Top Time Tip #122
'Help with Team Time Challenges'
23rd June 2009
 Life is never dull in our family! Late last week I was the 'in control' grown-up with good people in a Sydney-based government-funded authority. This week I'm in serious learning mode ('how the %$#@ does that work?') as my Beloved and I have our first-ever campervan experience tootling around Napier and the wider Hawkes Bay region - think abundant vineyards (off on a tour of the Mission Estate today) and the most complete and lovingly maintained Art Deco city in the world.
 I've come to the conclusion that campervanning and yachting, despite their apparent major differences, do have one thing in common - everything has to stow in very compact and even more important - non-moving places. Otherwise you shake the sh** out of everything as you move. I'm only glad you didn't see us heading off - within seconds we were forcibly taught that Mike's preferred packing style of chucking things rather loosely in the back of a car is NOT the way to pack a campervan! (I'm sure there are more stories lurking here.)
I think (?) I'm having fun sharing the value of good systems with my normally a little-less-than tidy husband. How dare he call me anal! 
 Our wonderful New Zealand scenery is fantastic, the winter weather (although rather chilly) is being very kind to us, we're mostly talking nicely to each other - but the jury is still out as to whether this is my kind of holiday!
Cheers,
P.S. With regard to the offer in the notifier last week from Ken Foster - 'Ask and You will Succeed', we have had a number of comments relating to the difficulties people had in accessing his website and purchasing his book. Due to the unprecedented interest in the offer, his website experienced technical difficulties and he has assured me that a compensatory gift would be offered to people by way of apology for the failed links. Should you have experienced difficulties with the links, please contact Jill who will follow-up with Ken to ensure you receive the gifts to which you are entitled.
Case Study: How Kate Saved One Day A Week!
Do you ever feel you spend too much time in meetings? If you answer 'yes' you're not alone - it's one of the Top Five most common time issues people complain about.
 I'm nearly finished on a six-month 'Productivity Improvement' consultancy contract with one of my clients in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) sector, helping them with a major change involving people on both sides of the Tasman. One of the big productivity leaks the New Zealand GM has observed, was the amount of time spent in meetings. So, at our first group training session, efficient meetings were one of the topics.
How to run an effective meeting requires one set of skills; knowing what and when to attend requires a different set of skills. In this article we'll just focus on the latter issue.
'Shall I go?' questions:
Here are the questions I gave them to use as a filter when invited to meetings.
- What is the purpose of the meeting?
- Is it related to my overall goals?
- What do you expect from me?
- How long will it last?
- For which part of the agenda will you need my input?
- I may need to leave after my contribution. What time will you be dealing with the topics related to me?
- Do I really need to be there?
- If you need input from our department, can someone else attend instead of me?
- Are decisions likely to be made that only I can make, or can I delegate or sidestep?
The 14 people liked the questions and seemed to take on the concept of not just routinely accepting a meeting because they were invited. However, like most of us, one exposure to new concepts wasn't enough. These good folk needed a reminder. (Over many years, I've noticed that a training programme is only the beginning of behaviour change. The follow-up coaching is what makes the real difference.) Sure enough, in the first of our individual phone coaching sessions a month later I discovered that the issue of long and tedious meetings was still going on.
With that second reminder, however, the second month's coaching calls brought a wonderful crop of successes. Here are just two.
Kate is a senior product manager. Within a week of our first coaching call, with renewed focus on reducing meetings, she had the following result:
- Instead of driving into the city she asked two of her suppliers to come to her office. Saving: 3 hours of travel time.
- She was invited to a very important presentation, in her own building, for a major client. It was moderated by one of her colleagues. In the past Kate would have sat through the full event - over 5 hours. Instead she asked to be called when required for her contribution. That only took 45 minutes. Saving: 4 & 1/2 hours.
- With her better meeting management skills, she kept an internal meeting (that used to always go overtime) on track and to time. Saving: at least 1/2 an hour.
Total time saved that week: 8 hours. Add to that the other work she did achieve and you can see why Kate was excited about her output and progress the next time we talked! And put the dollar savings around that and it's easy to see why her managers were just as ecstatic.
Karlea, another product manager, also has regular external supplier meetings. One of her frustrations was lack of clear outcomes and clear decisive next steps due to the poor meeting skills of others. So, for the next one her major focus was to take personal responsibility for making sure 'next steps' were in place before they all left the room. Her sharp intention resulted in far better results than previously; she was able to get immediately to work instead of needing further discussion.
Also she is now aware of not involving her colleagues unnecessarily. For a meeting she called, instead of five people sitting through a one and a half hour meeting (7 hours 30 minutes of company time), by inviting people only for the part relevant to themselves the total time invested became 2 hours 50 minutes, a saving to the company of 4 hours 40 minutes. That equated to a direct saving of a minimum of $1,000 in wages, even without factoring in things like cost of desk, phone, building, support staff and of course the opportunity cost of so many staff not getting on with other vital work.
 These were the savings in just a couple of weeks. Both will continue to use these new skills. Imagine the long-term savings the company will achieve, let alone the personal satisfaction for Kate and Karlea as they achieve better results faster.
Smart companies and managers invest in their people even more in tough times and situations than in the good times. If the money is put into the right training, (and that includes coaching and follow-up) they'll maintain great morale and improve effectiveness and profitability, no matter what the economic climate.
What are you doing to help your team improve their work habits? (And if you'd like to discuss how we can help, drop me a line.)
If You're In Australia and Want Some Company Training Here Are The Next Opportunities To Save Money
 All roads seem to lead to New South Wales at the moment. I'll be back again in the last week of July working down the Southern Coast at Merimbula, in Sydney and also in Orange and maybe Dubbo. There might still be one free day in that week. The next trip is mid-August.
Apart from the obvious value of the training, if you'd like to grab the chance to use me whilst I'm in Australia you'll also save at least half the travel costs from New Zealand (which are not large these days, but every little helps!) Drop me a note if you'd like to take up that opportunity.
Keeping Life Real Seminars - The 3 Divas Team Up Again
Rotorua 4th August; Auckland 11th August; Whangarei 22nd September
You might remember that my friends Yvonne Godfrey and Allie Mooney have joined with me twice already in the last nine months with a 3-hour action packed seminar. The first two were in Auckland and Wellington. Both were received with great enthusiasm and we had many requests to take the event further afield. Finally we've had a chance to get some more dates squared away (you should see us trying to coordinate our busy schedules - NOT easy!).
Yvonne - Leadership. She'll inspire and equip you with clarity and confidence to achieve your business and personal goals.
Allison - People Skills. Allie's unique fun and entertaining delivery style will have you both laughing and challenged as she shares a powerful tool that will transform any relationship.
Robyn - Time & Self Management. I'll help you stand out from your competitors by being more productive and valuable - absolutely vital in these economic times.
- Our major purpose with these events is not about making money for us, but rather to make our message affordable for a wider audience. Hence the price of only $45 per ticket.
- We also want to take it to places that don't normally get this kind of event (and we've got other towns on our list.)
- And there's a third factor - we're donating $5 from every ticket to the local Hospice of each town.
To find out more and to book your ticket go to http://www.3divas.co.nz/ And please do pass this information on to others who'd want to know.
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