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Life, the Universe, and Everything*
Musings from Linda / LUE-42 Enterprises
Issue #108, February 2020
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January sure happened, didn't it? I had plenty of work to do but was slow getting into it after the Christmas break. Let's just say, I wore sweat pants quite a bit in the early days. That was convenient, because it was time to add to my fitness routine. After a more than a dozen years
, I returned to Dance Moves. I'd forgotten how fun it is, and just how high my heart rate can go! I walk there and back, so it also helps with my goal of getting outside more. In January, there was a 10-day cold snap when no one wanted to go outside, but I rather enjoyed it.
In January I continued to catch up with people over coffee, enjoy some nice meals, see family that I seldom see, and visit more craft breweries. I got to work and play in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. I experienced a nice balance of volunteering, working, and leisure.
I had tickets to several plays in January, but sadly had to cancel more shows than I saw. On the plus side, I started rehearsals for some new plays that will be in three festivals in March. Stay tuned!
February is going to give us an extra day to outdo ourselves, so here's hoping we do just that. Have a good month!
"February 29 -- A day of unlocked potential
."
-- Unknown
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Question: Do we really need meetings?
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ANSWER: Some, but probably not all.
If your organization's bylaws are well written, they will tell you the minimum number of board meetings and the minimum number of member meetings you need. If you're smart/lucky, your bylaws also enable you to hold those meetings remotely, telephonically, electronically, or any way that isn't the traditional face-to-face method.
But even with bylaws that enable you introduce meeting efficiencies (to improve attendance and engagement and reduce costs), you're going to need to get up close and personal some time. Remember to allocate more time for an in-person meeting than you do for a teleconference. We're people and we're social, so allow for some of that.
Your bylaws won't mention staff meetings (nor should they), but that's where most complaints about meetings arise. It's also where you can make the most dramatic improvements in your meetings. Dan Rockwell's recent blog (
leadershipfreak.blog, January 27, 2020) gives us some great ideas.
- Eliminate back-to-back meetings. All meetings end 10 minutes before the top of the hour.
- Shorten standard meeting length to 25 minutes.
- Prepare people to participate and put them on the agenda. E.g., Mary will present 3 pros and 3 cons to get the conversation started.
- Improve meetings. Ask what went well? What will make next time even better?
- Declare NO MEETING times. If possible, declare NO MEETING days.
- Make meetings small. Institute the 2 Pizza Rule: 2 medium pizzas can feed all attendees.
- Eliminate multi-tasking. Do one thing at a time. Minimize technology (e.g., no cell phones).
- Spend time building relationships. Strong relationships and psychological safety result in efficient meetings so long as you maintain focus on the goals.
- Don't talk about it unless you plan to do something about it. Spend less time criticizing and complaining and more time solving.
- Make decisions in the meeting, NOT before the meeting. I'll never forget one leader saying, "Never go into a meeting unless you know the outcome before you begin." Foregone conclusions indicate wasted meeting time. Discussions are manipulations if you've already made up your mind.
- Eliminate interrupting and bloviating.*
- Reduce observers. Anyone who consistently leaves meetings without something to do shouldn't be in the meeting.
In my career, I have tried several of these and they help. I've also tried a few different things that I love: 10 minute meetings, standing up meetings, etc. No doubt you've tried some things as well. One colleague's organization uses NO MEETING times. Another puts people on the agenda (e.g., #3). Some banish cell phones. I especially look forward to trying ending at 10-minutes-to the hour, the 2 Pizza Rule, and reducing observers.
I've pretty much shared the entire article, but click the link the title in order to see links to other things Rockwell has written.
*blo . vi . ate / verb / talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way
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FEBRUARY 2020 OBSERVANCES AND OCCASIONS
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The State of Alberta's Non-Profit Sector
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The Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO) recently published "Reflections on Civil Society: The State of the Alberta Nonprofit Sector 2019."
A total of 561 surveys were returned in addition to interviews with 64 leaders from 15 centres in Alberta. The report, which is definitely worth a read, asks us "to imagine a civil society where all nonprofits accept and embrace public policy advocacy as part of fulfilling their missions."
Here are some of the latest statistics on the social and economic contribution of the sector:
- 26,000+ nonprofits in Alberta
- $10+ billion in GDP annually
- 450,000+ employees
- 262+million annual volunteer hours
"Nonprofits and charitable organizations by virtue of their mission statements believe in civil society and healthy communities. In today's world, there is a cost to achieve that. Government has a role - we all have a role to play."
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Shout Out
to s
ome people who made my life better in January:
MaryJane Alanko, Nancy Barden, David Cheoros, Michelle Demers, Brian Edwards, Liz Garratt, Lynn MacAskill, Bev Mahood, Dorothy Marshall, Jeff Mawson, Kelly McClung, Robin McClung, Ken Melanson, David Miriguay, Eleanor Mohammed, Robyn Mott, Erin O'Neill, Tracey Soroka, Mike Stringer, Carol & Bob Suder, Gerry West, Rob Wood/Ginny Arnott-Wood/Emily Wood (who were ticked at not being specifically named last month).
"
Non nobis solum nati sumus.
(
Not for ourselves alone are we born.
)" -- Cicero
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Wish I'd Said That
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
--
Marcus Tullius Cicero
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings." --
Cassius
"The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once."
-- Samuel Smiles
"I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food." -- W.C. Fields
"If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week."
-- Charles Darwin
"Good judgement comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgement." -- Bruce Lee
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I recently read an anonymous blog by a governance professional who ran into a situation as a director on the board (
Lessons to be Learned from Well-Meaning But Flawed Governance
). The author spoke to the value of dissenting at meetings. I agree that dissent is useful. Dissent is different from being the devil's advocate (NB: that's another useful thing, but tedious when it's always the same person!). This is from the blog:
"Help board members feel okay about voting against something even if it is your board's tradition to vote unanimously. A habitually unanimous board may not realize that disagreement actually stimulates thinking and elevates discussion to a different level. Board members who understand that fellow board members may disagree in good faith are in a better position to work together to find areas of agreement and ways to forge consensus."
LUE-42 Enterprises
* with fond acknowledge to Douglas Adams and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
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