2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
Are your meetings like wasting time aimlessly with a persistent sense of understatement? Learn from the experience of one of the most effective companies in the world, where people are focused on results and know the value of working hours.
Someone is struggling with sleep with all his might, someone secretly scribbles messages, someone furtively looks sideways at a curvy colleague. There are a thousand ways to sit in a meeting. But not within the walls of Apple, whose former boss knew exactly how to conduct meetings.
1. The rule of a small group, or No one extra
American blogger Ken Segall has worked hand in hand with Steve Jobs for about 12 years. In his book Insanely Simple, the author describes one showcase meeting. Apple executives met with their ad agency partners one Monday. Steve was in a good mood and extremely sociable. However, as soon as he began the meeting, the atmosphere in the hall changed dramatically. He cut off his opening remarks, and his tone of voice went cold. The fact is that Jobs's eyes stumbled upon an extra participant. She was a girl who was involved in several general marketing projects for companies. “I don't think we need you today. Thanks,”Steve said. After that, he continued as if nothing had happened.
Ken explains that the manager fell victim to one of Jobs' most important tenets - the simplification rule.
The Apple CEO preferred to amass small groups of smart people. There were no casual or invitees at his planning meetings. Every member of the meeting had to be there for a reason. Either your persona is critical, or your name is not. Nothing personal just business.
Steve believed that small teams of the most creative people were the driving force behind the Apple Corporation. Only in this way are employees maximally focused and motivated for quality work. Nobody needs spectators.
There were no exceptions to this rule. Once Barack Obama invited Steve to a meeting of techno moguls. But he refused due to the excessive number of invitees.
2. The model of personal responsibility, or there are no indifferent
A few years ago, Fortune correspondent Adam Lashinsky wrote a great deal about the internal processes at Apple that made the company the most valuable company in the world. One of the key thoughts comes down to the fact that each employee clearly understands what he is responsible for.
Adam mentions the term directly responsible individual (DRI). DRI's name appears in front of each agenda item. Thus, anyone interested can contact the responsible person with their questions.
The effective model has been adopted by many American organizations, including Flipboard. One of the leaders of a popular news aggregator is generous with compliments and the utmost benefit from appointing responsible people. They lead the supervised team to the solution of any insurmountable task and make this process transparent for all related departments. Such a system ensures that none of the goals are forgotten or shelved.
3. System of direct communication, or Leave unnecessary presentations to yourself
The biographical work Steve Jobs, written by American journalist Walter Isaacson, is based on 40 exclusive interviews with the Apple founder himself. A lot of interesting information can be found on the pages of the book. Steve's violent dislike of graphic presentations is also mentioned.
Jobs rejected formal presentations in favor of face-to-face communication. On Wednesdays, he held meetings with his advertisers and marketers. They did not have any technology at all, including a slide show. Jobs wanted his team to exude critical thoughts and lead passionate discussion.
I hate it when people replace thoughts with slides. I want them to put ideas on the table and take them apart, rather than showing a bunch of pictures on a projector. A person who knows what he is talking about does not need PowerPoint.
Steve Jobs
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