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Meetings are like amoebas
Stefan Speligene • November 14, 2019
Something I love to share with people is my crusade for fewer, better meetings. I truly believe that meetings are like amoebas–they’ll take up as much space as you give them.
Of course, meetings are necessary, and they can be vessels for positive change in an organization. Still, valuable time and energy is wasted in meetings that are inefficient and uninspiring. At roux, we even like to call them sessions, because the word ‘meeting’ can initiate a paralyzing, negative reaction from people.
Statistics show that 11 million meetings are held every day, in the United States alone. The average office worker spends 62 hours per month sitting in meetings, and unfortunately, 37 percent of these are considered unproductive.
How can we work toward changing this unhealthy trend?
Today’s leaders need to make a stronger effort to understand human behavior and psychology. Understanding the tactics that keep people engaged is key to a successful meeting.
Still, no matter how engaging you make your meetings, if they take too much time, you’re in trouble. Scientific research shows that the average person can only pay attention to something for 10 to 18 minutes before losing focus. If run efficiently, a meeting will only take as much time, space, and energy as you allow it to, and your attendees will remain engaged.
Could you streamline your meeting agendas to make them more efficient? Can you eliminate any of the meetings on your schedule right now? Your first step might be taking stock of how many meetings your organization is truly generating.
The free tool, Meeting Stats, connects to your work calendar and generates a report that tells you how many hours you spent in meetings this year, how much money those meetings are costing you, and what percentage of your time is spent on meetings. The data updates weekly, and it also offers interesting stats on meeting attendance, how long your meetings run, and when most of your meetings are held.
Whether you need to better analyze how your time is being spent or find a way to make the most of the meetings you do host, it’s a never-ending journey. We’re never going to be perfect, but we aim to get better every day.
We’d love to hear your take on efficient meetings. Sound off in the comments below, and make sure to keep your eye out for new posts in the kitchen.
We are excited to announce the recipient of our most recent Food for Thought grant — the Hot Springs Food Pantry, located in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Food for Thought is a fund we created through The Community Foundation to offer grants to organizations that help feed children in our community. This isn’t just about money though. We’re also on the lookout for ways to teach kids about good food, to help them learn to prepare it, and to encourage them to love it as much as we do. We are always looking for organizations in our local communities whose mission aligns with ours and have specific needs we can provide grants for. Because our croux reaches far and wide, “local” doesn’t just mean Tennessee. In this case, the community is local to one of our core team members, Lauren. After moving back to her hometown of Hot Springs, South Dakota to be closer to family, she got involved with the local food pantry and saw a specific need there. The food pantry needed a refrigerator so they could provide more fresh produce and protein to families in the area. They were also seeing an above average need in the community due to rising costs which has depleted some of their funds. The grant received from Food for Thought will go towards these efforts and help provide fresh food for families in the area.
We’re back with another creative croux feature. Normally, these pieces are put together by one of our freelance writers, Annie Van Essen, but this time, we’re spotlighting her!
We celebrated our 10-year anniversary in July 2023, making this our tenth Mardi Gras as a krewe. We are so thankful for the many projects, partnerships, clients and friends who have been a part of our journey so far. The essence of Mardi Gras can be summed up in one lighthearted phrase, “ Laissez les bons temps rouler!” — French, for “Let the good times roll!” We’ve had a lot of good times here at roux over the last decade, and we’re excited for them to keep on rollin’. Bon Mardi Gras and merci beaucoup, friends!
Every January we like to gather as a croux and plan for the year ahead. It serves as a holiday celebration and a strategy session. We look forward to it every year. Over the last few years, we’ve also begun incorporating a “word of the year” practice, where we each choose a word that we will focus on throughout the year.
This year, we decided to take our merry-making to the streets of Nashville to see how well the average passerby could interpret some of our favorite Creole vocab. The results were… entertaining. See for yourself!
Every year, our croux puts together a roundup of our favorite Super Bowl commercials.
This time around, we thought we’d switch it up and ask for submissions of our team’s favorite commercials EVER. Whether from 2023 or 2003, we want to celebrate the advertising magic of Super Bowl Sunday.
Here at roux, we have a wonderful team of creatives supporting us, including photographers, videographers, writers, and designers.
Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Kyle Sorvick, one of the talented graphic designers we work with as part of our extended croux.
We all look forward to receiving Christmas greetings from friends and loved ones, whether it’s a social media post or a physical card to display in our house or hang on the fridge. But when it comes to company Christmas cards, corporate greetings can sometimes fall a bit flat. We love when a company spices things up and sends a message that’s genuine and fun. Videos can also be a more effective and affordable option for a company, when you consider the reach made possible with email and social media, and the savings on printing and postage. Averitt and JetRight are two local companies that knock it out of the park every year when it comes to their video Christmas cards. Whether they choose to be lighthearted and silly or share a heartwarming message, watching their videos shows you the real people and spirit behind the companies. Check them out below!