Supercharge Business Meetings

Group decision-making and brainstorms are often time drains. People gather in a group, give input, then go around and around. Usually, nothing comes out—except a ball of ideas with no clear conception of how to untangle it or proceed productively. What is worse: Group negotiations and brainstorming often drain energy, breathe life into poor ideas, and result in watered-down decisions.

To get around the inherent pitfalls of group decision-making, learn to structure sessions which effectively short-circuit time and energy drains. How?—by using Google Ventures "Note and Vote." This innovative technique taps the power of many minds and many viewpoints as suggested and explained below.

Steps

Preliminaries

  1. Lay out how to use "Note and Vote." Management reviews the technique and structures its use. The process is probably best left open for the members of your team to shape and use as they see fit.
  2. Pick the organizer/facilitator for the proceedings. This person will notify the participants, prepare materials, and set the agenda.
  3. Set the meeting place and time. The organizer/facilitator should secure a meeting place and set a time that is suitable for all those participating. They should notify everyone and may state the general purpose of the meeting and the expected length of the meeting—approximately thirty minutes, including refreshments.
  4. Gather the supplies. The organizer/facilitator will gather all the "Things You'll Need" and prepare notes to be referred to when explaining the procedures simply. He or she will guide the group and facilitate the meeting. This preparation should be completed earlier in the day or the previous afternoon.
  5. Select a decider by chance. This done during the meeting either by:
    • A blind draw of toothpicks (or marbles). The individual who draws the short toothpick (or specially colored marble) becomes the decider.
    • Pulling a name from a hat.

Noting

  1. Set the stage for gathering individual thoughts. Give each participant two pieces of paper for "noting," along with a writing implement.
  2. Lay out the plan. The plan is to unleash a free association of unfettered thinking and capture all the ideas in personal notes. No one has to worry about sharing dumb ideas.—Write down everything that comes to mind. The goal is to free each participant from normal constraints and worries.
    • Stack the deck to avoid pre-emptive rejection of ideas and also eliminate concerns about non-adherence to current company policy. After all, policy is in place to get things done in the best possible way and, at times, policy may stand in the way of doing so.
  3. Reveal the objective (or restate it). The primary goal could be to identify opportunities for new ventures, to plan an optimal transition to a new product line, or something else.
  4. State the time allotted for this task. Allow seven to ten minutes. This is enough time to calmly note thoughts and ideas in short bullet points. There is no need to rush.
  5. Filter the preliminary thoughts. Set the timer for two minutes and have everyone narrow his or her thoughts to the two best. Each person should cross off all ideas except their two stellar insights—either whole solutions or critical components.
    • Again, the thinking should be by individuals and be uninfluenced, insofar as is possible, by those in the meeting or elsewhere within the company. Each person should do his or her best to avoid filtering ideas based on what others might judge or say.
    • The goal is to extend the horizon of possibility by abolishing previous constraints that have arisen during corporate evolution.
  6. Share the best ideas. Each person, in turn, reads one idea while someone lists the ideas on the whiteboard. There will be two rounds of "reveals" and there should be no explicit pitching or characterizing of ideas at this time.
    • However, it is fun for the thinker to use voice inflection while revealing personal choices. Everyone should, of course, be pretty hyped about the suggestions they offer up and a bit of drama and excitement is encouraged.
    • It is also best to refrain from forming or voicing any judgment at this time—no pros and cons, no discussions, no wise comments. The facilitator should strive to make the process unbiased and work to facilitate free thinking and innovation.
  7. Number the choices on the whiteboard. This way they may be easily referred to during the voting which follows.

Voting

  1. Vote individually on the favorites. The time limit for this section of the process is three to five minutes (time set by facilitator). Set the timer for the appropriate length of time and have everyone select their favorite from the list on the whiteboard and record it on a piece of paper. There is to be no discussion during this process. When each person has made their selection, they should turn their piece of paper face down and wait quietly for the others to finish.
  2. Announce the votes. Each person, in turn, says aloud his or her vote while someone marks the votes by putting a dot next to that idea on the whiteboard. No one should interrupt the process by offering resistance or verbal praise.
    • Pitching your vote is permitted, but only while you have the floor for your vote. The pitch must be short (one minute or less).
    • It is best to keep open minds; avoid prejudgment and prejudice; and remain open to exploring new possibilities.
    • Remember to respect others thoughts and honor them properly. Work hard to see the merit in each suggestion and viewpoint, then fold that into the overall solution.
  3. Accept the outcome decided upon. The decider makes the final call for the group and can choose to honor the result of the voting or not. He or she picks the one solution that he or she considers to be the best. The decider cuts through any potential politicking and streamlines the process.

