Beyond the Bikeshed

BEYONDTHE BIKESHED
@emmajanehw
http://drupalize.me
Wednesday, 15 May, 13
The bigger the company, the more likely you are to get dragged into meetings that waste
your time, waste your talent, and waste your company's money. Sure, it's great to be included
in the process, but wouldn't it be even nicer if the process didn't waste your time? In this
session Emma Jane Hogbin show you ﬁve simple tips to make your time in meetings more
efficient. Want to dig deeper? She'll explain why these ﬁve tips work and show you how to
make more of your interactions with (difficult) people more efficient and enjoyable.

SABOTAGE!
http://www.mtv.com/photos/legendary-beastie-boy-style-moments/1684557/7126352/photo.jhtml#7126352
SABOTAAAAAAAGE.
List 5 ways we sabotage meetings.
Read aloud and list on ﬂipchart
Discuss and determine group’s top 7
Agree on how to stop sabotage behaviours
Use list as Smarter Meetings Rules of Order
Post list at all subsequent meetings
Image source: http://www.mtv.com/photos/legendary-beastie-boy-style-moments/
1684557/7126352/photo.jhtml#7126352

ROOT CAUSES
OF BAD MEETINGS
1.Lack of clarity about outcome.
2.No agreed-upon system or process to follow to ﬁgure things
out.
3.Focus on announcements and pronouncements.
4.No common understanding of each member’s operating style.
1.Lack of clarity about outcome. People in the meeting aren’t clear on the real purpose,
objective or expected outcome for each agenda item.
2. No commonly agreed-upon processes. There is no agreed-upon system or processs to
follow in order to ﬁgure things out.
3. Focus on announcements and pronouncements. There is no serious attempt to engage the
intelligence of every person in the meeting. Some meeting leaders do not know how to
engage people and may be afraid to “lose control” by giving everyone the opportunity to
speak up.
4. Too much time in yellow, sharing information. Too many meetings spend too much time in
the yellow zone - sharing and explaining information in detail - and not enough time in
green, generating alternatives, or in red, making decisions.
5. No common understanding of each member’s operating style. Smarter Meetings run on
brainpower. Different people think and operate differently. There is no understanding or
appreciation for tapping into the unique thinking that each member can offer.

SMARTER MEETINGS
http://onesmartworld.com/content/smartermeetings
Warning: the systems in this talk are based on the Smarter Meetings system. What’s
described here might not ﬁt every meeting in your work environment (and it’s not Agile), but
it can explain a lot about why your meetings haven’t been very productive.

MEETINGS FAIL
WITHOUT A COMMON DIRECTION

A Smarter Meeting is when everyone agrees to do the
same type of thinking at the same time and follow a
disciplined process to achieve an outcome.

5 KEYSTO A SMARTER MEETING
1. We all think differently which produces better solutions.
2. We work better together when we use a common language.
3. Using a disciplined problem-solving process allows us to think through complex problems
more effectively.
4. By following rules of smart engagement we can stay on track.
5. By committing to speak positively of and with each other, we will be consistently
successful together.

PRINCIPLE 1:
DIVERSITY OFTHOUGHT

http://www.debonothinkingsystems.com/tools/6hats.htm
SIXTHINKING HATS
Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats allow you to change how you think about a problem.
Blue, White, Green, Yellow, Red, Black
Changing your thinking can be as easy as changing your hat.

SMART PEOPLETHINK DIFFERENTLY

Green
Green is creativity. We have two mindsets: Creative Thinking and Creative Intuition. Creative
thinking involves “muscling through”. It includes: brain storming, challenge, reframe,
envision. Creative intuition “just happens”. It includes: ﬂow and ﬂash of insight.

Yellow
Yellow thinking is understanding. The two mindsets are Understanding Situations (analytical
thinking); and Understanding People (compassion). Analytical thinking breaks down into:
scan situation, structure information and clarify understanding. Compassion breaks down
into: tune-in, empathize, express feelings.

RedWednesday, 15 May, 13
Red thinking is decision making thinking. There are three mindsets this time: Critical
Thinking, Values-driven thinking (belief-based decisions); and Intuitive thinking (gut-instinct
decisions). Critical thinking includes: getting to the crux, conclude, validate the conclusion,
rely on experience. Belief-based thinking and Gut-based thinking are single strategy mind-
sets.

What’s your preference?
These are me
This screen shows you my personal operating style and preferred mindset profile. You can
see from the charts that I prefer to gather information. I’m a “yellow” thinker, followed by
“red” and then “green” and then “white” (think of the white as my amplifier..I don’t go to
‘eleven’ very often). Within the four dimensions, I am more likely to use creative intuition
than creative thinking. (I don’t enjoy muscling into new ideas; but solutions often JUMP out at
me.) Given a choice, I’d rather analyze data than people. And finally, you can see I’m more
likely to rely on gut-instinct when it comes to decision making. In other words: I spent
forever analyzing a situation and then I JUMP to a conclusion. Some people might interpret
this as “impulsive”. It’s interesting, isn’t it?

