Changed Meetings, How They Affect Outcomes
Do you want to get on a call with someone? Do you just ring their phone or do you schedule a time? What happens with workplace meetings? Have you been the victim of changed meetings?
Time is valuable to everyone. Is your time more valuable when compared with someone else?
If you started your day planning to work on the report due this week for your boss, but someone has now shifted the priorities, how do you adapt?
When you placed the meeting on your calendar for 10:00 AM and at 9:55 AM the person planning the meeting signals a delay until 10:30 AM, was your time wasted? Is there an opportunity cost?
Hours Spent
The cost to produce a single episode of your favorite television show may be in the several million-dollar range.
Actors and actresses, film crews, equipment, location fees, and time. It all costs.
Your favorite stars will spend hours of effort for you to be able to watch 20, 30, or 40 minutes of the final product.
Olympic level athletes may have special talents and abilities.
You might watch them for a few seconds, or less than a couple of minutes on television. Do you recognize and appreciate the culmination of years of effort it took to get to those few precious moments?
The hours of commitment, that perhaps millions of people will view all at the same time, for just minutes.
Why are top athletes and movie stars paid huge salaries? If it were by the hour what would that look like?
Changed Meetings
In your workplace everyone has a schedule. Perhaps a select few are to be on-call for immediate action when the boss shouts, for everyone else, their time may already be spoken for.
If you schedule a one-hour meeting with a team of five for next Wednesday at 9:00 AM, they’ve probably adjusted or given up something else in order to be there. A last-minute delay or cancellation costs.
The value of time is irreplaceable.
It is more than about being rude, more than about the disruption, it is the cost associated with delays or missed opportunities.
Everyone is has a mission. Disruption’s cost. Missed opportunities often don’t get a do-over.
Time wasted adds up, even if it only looks like a few minutes.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
