June 03rd, 2020

​Colleagues,
 
Today we’ll finish pattern matching the sunrays from our unproductive meeting.

As we look for other patterns, two more jump out:

• (Red) There are a lot of topics and information.
• (Blue) Some of the information is duplicate or less urgent.

 
At this point we have three areas of promise:

• Clarify the purpose of meeting
• Decrease the number of topics
• Decrease the amount of information (or at least the time spent on it)

 
If we had done stairsteps on all the sunrays, we would probably have some more options. Again. complex issues may have more than one problem.
 
In our example above, there is a link between all three areas of promise, and they help us to understand the root problem. 
 
It seems likely that the purpose of our meetings is not clear. 
 
This lack of clarity leads to a number of symptoms:

• We waste time focusing on less important informational items.
• We don’t make progress on important things.
• People highjack meetings for their own purposes.

 
If we are correct, then the solution is clear:

1. Clarify why we meet.
2. Structure the agenda accordingly by…
   1. shortening the agenda to cover only things related to the purpose
   2. beginning meetings by focusing on the most important items first

 
The problem-solving process is complex. As we’ve invested almost three weeks dissecting it, the process may also feel length. However, tomorrow I will show you how this process saves time and why it is so critical. For now, I’ll leave you with this:
 
If you aren’t willing to dig into symptoms to uncover the problems, you will consistently waste time, energy, and resources! Worse, your leadership will be less effective than it could be.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick