Kick-Ass Meetings - Construction Genius

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Kick-Ass Meetings

A Simple Three-Step Solution to a Multi-Million Dollar Problem

www.ericanderton.com

http://www.ericanderton.com


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Definition of KICK-ASS:strikingly effective.

Everyone Hates Attending Lousy Meetings In case you need some convincing check out these statistics from TED.com:

25% of meetings are spent discussing irrelevant issues.

50% of people find meetings to be unproductive.

73% of employees do other work in meetings.

90% of people daydream in meetings.

100% of employees play Candy Crush, Snapchat with friends, or text their kids during meetings.

(That last bullet was a joke, but you get the idea)

A Million Dollar ProblemExecutives average 23 hours a week in meetings. 7.8 hours of that time is spent in unnecessary or poorly run meetings.

That adds up to a waste of over 2 months a year, per executive.

Do the math. If you’re paying a group of 5 executives an annual average of $100,000, that adds up to $83,333 of wasted salary per year.

Project those numbers over ten years, and you can see how your badly run meetings can cost you millions of dollars in salary alone.

How many hours have you wasted in poorly run meetings that fail to address the real issues that affect your company? You talk and talk, but never commit to, or take, action—or if you do act, you act ineffectively, not focusing on things that could really solve your problems.


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What Is the Root Cause of Bad Meetings? 75% of people have received no formal training on how to conduct a meeting, so most people have no clue about how to run a well-structured meeting.

They don’t know how to begin the meeting with a bang so that participants are engaged, how to tap the best thinking of the attendees during the meeting, or how to drive towards a conclusion in a timely manner.

Every business has challenges, and every business needs meetings to discuss how to overcome the challenges. The problem is that most meetings are time consuming, too rigid, or too chaotic. Most leaders lack simple frameworks to get all meeting participants involved, get ideas flowing, gather those ideas skillfully so that bias and preconceived notions do not squelch creativity, and then narrow down their lists to one idea that the teams can commit to implementing.

Thankfully There’s a Simple SolutionKick-Ass Meetings (KAM) is a straightforward, three-step process that will help you address these specific issues and empower you to run killer meetings that people will look forward to attending. Using KAM, you’ll be able to present a problem to your team members, and lead them through brainstorming, prioritization, and action planning.

KAM provides enough structure to keep your meetings on track and on time, without the stifling rigidity of traditional agenda-driven formats.



In less than an hour, you’ll generate a clear, three-part, one-page action plan that you’ll use to hold people accountable. You’ll be able to instill in your business a problem-solving, action-orientated bias that will enable you to drive success and profit.

KAM is broken down into three parts:

Before you can use KAM you have a to do some up-front preparation.

Pre-Meeting Preparation

1. Identify the Problems

2. Gather the Team

3. Make the Rules

Idea Generation Prioritization Action

Planning


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Identify the Problems

What is the source of your business problems? Like every business, you offer a product (or service). You have unique processes that guide every aspect of how you deliver your product and operate. And you have people who drive the success of your product and processes. These as the three “Ps”: Product, Process, and People.

All three of the “Ps” work together to maximize the fourth “P”: PROFIT!

If you have problems with any aspect of your product, process, or people, your profitability will suffer. The market does not lie, and it will punish you for poor quality, poor service, and failure to deliver.

Product Process

People

Profit


Numbers and Conversations

One of the best ways of discovering where problems exist is to measure and track as much of your operation as possible.

The very best businesses place metrics on every aspect of their operations. They track customer experience and loyalty, employee retention and satisfaction, and production and delivery quality—not to mention sales and marketing activities, and a myriad of financial data such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, debt, cash flow, and, ultimately, profitability.

Of course, not everything is measurable. Conversations are important, too, particularly when you’re evaluating the strengths and health of the relationships within your executive team and various departments. By narrowing your focus to Product, Process, People, and by combining numbers with conversations, you’ll be able to surface problems that you need to address.


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Gather the Team

Once you’ve identified the problem, you must choose who you’d like to involve in the problem-solving process. This can be tricky—you have to strike the right balance between quality and quantity. Invite your leaders who are directly affected by the problem, and anyone else who would have input from a technical- or process-based perspective.

Depending on the topic, you may also invite someone without a great deal of technical background, or someone from a completely different department, simply to get some input from someone with outside perspective. For example, you may bring in someone from marketing or sales to a meeting about product specifications for a unique perspective from those who regularly engage with your prospects and customers.

Whatever mix you choose, don’t have too many participants. I recommend somewhere between six and ten—but not more than twelve. This gives you diversity of input without too many voices muddying the messages.