Variations

  1. Shape the process appropriately. Make sure to tailor the process to your group needs: to individual team members, to the department, and to what is being considered—what is "Noted and Voted" upon.
    • For example, you might ask for a one word attribute relating to a product or process; a longer phrase pitching the same; an item attribute (color, weight, or size); a catch phrase; a new motto,...
  2. Allow multiple votes. Consider allowing each participant two votes which may be used on separate items or as two votes for the same item.

Understanding the Dynamics

  1. Realize the benefits of silence/isolation while noting. Allowing alone-time to consider and sift through viable options helps circumvent "groupthink." This results in a richer and more diverse pool of options.
  2. Acknowledge the value of dumping linear decision-making. Normal meetings are linear: One person speaks and the rest listen, waiting a turn to articulate their thoughts after hearing the other(s). The thinking is normally a thought chain with one thought loosely linked to the previous speaker's ideas, and the next thought to that later set of ideas, and so forth.

    By interjecting ideas, the participants often fork an idea repeatedly so that it diverges from any reasonable solution path. Often it is found that individuals seek aggrandization by pitching their visions. Thus, in a traditional meeting process, it is highly likely that the thought train gets misdirected or redirected after a good start.

    Instead, "Note and vote" isolates each person's thought processes and, to a great extent, gets around misdirected final outcomes.
  3. Revel in the power of parallel processing. "Note and Vote" invokes the processing power of each mind simultaneously and taps the power of parallel processing: Many independent ideas are generated rather than a single watered-down compromise of an argument.
  4. Realize that independent notes short-circuit "groupthink." By noting independently, each choice reflects a unique perspective and no voice is amplified.
  5. Recognize the beauty of the blind vote. In other processes, votes often echo the opinion of someone who is considered wise or the "voice of reason."
  6. Value the insight gained during pitching. Varied perspectives, properly recognized, often provide the valuable insight that supercharges ideas.
  7. Understand the power of alone time. Traditional meetings give little time for focused, individual thinking. Normally, there is little engaged, creative thinking and sorting. However, the "Note and Vote" format kick-starts the creative sorting process.
  8. Realize that the strongest choices often come from an individual charged with a responsibility—in this case, the decider. The decider will likely select an outcome that is superior to one arrived at in a traditional meeting, and in one-quarter of the time.

Tips

  • You may want to assign organizational tasks or ask for volunteers. You could delegate responsibilities to:
    • An organizer (to put everything together)
    • A facilitator (to set the pace and explain options)
    • A time-keeper (to enforce the time segments)
    • A recorder (to write on the whiteboard)
    • A decider (as described above)
  • "Note and Vote" can be used as a part of a larger, step-by-step process. It is perfect for getting unstuck when group decision-making bogs down or a sticking point arises in a group process. Therefore, it is good to become familiar with this method and be ready to quickly shift focus by invoking a "Note and Vote" session.
  • The "note and vote" result might not be the best single solution, but is quite often a useful solution or facet/piece that fits the stated goal amazingly well, especially considering the time expended. The power of the method is that it is a "high leverage" process, providing exceptional return of work accomplished for each unit of time and energy expended.

Warnings

  • Do not do away with the decider nor try to circumvent the decider's choice. The power and beauty of the decider is that a single considered opinion cuts through the wishy-washy back and forth of many individuals with many agendas and provides a crystal clear path. Honor the decider's choice by whole-heartedly following the selected path selected. Trust that this action produces the best results.
  • The facilitator should do his or her best to not allow anyone to characterize a note or vote as good or better or bad, or to prejudice the process or outcome. It is best to leave the process open—free to find its own final shape through individual noting and voting.

Things You'll Need

  • Timer
  • Pieces of paper (two per participant)
  • Writing implements
  • Whiteboard
  • Erasable markers
  • Whiteboard eraser
  • Toothpicks, marbles, or other device to select the decider
  • Refreshments (optional)

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References

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