A meeting can be formal or informal, face-to-face or electronically-moderated.
The form does matter, but not as much as the content of the meeting. When we get the content right, which includes clarity about the purpose of the meeting, the form is invariably chosen rightly too. And when the right combination is in place, the form and the content will shape each other effectively.
Here are three corporates that seem to have thought through this, and have an effective “meeting culture”.
The Morning Circle
Every Tuesday, ToneTag, a fintech start-up with offices in Bengaluru and Mumbai, meets at 10.30 a.m. for what is called the Morning Circle.
The objective of the meeting is to instil the company's culture in the employees, and forge a sense of unity around this.
The first 10 minutes of the meeting consists of meditation or prayer, followed by the singing of the National Anthem. In the next 20 minutes, the participants discuss their personal lives.
And, there is form to it, which includes a dress code. All participants attend the meeting, wearing Indian attire.
Stand-up meetings
And then, every department at ToneTag has to conduct a meeting based on a three-point format – issues, suggestions and an update on the work already done. These are stand-up meetings: There are no chairs. A meeting can't extend beyond 30 minutes.
“Earlier, our meetings would go on for as long as two hours. With this format, we have managed to keep our discussions crisp and sharp. People come prepared and everyone has to speak,” says Vinay Trivedi, Head - Human Resources, ToneTag.
The company has reserved long meetings only for ideation, and not for operations.
Footballstrategy
When a creative solution is required, Interbrand India, a leading brand consultancy, structures its meeting on something of a football strategy.
All employees across teams who are part of the meeting, are given tight time cut-offs to generate initial ideas.
Everyone is then required to build on that central idea and make it stronger. This rule is applicable across the board, for the junior-most visual designer to the senior strategy director.
They use mind-maps to create sketches of ideas in order to visually engage everyone.
“We call this the ‘Total Football’ meeting tactic, just like in the golden ear of Dutch football made famous by legendary Johan Cruyff. All hands on the deck,” says Ashish Mishra, Managing Director - Interbrand India.
Tech tools
DBS Bank, which has 26,000 employees globally, has adopted a well-etched system, where roles are assigned, to improve the quality of its meetings.
Irrespective of the size of the team and the location, “Meeting MoJo” is used for a discussion.
While MO (Meeting Owner) sets the agenda, the expected outcome of the meeting and encourages everyone to speak up, JO (Joyful Observer) keeps track of the time and gives honest feedback.
One of the highlights is the “Phone Jenga” that makes participants place their phones in the centre of the table, to avoid those digital distractions.
