Be Brief, Be Brilliant, Be Gone

Most of us have attended a meeting of some sort.  You know the ones where you sit around a table with a handful or more of other people and discuss a topic, situation, or challenge.  If you are a business person, it is likely that you spend 35% to 50% of your time in meetings.  Current estimates indicate that more than $37 billion per year gets spent on unproductive meetings.  And, there are more than 25 million meetings per day in the United States.  I am not a big fan of meetings; never have been, never will be.  My meeting mantra is:  Be Brief, Be Brilliant, and Be Gone.

Life Is A Series Of Meetings

However, I do like the metaphor of ‘going to a meeting’ as a simple life hack.  What do I mean by this?  Let’s have a look.  The way I see it, we are ‘going to meetings’ all day long.  We get up in the morning and meet our family before everyone goes their separate way for the day.  We get in our car and join all the others on the highways and byways as we travel to and from places.  We go to family reunions, and weddings, and funerals.  We shop in stores and dine in restaurants and go to church with other people.  We cross the street and ride the elevator and sit on an airplane with other humans doing this thing called life.

Set The Tone For Your Gathering

Since we have the occasion to convene with such frequency, it seems reasonable to be the best meeting goer we can be.  For instance, each day I drive 32 miles round-trip to and from my office.  Twenty of those miles is on a freeway consisting of at least twelve lanes. Six in each direction.  I am not the most patient driver.  I am also an aggressive driver and a damn good one at that.  Truth.  Each morning as I enter the on-ramp to join tens of thousands of other car bound, mobile people I ask myself, ‘how am I going to show up for this meeting?’  ‘What outcome do I want from this ten-mile encounter with the other humans?’ ‘What is the best behavior for me to employ for this gathering to go as smoothly as possible?’

Meeting Mentality

It helps this meeting mentality.  My questions give me just enough time to pause and set the tone for my trip.  I invite you to utilize this same strategy as you are getting together with others during your day.  Meet the madness with mindfulness.  Be a present participant in the gatherings you attend.  And finally, Be Brief, Be Brilliant, and Be Gone.

Stay true and be you —

Annie