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"I've got to go to another ................ meeting"

….. too often meetings are a chore rather than a fulfilling way to put collective wisdom to its best use. Is it the meeting, or is it the way we prepare and run the meeting that is at issue? Mike Nadler of Mike Nadler & Associates offers an entertaining insight into the meeting process and provides some simple tips on how you can make meetings really work!

If you are like thousands of others, you have probably found yourself un-enthusiastically saying,

"I've got to go to a meeting."

The reason for this unenthusiastic view of meetings is that so often we know there will be FRUSTRATION, BOREDOM, and a WASTE OF TIME.

Recent surveys from Australia, the US and the UK indicate that about a third to one half the time spent at meetings was wasted. Additionally, almost all those being surveyed would like to decrease the time they spend at meetings. So . . .

Should we cut out all meetings?
Are meetings bad for us?

OF COURSE NOT. WE DO NEED MEETINGS. Well-run efficient meetings can be the keys to:

Building better teams
Increasing efficiency and morale

It is also true that careers (rightly or wrongly) have been made or broken through performance at meetings. In particular, employees do expect their leader to be a leader at meetings.

So what can be done about it?

Let's start by looking at some of the most frequent complaints about meetings. How many of the following negative meeting characteristics have you experienced this past year?

If you can say YES to any of the above, you need help with meetings.

Solutions to These Common Meeting Problems/Complaints

Everybody needs clear objectives. By clear objectives, I mean that they should be:

Measurable
Results-oriented and
Appropriate to the situation

This is an absolute MUST. Ideally, everyone should be able to contribute to the Agenda. Circulate it at least a few days before the meeting.

The clearer your Objectives are, the easier it will be to stick to the Agenda. Stay focussed on one issue at a time. Don't let trivia take over. If new relevant issues come up, hold them for General business end of the meeting.

Ideally, you want ONLY THE RELEVANT PEOPLE at the meeting. Don't ask people to be there 'just to sit in because it will be good information for them'.

The meeting should start and finish at the designated times. Give people a chance to air their opinions and participate but at the same time keep the meeting on track.

Many unnecessary meetings are held. Can you get things done through telephone, e-mail etc.? One of the most efficient committees I was ever on, met only twice a year. We got a lot done through various forms of communication other than meetings.

Establish ground rules for the meeting.
Encourage less talkative people to speak up.
Diplomatically control those who tend to dominate.
Plan ahead of time the best procedures for achieving the meeting's Objectives.

It's important for participants to feel that the meeting has been worthwhile. Aim to have completion on every item. If completion isn't possible on any item:

summarize what the status is;
what action needs to be taken; and
who will do it.

Being an effective meeting chairperson and/or meeting participant is fundamental to being an effective leader. So, good luck with your meetings. I am sure you will find that the better you manage them, you will have more time on your hands to do many of the other things that you need and want to do. Who knows, you might even find yourself saying, "I WANT to go a Meeting!"

CELL PHONE RESEARCH: US FDA and wireless phone makers study health effects

The next time you buy a cellular telephone, you may get something extra in the box: information about how much radiation it puts out.

Should you really worry about the wireless phone propped next to your head? The US Food and Drug Administration says there's not enough evidence to justify taking regulatory action at this time.

With hardware costs coming down, and service deals well-greased to further fuel demand, there are more than one million new cell phone users a month in the US and Canada.

Some companies even provide phones for free with commitment to long-term service agreements.

But there is serious questioning in the US by federal officials, users, and manufacturers about whether cell phones represent a serious health hazard,specifically, long-term danger from the radiofrequency (RF) emission that is intrinsic to cell phone technology. RF emission is calibrated by specific absorption rate, or SAR, values.

To that end, the FDA is joining makers of cell phones in comprehensive research to determine handheld telephone safety risks. The effects of RF emission is the primary focus of the study.

The FDA now recommends cell phone designs that minimize radiation exposure. The issue, to say the least, is controversial.

ALWAYS IN TOUCH

"I use it so much I rarely check my messages at home," says cell phone user Gailyn Wright. The San Diego insuranceagent spends hours each month on her handheld phone, a wireless device that includes a headset attachment.

Wright says she's heard about cell phone-related health worries, but thinks it may be too soon to know if cell phones are really a hazard. "It's good to have the information, but I think it can all be taken with a grain of salt," she says. "There's a lot of radiation from a lot of different things we have in our homes. I don't worry about it. Unfortunately, balance is key, and I don't think I'm too balanced with it."

SKETCHY SPECIFICS

Research of wireless devices for long term health hazards is still in its early stages. Recent European and American studies raise concerns about genetic damage, changes in the brain, and brain tumors, concerns mostly related to the radiofrequency emission of cell phones.

"Right now there is not reproducible evidence that this is a major health factor, but we have to keep our minds open," says neurologist Dee Silver, MD. "There are a lot of various studies that are being done to help determine whether this is a health safety issue: is there a genetic factor, an
individual factor, or an environmental factor?"

Until more is known, say some consumer and medical experts taking a conservative approach, children and pregnant women should not use such wireless devices.

Why the focus on children and pregnant women by some? "They have a longer period of time to have ramifications," Silver says. "You have to have a very significant, large geographic, clinical epidemiological study, and that hasn't been done yet."

AMBIGUOUS DATA

Investigation by the FDA and manufacturers will cover cell phone headsets. Conflicting reports say they could lower radiation exposure or actually make it worse.

By the end of 2000, cell phone packaging will contain information on SAR levels, the amount of radiation that phones emit and the possible levels absorbed by the body. "It's going to be a long time before we have significant data clinically to tell us if these is a health hazard and how much of a
health hazard."

As network prime time investigative TV news teams have already discovered, information on cell phones is difficult to interpret. "The values really are there, but we don't know what they mean," says the San Diego neurologist.

Different makes and models emit different levels of radiation, and phone-to-ear positioning, some data suggests, affects exposure.

"I don't think you can say that a lot of these new technologies are absolutely safe. I think there's always a concern," says Silver. "It think it is important to use your regular phone at the office if you can."

One health hazard is certain: driving while talking on a cell phone. "You don't talk on the phone and drive, especially in difficult situations," advises Silver. Those that drive while talking on a cell phone--even with a hands-free feature--tend to lower the eyes and head. Momentary distractions away from the road are aplenty, particularly for newer users acclimating to their phones.

Until more is known, Gailyn Wright strives for balance in limiting her wireless time when she can by a regular land line telephone. "I think people should consider [RF emission], and they should know going in that there may possibly be health risk issues."

One Last Bite

An elderly man was at home, dying in bed. He smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies baking. He wanted one last cookie before he died.

He fell out of bed, crawled to the landing, rolled down the stairs, and crawled into the kitchen where his wife was busily
baking cookies.

With waning strength he crawled to the table and was just barely able to lift his withered arm to the cookie sheet.

As he grasped a warm, moist, chocolate chip cookie, his favorite kind, his wife suddenly whacked his hand with a spatula.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why did you do that?"

"They're for the funeral."

For more information on this and other subjects go to Interventions Archive.  The EFAP assists you and your family resolve personal problems and maintain healthy and productive lives. 

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