1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the tactics 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,239 Speaker 1: used by leading innovators to get so much out of 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. I'm an 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: organizational psychologist, the CEO of Inventium, and I'm obsessed with 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: finding ways to optimize my work day. Now today, I'm 6 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: trying out a new format for the podcast, which I'm 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: calling my Favorite Tip. The title is probably pretty self explanatory. 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,159 Speaker 1: It's essentially about my favorite tip from each of the 9 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: interviews I conduct. So I thought i'd try this format 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: because I sometimes feel myself as a podcast listener that 11 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: I just want to get the getting in and get 12 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: the most value from an episode and then get out. 13 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,279 Speaker 1: So in this format, I'm trying to do just that, 14 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: particularly for listeners that are a little bit time poor 15 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: to listen to all of the interviews that I do. 16 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: So in this series, I'm going to be going through 17 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: past episodes of How I Work and pretty much digging 18 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: up my favorite tip from each interview. So my guest 19 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 1: today is Dom Price. Dom is the head of research 20 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: and Development and also the resident work futurist at Alassian, 21 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,479 Speaker 1: one of the world's biggest and fastest growing tech companies. 22 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:25,040 Speaker 1: Dom has responsibilities spanning five global R and D centers 23 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,399 Speaker 1: and is the in house team doctor who helps Elassian 24 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: scale by being ruthlessly effective, all while keeping one eye 25 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: on the future. Now I've known Dom for a few years, 26 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 1: and one of the things I like most about Dom 27 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: is that he's very contrarian in his views and he's 28 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,960 Speaker 1: not afraid to share them. So in this extract of 29 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: our chat, we get to hear the story of how 30 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: Dom eliminated a ton of meetings from his diary. So 31 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: here is Dom on how he did that. 32 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 2: So probably the funniest exercise as I did. I did 33 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 2: this about a year ago. Now I suddenly start to 34 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 2: feel a little bit overwhelmed with just the amount of 35 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 2: stuff I had going on. So I was doing my 36 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 2: four l's my love. There was some things I was 37 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 2: doing that I loved, and I'm like, unapologetically, I'm going 38 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 2: to do more of those, because I think we should 39 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 2: love what we do for work. We spent much time 40 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 2: doing it, not to love it. And then when I 41 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 2: looked at the longed and loathed the longed for. I 42 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 2: longed for the mentoring and coaching time, and I loathed 43 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 2: the sheer amount of meetings I was in, like I 44 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 2: was drowning in meetings, forums, committees, catch ups, councils, groups, squads, tribes, 45 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 2: like there was just everyone was pouring at a little 46 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,079 Speaker 2: bit of meat, and I had really bad discipline. So 47 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 2: I sent a note. I deleted every single meeting out 48 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 2: of my calendar, and it went with a note that 49 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 2: said one of three options. This is a boomerang. So 50 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 2: it comes back. But when the boomerang comes back, it 51 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 2: comes back with what is my role and responsibility in 52 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 2: the meeting? What's the purpose of the meeting? And what 53 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 2: specifically do I add, like why is this meat? Option 54 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 2: two is a soft boomerang, So it comes back, but 55 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 2: not to me. So the meeting should still exist. It 56 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 2: still needs a role and a responsibility, but one of 57 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 2: my team or someone else could do it. So I'm 58 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 2: going to sub out and they can sub in. And 59 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 2: Option three is it's not a boomerang, it's a stick. 60 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 2: See six don't come back when you throw them. And 61 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 2: so there are the meetings that probably shouldn't exist, and 62 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 2: they just kind of do. And over a third of 63 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:32,679 Speaker 2: the meetings never came back, and people were messaging me saying, hey, 64 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 2: when you challenges. When you challenges us on that meeting, 65 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 2: we looked at it. We're like, yeah, that doesn't need 66 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 2: to exist anymore. It only exists today because it existed 67 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 2: last year. Because you never kill a meeting, you only 68 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 2: ever had a meeting, And so there was just mass 69 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 2: duplication and just the liberation and the freedom that clearing 70 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 2: that much of my calendar gave me. But also then 71 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 2: having meetings where I knew what my role was, and 72 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 2: I promise you eight percent of them, I was turning 73 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 2: up and thinking out of performing a very different role 74 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 2: in that meeting, and so just getting the person to 75 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 2: clarify that was a great reduction in my cognitive loads. 76 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 2: I was like, oh, do you want me here to challenge? 77 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 2: Am I here to contribute? Do I own this? Am 78 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 2: I the provocateur? Am I here to spa with you? 79 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: Out? 80 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 2: You finish it? Like if if you've done, I'm not 81 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 2: articulated my role, I'm going to guess and the chance 82 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:21,720 Speaker 2: I'll get it wrong. And I had I'd got them 83 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 2: wrong because I was in autopilots. I had too many meetings. 84 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 2: So I now have less meetings, and the ones I have, 85 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 2: I find are really focused on something specific, and I 86 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 2: believe that my contribution in those meetings is now increased. 87 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 2: And then I've carved out that free time for doing 88 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 2: the thing which I love, which is coaching and mentoring. 89 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 1: Hey it's Amantha here again. So how cool was that? 90 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: I feel like meetings are the bane of most of 91 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: our working lives. So, you know, I wonder what's something 92 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: that you could do to start to reduce the amount 93 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: of meetings that you have to attend? You know, could 94 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: you do something similar to what Dom did and delete 95 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 1: literally every meeting in your diary and then put the 96 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 1: onus back on the meeting organizer to justify why you 97 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: should attend. It'd be interesting to see what people come 98 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: back to you with and how much time you're able 99 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: to free up from doing an exercise like this. So 100 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,720 Speaker 1: that is it for today's show. I hope you found 101 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: it helpful. The full episode is with Don Price is 102 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: in the archives if you want to listen to the 103 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,039 Speaker 1: whole thing. And if you like today's episode, please share 104 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: it with someone that you think could benefit. Maybe there's 105 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: someone in your life that is complaining about meetings constantly, 106 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: maybe send them this episode and it might give some 107 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:42,480 Speaker 1: ideas of how to reduce the meetings in their life. 108 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: And as always, if you're liking how I work, please 109 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: click the subscribe button in iTunes or wherever you get 110 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 1: your podcasts and you'll be alerted as to when ever 111 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: a new episode drops. And if you're still listening, feel 112 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 1: free to leave a review. I love getting feedback from 113 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: listeners and reading reviews. I read every single one and 114 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: just brings a massive smile to my face. So that's 115 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 1: it for today. Thank you so much for listening, and 116 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: I'll see you next time.