WEBVTT - Try nested meetings

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to try nested meetings. By having meetings

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<v Speaker 1>back to back involving some but not all, of the

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<v Speaker 1>same people, you can meet much more efficiently. Perhaps you've

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<v Speaker 1>seen a set of nesting dolls somewhere. One pretty painted,

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<v Speaker 1>larger doll opens up to reveal a smaller one. You

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<v Speaker 1>open that up to reveal a smaller one, and so forth.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a whimsical concept in a toy, but when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to meetings, it is a smart one. Here's what

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<v Speaker 1>I mean. Let's say, like many organizations, that you have

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<v Speaker 1>an all staff meeting at one point, you also meet

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<v Speaker 1>with smaller teams. To envision this as nesting dolls, the

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<v Speaker 1>all staff meeting would be the biggest one. Everyone is there.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe the next smallest doll is the program meeting, which

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<v Speaker 1>includes senior leaders and program staff, but not the receptionists, bookkeepers,

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<v Speaker 1>and other support folks. The final doll, smaller still might

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<v Speaker 1>be the senior leadership team. To set this up as

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<v Speaker 1>nested meetings, you might start with the whole staff at

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<v Speaker 1>nine thirty am. Then when that meeting is done. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>say it ten fifteen. The support staff leaves and the

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<v Speaker 1>program meeting begins. The big doll is opening up to

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<v Speaker 1>reveal the second doll. Maybe that program meeting ins at

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<v Speaker 1>and everyone except the senior staff leaves. You address any

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<v Speaker 1>topics you need to in that group, and say your

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<v Speaker 1>goodbyes BYT or so. By nesting meetings like this, you

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<v Speaker 1>have just had three meetings in one meeting block. You

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<v Speaker 1>only needed to wait for latecomers, spend time on team building,

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<v Speaker 1>and do your chit chat once, and then you got

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<v Speaker 1>your business done. Nobody was stuck in a meeting that

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<v Speaker 1>didn't pertain to them. Even people who were in all

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<v Speaker 1>three meetings spent way less time in meetings than they

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<v Speaker 1>would have if there had been three separate meeting blocks,

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<v Speaker 1>each with time waiting for latecomers and with time lost

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<v Speaker 1>to transition. With less time devoted to meetings, you have

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<v Speaker 1>more time to get going on implementing the great ideas

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<v Speaker 1>that you developed in those meetings. You can picture the

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<v Speaker 1>same idea with parallel department meetings. If you have a

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<v Speaker 1>whole staff meeting, you can then immediately break up into

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<v Speaker 1>different working groups or departments, right after a board could

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<v Speaker 1>split after the whole board meeting into individual committees. People

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<v Speaker 1>only have to travel once and there has only been

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<v Speaker 1>one meeting block. The main idea is that by reducing

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<v Speaker 1>the number of distinct meeting blocks anyone has on their calendars,

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<v Speaker 1>you reduce the total amount of time in meetings and

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<v Speaker 1>transitioning to and from the meetings without reducing the time

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<v Speaker 1>for collaboration. That sounds like a good idea to me.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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