Business Word

Ho-hum, Not Another Meeting
A Delightful Experiment Changes the Way One Company Conducts Internal Meetings

by Peter Zvalo

Company meetings are often regarded as conservative and uninspired by those who must attend. We all know that meetings are necessary, but we also know that they can be wearisome.

Not all meetings need be that way. In fact, meetings can inject some lighthearted fun into the day and stimulate the creative juices. This is a story about how a series of humdrum meetings at one consulting firm evolved into a creative expression that is as varied as the participants themselves.

A Tradition Is Born

Once upon a time, a documentation consulting firm conducted regular meetings with its creative staff. Once a month, the firm's staff of writers, editors, and graphic designers convened for the so-called "creative meeting" — a forum in which they were to share lessons learned from work experiences, both good and bad. The problem was the creative meetings just weren't ... creative.

Each month, the meeting chair (a rotating assignment) would distribute a memo announcing the day and time of the next meeting. En route to the meeting, he or she would pick up a couple of dozen doughnuts. Once underway, the meetings themselves often degenerated into a project review — each person would summarize the status of current projects. Before long, eyes would glaze over, and thoughts of sailing or of rounds of golf would permeate the staid room.

Then, along came a novel idea: The memo announcing the next meeting arrived in the form of a humourous short story. Recipients loved it, and a tradition was born.

From that day forward, subsequent meeting chairs tried to outdo the memos that had come before. Some memos took the forms of haikus and poems; others incorporated crossword puzzles and games; still others used cereal boxes, CD cases, Plasticine, and tree bark instead of paper to get the message across. One host even recorded a blues song with lyrics announcing the meeting, and circulated the tape to prospective attendees.

Any Theme Goes

Eventually, the meeting announcement became only part of the complete meeting package. Soon each creative meeting was built around an entire theme. The theme would be carried from the announcement through to the chief topic of discussion, and even to the snacks and drinks served. The continuing challenge was to ensure that the execution of the theme was innovative, yet somehow related to the business of the company.

Staff came to realize that, within the boundaries of good taste, anything goes in hosting a memorable meeting. Some examples:

• Casino — Dressed in a tuxedo T-shirt, the host was the croupier for three rounds of roulette played on a small roulette wheel in the centre of the meeting room. While sipping champagne and orange juice, attendees were asked to describe a risk they had taken during a recent project.
• The Healing Room — Surrounded by soft new-age music and scented candles, participants snacked on wholesome fruits and imbibed an unusual ginseng elixir. The host opened the meeting by leading a brief relaxation exercise. Staff then shared personal techniques that they used to relieve stress during hectic working periods.
• Around the World — A few days before the meeting, participants were given an apple-sized Styrofoam ball. Their task was to decorate the ball so that it depicted a place to which they had travelled or that they would like to visit. Among the clever creations was a space-age globe covered with colourful resistors, diodes, and wires that were meant to represent cyberspace.
• Hidden Treasure — Participants were challenged to find, by a certain time of day, a long-lost key whose whereabouts was slyly hidden in an old pirate's tale and an ancient hand-drawn map. The key opened a wooden treasure box, overflowing with jewels. The discoverer revealed the treasure to be "Creativity." In keeping with the "treasure island" theme, staff munched on pineapple and other tropical fruits, and shared their secrets to unleashing creativity.
• Hidden Messages — In keeping with the unwritten rule that consultants should always be alert to detect hidden messages when interacting with clients, the meeting announcement was a short story in which the name of every participant was cleverly embedded. Participants were expected to pick up the hidden message without any forewarning. When the hidden theme was revealed to all, breakfast cereal was served and past experiences were shared.
• Frightening Images — In recognition of Halloween, participants were asked to open an on-line help file and locate frightening images (pictures of ghosts and bats and the like) that were embedded in the file. Halloween treats were served, and participants shared their thoughts on how to anticipate, recognize, and counter scary situations when working on documentation projects.

Numerous other meetings have been similarly memorable. Some have required such a high degree of planning and imagination that the company's management now gives out annual prizes for the most creative announcements and the best overall meeting.

The experiment has proved that when imaginative people are given the opportunity to be creative, exciting things can happen. In this case, hosts have fun inventing new themes, and the people attending actually look forward to the next meeting. While roars of laughter often burst out of the meeting room, the meetings themselves provide real benefit to the staff and to the firm as a whole. On an individual level, participants have an opportunity to look at their work experiences in a new light. In the process, they learn about themselves and about each other. The company wins too, by fostering a pleasant working environment and by motivating staff to be both creative and productive.