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Make the Rules

Your job as the meeting leader is to establish the ground rules for participation. Here are the top three rules that will ensure a great meeting:

1. No Distractions Put away mobile devices. Focus for the entire length of the meeting without distraction.

2. No Dismissing of Ideas That means suspending judgment regarding the validity of ideas. No laughing at, mocking, or belittling another’s input.

3. Everyone Participates No one gets to hide in the corner, and no one gets to dominate. Everyone who’s been invited to the meeting has been because they have something to contribute.

Once you’ve identified the problem, gathered the team, and set the rules, the real fun begins. It’s time to dive into the heart of Kick-Ass Meetings:

^ Generate Ideas

^ Gather and Prioritize

^ Action Plan

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Generate Ideas

“Brainstorming” is an overused word, but it’s a vital aspect of Kick-Ass Meetings. None of us knows the future, we aren’t certain of what will work. But, we can use a combination of data, experience, and intuition to generate as many ideas as possible to help us address the issues that we face, prior to choosing a course of action. Here are three steps that will help you conduct a successful brainstorming session.

Step 1: Frame the Problem Clearly Frame the problem as a question, such as:

“In what specific ways can we improve our marketing?”

“In what specific ways can we eliminate waste during production?”

“In what specific ways can we function more effectively as a leadership team?”

“In what specific ways can we increase customer retention?”

Notice that “specific” is always in the question. This will help people answer more precisely, and produce actionable ideas.


Step 2: Set a Two-Minute TimerMake sure that everyone understands the question, and that they agree that the question is directionally correct. Then set a timer for two minutes. Have all participants write down as many answers to the question as they can think of in the two minutes. Encourage them: tell them that there are no bad ideas, and the key is quantity not quality. If a participant generates one idea, he or she should quickly move on and get another one down.

Remind them that you are looking for specific answers that can be acted on.

Step 3: Narrow the Ideas The last part of idea generation happens immediately after the two-minute brainstorm session. Have each of the participants look at his or her list and pick the top two ideas. They can only choose two each. If someone only has two, no problem. If a participant has one, then that is the one he or she has to go with.

Once you have completed the Generate Ideas phase, you are now ready to gather the ideas, and this is the toughest and most interesting part of KAM: Gather and Prioritize.


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Gather and Prioritize

Facilitating these types of discussions is challenging, but the more you practice the more skilled you’ll become.

GatherGo around the room and gather the top ideas that each meeting participant chose. Get the first idea from each participant, and write the ideas down on a flip chart or whiteboard where everyone can see them and begin to process them. Make sure you number each idea (this will be important later on when you are narrowing the list of ideas down). When you’re asking people for their ideas, get them to be as specific as possible. If someone’s idea is a bit vague, ask for specific examples.

Don’t allow one person to dominate the discussion. Interrupt them while they are speaking and engage them in a conversation around the point they are making. You do this by asking questions, which gives your control of the discussion, and helps them to make their point succiently.

After you have one idea from each person, go back around (starting from the last person) and get the next idea. You should be getting some duplicates at this point, and that’s OK. Thank those people for their contributions, and ask them if they have any specific wrinkles they’d like to add to their ideas to further enhance them.


After everyone has at least two opportuinites to provide input, ask: “Are there any other ideas that anyone would like to add?” A couple more ideas may pop up. At this point, depending on the size of the group, you’ll have a list of 5 to 15 ideas. Some of them will be very good, some of them will be average, and some will be less helpful.

This is the where most people stop. They look at the board, feel good about having gotten something done, and adjourn the meeting. Big mistake. Remember the saying about meetings: “When all was said and done, a lot was said and nothing was done.” Now it’s time to prioritze the ideas.

4 Facilitation Secrets

1: One at a Time Most people will have at least two ideas that they want to share. Insist upon courtesy and self-control, and take only one idea at a time. Let the “eager beavers” know that you’ll get their additional ideas after others have shared their ideas. This way you give the opportunity for everyone to contribute something of significance.

2: Get out of the Way The meeting facilitator has the goal of bringing out the best in others, not dominating the conversation. Don’t judge the ideas that are being put on the board. At this point there are no bad ideas (even if you know an idea has little value).

3: Shut up Some people need time talking just to figure out and explain what they’re thinking. So let them talk. Practice active listening skills. One thing I like to do when concentrating on listening is ball up the toes in my right foot. This creates a mild physical tension that helps me to focus on what the other person is saying. I combine the physical action with an internal verbal cue: “Ground yourself.” This reminds me to shut down the conversation in my head and pay complete attention to what is being said.

4: ReframeAsk questions, and reframe the ideas, if necessary, but do not shut someone down and move on until you’re sure that he or she has completely shared the idea.



