Sponsor (Jan-Apr 1957)

MEETINGS continued... dur> not create a commercial in the solitude of an attic. The radio-tv commercial or the magazine lav out is a group product and where it will he run is a group determination. Marketinn, media. cop\ and radio-tv departments all contribute to the campaign and contributions must he coordinated. The case for the conference is strong. But while intra-agency communications are kept tight with meetings, isn't it possible this leaves some wires down between such vital outside contacts as the broadcasting field? Could fewer and shorter meetings accomplish the same purposes and permit, for example, timebuyers more time to keep up with opportunities of the industry ? Leaders in management study believe the) could. The meeting problem is not peculiar to Madison Avenue. Since the concept of "roup management picked up momentum in the early '40s, the conference has been under the microscope. For a decade. Harvard L niversity has conducted a continuing study of meetings — authentic meetings held within a "bugged," glass enclosed conference-lab. At Elizabeth. \. J.. Esso — one of a multitude of major companies concerned with the timewasting aspects of meetings — has set up a conference training center for its executives. The American Management Association publishes a brochure, "Guide to Conference Leadership. conducts courses and clinics on the subject. George Odiorne. who heads AMA's intra-company management program. has a simple, three-point formula for cutting down on frequency and duration of meetings: i 1 i Before calling a meeting, ask yourself, "Is it really necessar\ "'.'" i2l Invite only those who will have something to contribute. (3) At meeting's end. check on what actually was accomplished. Main meetings end on an inconclusive note, and this calls for still another meeting. Others consume far more time than i needed to accomplish a purpose. To hold down and shorten such sessions, Odiorne -u^jiests that the subject of the meeting first be clearlv defined and then stuck to. This is the mark of a good conference leader. The other essential is to set a terminal time and keep it. If the meeting is properly conducted, this terminus is not too hard to keep. It is the application of what Fortune calls '"Parkinson's Law. or the fact that people will fit work to the time allotted. The .National Industrial Conference Board is another organization interested in improving meeting techniques so that an objective is accomplished in the shortest length of time. They are offering a series of five five-day seminars on the subject from January through May in New York. George V. Moser, one of the Board's specialists, will conduct the sessions. According to Moser, it is rare that a meeting will automatically proceed to a successful conclusion: it need planning and guidance. "Most authorities." says Moser. "talk in terms of one or two hours for the average meeting. Main subjects cannot be handled adequatelv in less than an hour. Two hours are often more than enough to exhaust the concentration of most people. Many meetings on routine matters can be taken care of in 15 minutes." The length of meetings has concerned many executives. Practices designed to shorten meetings range from holding stand-up meetings in chairless conference rooms so that no one gets too comfortable to scheduling sessionnear the workday's end. The latter is objected to 1>\ some on the grounds that late afternoon often finds the meeters too tired to focus attention or contribute their best idea>. One of the factors that contribute to excessi\el\ long meetings are uncooperative participants. The responsibilities of a conference member are just as great as for a conference leader. I he leader must bring to the conference a well-planned itinerary as well as an anticipation of where roadblocks or detours mav occur. The members must bring a spirit of cooperation and object i\ it\ . The previously-mentioned Harvard stud) reveals a pattern for practical!) all meetings regarding the roles of those who attend. The "cast" invariabl) include these characters: The Boss i he called the meeting). The Idea Man (he contributes most of the creative thinking i, The Conciliator (he smooths over personality conflicts!. The Blocker the questions every proposal I . and The Best-Liked Gu) I he keeps the meeting on a pleasant level I . Interestingly enough, a series of meetings frequently begins w ith The Idea Man and The Best-Liked Gu) being the same person. Gradually. however, his easv flow of ideas causes resentment and jealousy among the others, and someone else becomes The Best-Liked Guy. "It's important that vou plan the conference with an understanding of the group."' sav \M VOdiorne. As a tool correct!) used, the meeting should not constitute a problem for buyers or sellers. It is only when the meeting fails that time waste occurs — that it drags into extra hours and ends with nothing accomplished but a time set for another meeting. During the 1955 seminars of the National Industrial Conference Board, executives who participated discussed factors in their experience that caused meetings to fail. The three major reasons were: (1) Inadequate preparation. I 2 I Poor leadership. i 3 i Non-cooperating members. Another finding by the hoard is that all too often a meeting is held where the problem to be considered is not real. Or it mav be a real problem — but one which does not require a solution, or one which the group members have reason to believe has already been decided. Such meetings serve bo purpose, and are the kind about which thwarted sellers have even right to complain. But accepting the fact that many meetings are held in good faith and consume a minimum of time, here is the opinion of Charles LeBlanc. of the Besearch Institute of Vmerica, an organization whose findings on management problems serve more than 3,000 companies. "The problem of meetings tying up buyers to the point where sellers can't get in to see them is basically a seller's problem.'" savs LeBlanc. "The properlv trained -alesman mav find it sometimes irritating, but certainly not insurmountable. In fact, we have sales training programs that tackle this problem and offer guidance to sellers on how to circumvent it." ^ SPONSOR 12 JAM vtn 1951