% of the ‘chat' is by 20% of those at the meeting. This can be frustrating for those who have good, innovative ideas and never seem to have a voice, but who keep attending hoping that this time it will be different, and then walking away feeling very unfulfilled. This is called the ‘lonely guy' syndrome.

Then there are those meeting participants who sit silently ...for several reasons - hidden agendas, lack of assertiveness or fear of voicing opposing ideas or challenging the prevailing status quo. Sometimes it is simply a lack of engagement or apathy as a result of having ideas shot down in the past.

Board meetings, committee meetings, fundraising committee meetings, social committee meetings can all suffer this fate.

If you look at the statistics, or even do your own maths, how many hours of your day are spent in meetings that don't even get to half of the agenda items? This often requires another meeting to be arranged... and so it goes on in a never ending, soul destroying cycle.

"There is a solution and I am happy to say it works", says Denise Meyerson, Director of Management Consultancy International. "In fact it works brilliantly for organisations who have mixed cultures, reporting lines and cross functional teams as it doesn't rely on a speech, powerpoint or flip charts to communicate" she added.

It's LEGO Serious Play and Denise has just recently returned from delivering this innovative methodology to Microsoft, in the U.S. Major organisations such as Shell, Chanel, UBS, Google and even NASA use LEGO Serious Play extensively for their strategic planning as it breaks down the silos that often cause businesses to become dysfunctional.

The unique methodology ensures that there is no 'lonely guy'... as all of the meeting attendees participate 100% of the time. The process avoids the usual brainstorming where ideas are scrawled onto post-it notes and pinned on whiteboards. With LEGO Serious Play, the idea generation process starts with the individual. All participants build how they view the challenge and each person gives meaning to their model. Ideas are collectively discussed, which ensures that everyone is able to express their point of view. This in turn creates a platform where everyone listens to the opinions of others.

A recent example of this was at a leading perfume and fashion house where a new human resources charter was being developed. It was not surprising that those who were normally reticent to contribute, were indeed the very ones whose ideas were accepted into the final format.

What's more it is a methodology based on some solid learning research including theories of 'flow' and constructionism versus instructionism.

LEGO Serious Play has been used by some of the largest organisations around the world to facilitate the introduction of new competencies, culture, values, staff retention strategies and customer service initiatives.

For information about Management Consultancy International
or LEGO® Serious Play^TM please contact Denise Meyerson,
Managing Director of Management Consultancy International
on 1300 768 550,
email info@mci.edu.au or visit our website at www.mci.edu.au