Prioritize

Depending on the size of the group, you will have generated 5 to 15 ideas. Even if every idea is awesome, you’ll never get to implementing them all. The more you talk and the less you act, the more your credibility as leader and the morale of your team will suffer. It is time to drastically reduce the list.

Ask the participants to each choose the best third of the ideas displayed. For example, if you are looking at 15 ideas, instruct everyone to pick the best 5 separate ideas.

This has a wonderful effect. Everyone gets to see the list, and because people will have already given their inputs, they’ll be willing to consider the input of others. Having been heard, they can freely acknowledge which ideas are good, even if the ones they choose are not their own.

After everyone has chosen their top ideas, gather the votes. The big mistake that some facilitators make at this point is to go round the room asking each individual to share the ideas they picked. This allows people to see where the “wind is blowing” in terms of which ideas are popular, and can cause people to change their votes. To avoid this simply start by pointing at idea #1 and ask: “By a show of hands, who selected this idea?” This way you’ll be able to quickly gather the votes, and keep people from switching their votes.

When the process is completed, 80% of the time, 1 idea will receive the majority of the votes. 20% of the time up to 3 ideas will receive an equal number of votes. When that happens, just have the participants pick their top idea.



Keep in mind that you are driving towards creating an action plan, and choosing one idea is vital to building a clear plan. Don’t worry about choosing the “perfect” idea. You are aiming to be directionally correct.

Get Commitment: Once the voting has taken place and the winning idea has surfaced, address the meeting participants: “This idea have received the most votes. By a show of hands, how many of us are willing to leave this meeting, committed to implementing this idea in the next 30 days.” Adjust the time frame (30, 60, 90 days) to fit the needs of the problem your addressing, but don’t neglect the time aspect of implementation.

I have used this process for over a decade to run brainstorming sessions with small and large organizations of varying complexity and sophistication, I have never failed to get unanimous commitment.

Why does this happen? It’s simple—everyone has had the chance to particpate, to contribute ideas, and to then choose the best ideas. If you have good people working on your team, that have some understanding of and commitment to your business, they will be happy to rally around good ideas for solving your toughest challenges.

Beware of Good VibesI guarantee you that the energy in the room will be high. Don’t be fooled by that energy. It will fade fast, and must be translated into disciplined action. Now it’s time to take the last step of KAM: Action Planning.


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Action Plan

We’re on the last step of Kick-Ass Meetings. Generate Ideas got the team thinking about how to solve the problem you presented to the team. Gather and Prioritize gave everyone an opportunity to give their input and choose the best idea. Now that you’ve chosen your top idea, you and your team must make a specific plan to overcome the problem, with deadlines and metrics attached.

Get Your Boots MuddyGreat companies have a bias for intelligent, specific action. Action is everything. I love General George Patton’s statement: “A good plan violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.”

Patton was a “muddy boots” general in World War II. He spent plenty of time planning and discussing his attacks, but when it was time to move, he moved. He was on the tank with the troops charging forward.

Either most businesses do not have a plan to guide them while they work to overcome their problems, or they make their plans too complicated and hard to implement. Kick-Ass Meetings includes a simple Action Planning process that will get you moving forward.

There are three parts to the Action Planning process:

Rally Cry, Fierce Focus, Critical Numbers


Rally Cry: If you’ve done a good job identifying and articulating the best idea, then this part will be relatively simple. Build the Rally Cry around what needs to happen in order for you to be able to say with any credibility that the problem you want to solve has been addressed. Take your best idea and translate it into a short word or phrase that paints a compelling picture of what you are seeking to accomplish, what your overall goal is.

Recently, one of my clients (a construction company) used KAM to generate ideas on how to improve their operations. After the Generate Ideas process, they selected: “Emphasis on cost control, tracking, and forecasting.” They translated this into the Rally Cry: “Own the Cost”

The Rally Cry was directionally correct, understandable, and easy to communicate.

Fierce Focus: These are the big areas of activity or execution (sales, marketing, production, finance, team) that you need to focus on in order for the rally cry to be achieved. The areas of Fierce Focus will help you identify what needs to be done and who is going to be responsible for the execution of the tasks in order to achieve the Rally Cry.

Going back to my construction company client: After identifying “Own the Cost” as the Rally Cry, they chose three areas of Fierce Focus:

1. Project Managers set up job for margin success

2. Superintendents develop lowest possible cost and optimize resources

3. Foremen execute at the lowest possible cost



Once again, they kept it simple, identifying three areas of activity (and the people responsible for them) that they needed to focus in order on to achieve the Rally Cry.

Critical Numbers: The last stage of the Action Planning process is the Critical Numbers—the metrics you need to track to determine if the areas of Fierce Focus are being executed.

