Oh boy, meetings. I just love meetings! No...I don’t. I hate meetings. You start talking about important points, like market share penetration of Opus-branded Penguin Panty Snowcones, and the next thing you know, someone goes off on a tangent about who left Tom Riddle’s diary in the gender-neutral bathroom. Again. But it’s the middle of the discussion about what sizes of Penguin Panty Snowcones to offer. As relevant as it might be, now is not the right point in the conversation.
Tangents in meetings waste everyone’s time. People who showed up for the main topic have to sit through the meeting, trying to pretend they’re not reading their email on their laptop. The person who called the meeting doesn’t get the answers they need, like what colors of Penguin Panty Snowcones are expected to produce the highest sales.
Tangents are “sticky”
People go on tangents—and stay there—for good reasons! They think the tangent is important: Tom Riddle’s diary might contain a clue for magically insuring the success of the Penguin Panty Snowcones product launch. They keep returning to the tangent to make sure the concerns don’t get lost. And of course, just because the person thinks their issue is relevant doesn’t mean it is. But debating the relevance in the middle of a meeting probably isn’t constructive. Parking lots solve all these problems.
Step 1: Add a parking lot
To make your own parking lot, draw a square on your whiteboard, blackboard, flip chart, smartboard, or whatever canvas you’re using to capture ideas in your meeting. If you don’t have a shared visible space for the parking lot, ask one team member to be the Meter Person and keep track of the parking lot in their notes.
Explain to everyone there that this is the “parking lot,” where all tangential ideas live. Ensure that everyone in the meeting understands that everything in the parking lot will be addressed at the end of the meeting. Tom Riddle’s diary goes into the parking lot.
Step 2: Make relevancy personal
Then assign one person to give a “relevancy challenge.” When something comes up that isn’t relevant to the meeting’s purpose, the Relevancy Czar says, “Should we put this in the parking lot so we can stay on track?” The group can then decide by a quick show of hands, verbal agreement, or a quick cupcake-throwing battle, whether or not the tangent should be put in the parking lot.
When your co-worker yells out, “We must test market to the aquarium-going population!,” it’s the Relevancy Czar’s chance to pop that right into the parking lot.
Step 3: Relegate things to the parking lot
If everyone agrees an item is interfering with progress, write it in the parking lot. There’s always a chance that it’s already there, in which case point out to the group that that particular item will definitely be handled in the parking lot review at the end of the meeting.
The Relevancy Czar can take this a step further. If the same tangent comes up again, don’t ask the group if it should be sent to the parking lot. They already decided it should be. Instead, say to that person, “good catch! That’s already in the parking lot, we’ll get to it at the end of the meeting.” Once they’ve brought up the question of what flavors should be in the Penguin Panty Snowcone product line 18 or 19 times, even the most ardent tangent-goer will get the message that it will be taken care of before the meeting adjourns.
Step 4: Review the parking lot!
Of course, you actually need to take care of things on the parking lot before the meeting adjourns. Set aside 5–10 minutes at the end of the meeting to review the issues. If you don’t take the time to address people’s issues, those issues will not go away, and the people in the meeting who brought them up will only get more troublesome. Next time, your assurances that it’s safe to put things in the parking lot will not be trusted.
Parking lots keep you on track and moving forward.
Go through the parking lot with the group. Take action on each item.
Delete items that really weren’t relevant to the discussion, or now aren’t relevant. Tom Riddle’s diary? Penguins just don’t care.
Defer things that are relevant to the whole group. Schedule a slot in the next meeting agenda to discuss those items. Test marketing to the aquarium audience seems like it could be a seriously relevant idea. It gets deferred to the next full-team meeting.
Delegate things that are relevant to part of the group to the subgroup that cares about that item. The finance people on the product launch simply aren’t the ones to consult on snowcone flavors. But it’s an issue that is perfect for a sub-team of designers, chefs, and market researchers.
Parking lots keep meetings on track and moving forward. Set aside a parking lot, and create a relevancy czar to steer things to the parking lot when they’re veering off course and threatening to roll over the fence and into the bleachers. When a tangent arises, add it to the parking lot, and spend the last five minutes of the meeting deciding to delete, defer, or delegate the parking lot items. Soon, your meetings will be racing to completion, and you’ll be the envy of all the cool kids with your new Penguin Panty Snowcone.
I’m Stever Robbins. Follow GetItDoneGuy on Twitter and Facebook. Want great keynote speeches on productivity, Living an Extraordinary Life, or entrepreneurship? Hire me! Find me at http://ift.tt/1l2uWN6.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
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