PRINCIPLE 2:
COMMON LANGUAGE

UNIVERSAL, COMMON LANGUAGE
Stop and decide
Slow and understand
Go and create

GETTING ONTHE SAME PAGE

VOTING CARD
Voting Card: Red – I do not agree or support it; Yellow – I need more information; Green –
Yes, I agree; White – Time out
http://www.greenparty.ca/party/documents/rules-procedure/bonser-method
The Green Party of Canada uses the Bonser Method, a colour-coded voting process, to
prioritize motions submitted in advance to a National Convention. In this process voters
chooses Red, Yellow or Green for each motion. Red means "I understand this motion and am
opposed to it", Green means "I understand this motion and am in favour of it", and, Yellow
means either "I wish to learn more about this motion" or "I do not like this motion's present
wording, but I think the concept has merit".

PRINCIPLE 3:
DISCIPLINED PROCESS
With a disciplined process you will always know where you are, and where you’re going to
end up at the end of the meeting. There are three (ish) possible outcomes: Red, Green, and
Yellow. Let’s go through a few of the more common structures for a meeting.

RED OUTCOMES
• Advice and recommendations
• Critical assessments
• Conclusions and decisions

IDEASTO ACTION
Use It When:
Time is tight and you want a few ideas before deciding.
Brainstorm; Make decision
How to use this process:
- select the type of outcome (advice, recommendations, decision)
- share information on the problem for one minute.
- brainstorm ideas.
- eliminate ideas or recombine to ensure the best option is selected

FACTSTO ACTION
Use It When
You’ve presented information (e.g. a report) and you want a
critique, advice, recommendation, or decision.
Share information; Make decision.
Decide ahead of time what type of “red” you need. e.g. advice, recommendation, decision.

GREEN OUTCOMES
• Idea generation
• Reframing problems
• Future scenarios
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/afronie/2334879843

Use It When:
You need fresh input and a broader number of options,
alternatives, or ideas on how to solve a problem before you
choose which one is the right one.
INFORMATIONTO OPTIONS
Describe the situation; reframe + brainstorm.

Use It When:
A team member needs fresh ideas on how to deal with a
challenge.
CRUXTO OPTIONS
Determine crux; brainstorm ideas.

Use It When:
People need time to understand the context and background
ﬁrst--then decide on what the real crux of the issue is, before
generating ideas and options.
INFORMATIONTO INITIATIVES
Determine situation; determine crux; envision possibilities; initiatives

YELLOW OUTCOMES
• Information and clariﬁcation
• Analysis and a plan
• Appreciative understanding
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/desiitaly/1310722870

POSSIBILITIESTO STRUCTURE
Use It When:
You have a complex problem and want to start by looking
forward with fresh thinking and end with a plan.
Envision possibilities; scan the situation; conclude; plan and organize.

Use It When:
People need to understand the situation better.
FACTSTO UNDERSTANDING
Share information; clarify understanding

Use It When:
You have a challenging issue to think through and you want to
end up with both a decision and a plan of action to implement
the decision
CRUXTO ORGANIZE
Determine the crux; generate ideas; organize ideas; make a decision; plan and organize.

PRINCIPLE 4:
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

ROLES
• Facilitator
• Time keeper
• Recorder
• Participants

• Scan and learn – don’t judge
• Sort and organize data into categories
• Tune in to how others are feeling
• Listen carefully to everyone
• Connect, collaborate and deepen understanding
YELLOW RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

GREEN RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
• Generate as many ideas as you can
• Work quickly – don’t judge any of the ideas
• See every challenge as an opportunity
• Reframe problems to ﬁnd hidden potential
• Envision future solutions and possibilities

RED RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
• Get to the heart of the issue
• Argue and debate pros and cons
• Ask tough questions
• Push for conclusions and closure
• Make decisions

PRINCIPLE 5:
POSITIVITY

• Speak positively consistently
• Seek constructive solutions
• Be afﬁrmative, collaborative, supportive
• Ensure 5:1 positive to negative ratio
ALOTBSOL
Always look on the bright side of life.

SHIFT UP!
Personal Spirit Check-in:
• “On a scale of 1-7, how are you feeling right now?”
• “What do you need from your team members today to do
your best work?”

5 KEYSTO A SMARTER MEETING
1.We all think differently which produces better solutions.
2. Using a common language allow us to work better together.
3. Using a disciplined problem-solving process allows us to
think through complex problems more effectively.
4. By following rules of engagement we can stay on track.
5. By speaking positively we will be successful together.
@emmajanehw
http://drupalize.me

Beyond the Bikeshed

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