My construction client tracks a number of metrics. In order to achieve the “Own the Cost” Rally Cry, they chose to focus on:

Project Manager: Margin Growth

Superintendent: Equipment Utilization

Foreman: Cost Per Unit Installed

Notice that accountability is built in because each project manager, superintendent, and foreman were held accountable for their performances by tracking the Critical Numbers associated with each area of Fierce Focus.

Don’t worry if this example doesn’t apply directly to your business; just know that you need to identify the numbers you need to track and tie them to the achievement of your areas of Fierce Focus.

Below is a graphic example of the Action Plan:

Own the Cost!

Project Managers: Set Up Job

for Margin Success

Margin Growth

Superintendents:

Optimize Resources

Equipment Utilization

Foremen:

Economic Execution

Cost/Unit Installed

Rally Cry

Fierce Focus

Critical Numers



Why Is This So Hard? It’s often been said if you don’t inspect what you expect, don’t expect what you expect.

The Action Planning process that I just described is simple, and very effective, IF you use it consistently. The problem is that many people are not very effective at solving problems in their businesses because they’re not willing to hold others accountable for their actions. Accountability is painful for everyone involved, because it can result in conflict—and most people would rather have comfort over conflict.

However, in business, the only way to overcome a problem is to identify what the problem is, figure out the best way to solve it, build a plan to solve it, and hold people accountable for the execution of that plan.

The best way to do this is to have regular meetings where you review the Critical Numbers and hold people accountable for the achievement of the Rally Cry as they execute their areas of Fierce Focus.

When you hold these meetings and identify a problem that’s hindering the achievement of the Rally Cry, then use KAM again to determine how you’re going to remove that obstacle.

In the end, if you’re going to get all the benefits of KAM, you have to be willing to have the tough conversations, and hold people accountable for what they’ve agreed to do.

What can happen when you implement this process? In the case of my construction client, they clearly identified “Own the Cost” as the Rally Cry. They focused on that for 90 days, and that focus contributed to them having their most successful year in over a decade.


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Time for Action

You’ll find 100% of the value of Kick-Ass Meetings when you put it into action.

Look at your numbers, and identify a reoccurring problem that you’ve had difficulty addressing. Gather a group of people to address the problem. Frame it as a “In what specific ways . . . ?” question, and use KAM to generate, gather, and prioritize ideas. Then, build a one-page action plan with Rally Cry, Fierce Focus, and Critical Numbers.

Kick-Ass Meetings will empower you to run efficient meetings that have enough structure to keep participants on track, and enough flexibility to keep the meetings themselves engaging and interesting.

Commit to holding your people accountable for implementation. Be flexible and willing to pivot if you need to. And keep using Kick-Ass Meetings to progress through the problem-solving process and move towards building a profitable business

WORWORMM BEST

EAEATT KK

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About Eric Anderton

Proven ExperienceSince 2004 Eric Anderton has personally taught hundreds of executives from a variety of companies how to use Kick-Ass Meetings framework to run meetings that help solve the toughest challenges they face.

Eric has more than two decades of career and entrepreneurial business experience, alongside 25 years of public speaking, small group facilitation and one-on-one mentoring.

He is a trusted leadership advisor, executive mentor and expert meeting facilitator for companies that range in revenue from $2m-$1B.

Industries Eric works with include: Construction, Engineering, Insurance, Technology and Digital Marketing.

Timeless Insights He has a BA in History and has spent 30 years studying ancient and modern history, leadership and strategic principles.

He knows that the foundation of the best businesses is communication, and that running effective meetings is a cornerstone of communication.

How to Contact Eric If you’d like to learn more about Kick-Ass Meetings, and how

to use and apply it in your organization, contact Eric directly at [email protected]

mailto:eric%40ericanderton.com?subject=

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What Clients Say...

Here’s what some of Eric’s clients say about his meeting facilitation skill, and using the Kick-Ass Meeting framework:

“From the first meeting in our office, you begin adding value immediately. The process you took us through in that one meeting resulted in well over $50,000 in new business as a result of the focused action plan we developed together.”

Bryan Merica, Partner, IDMLOCO

“You bring something very special to the table: arms-length perspective, pinpoint focus, and an actionable plan to immediately move the needle. Your ability to sort through a myriad of data to identify key success nodes is impressive.”

Matt Wozniak, President & CEO, National Shopping Service

“The most beneficial thing I found in working with you was your simple and effective meeting process. It can be used over, and over, and over without becoming tired and stale. It’s a good way to engage a team and have them take accountability and ownership over creating things that are going to propel the business forward.”

Shone Freeman, President, SR Freeman

“...the skills that you bring to the table as far as facilitating meetings are probably the best I’ve ever seen.”

Ed Herrnberger, Area Manager, Teichert Construction
























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Kick-Ass Meetings - Construction Genius