How many messages it takes them to organize a meeting.
Groups who value time, know what they want and have a good sense of what matters won’t make a big fuss about when and where to meet.
You suggest a time and a place and every subsequent response you get is either “I’ll be there” or “I can’t make it this time, have fun guys.”
In groups who are disorganized, indecisive and forget what the essentials are, every discussion about what to have for lunch feels like this:
You suggest a time and a place and every subsequent response questions your initial proposal.
“Let’s postpone 15 minutes, then I can make it.”
“Chinese? I don’t like Chinese. Let’s get Italian!”
“I can only make it if we meet on time and are finished 10 minutes early, can we do that?”
“Update guys, I can make it at the initial time.”
“Who wanted Chinese again? I’m still for Italian!”
“Is that the place with the red sign, or the blue sign?”
“Never mind guys, I won’t make it either way.”
“Let’s push 5 minutes back.”
“So are we getting Italian now?”
This is not necessarily a reflection of the people as individuals – though it can be – but more a result of the group setting and their behavior within it. If you’re part of one such group, the best you can do is to lead by example.
Facilitate the conversation, bring peoples’ focus back on what matters and remind them that deciding is more important than the end result.
That way, we can soon hopefully all go back to lunch. Anyone else feelin’ like Chinese today?
