Point Lookout: a free weekly publication of Chaco Canyon Consulting
Volume 9, Issue 14;   April 8, 2009: Discussion Distractions: II

Discussion Distractions: II

by

Meetings are less productive than they might be, if we could learn to recognize and prevent the most common distractions. Here is Part II of a small catalog of distractions frequently seen in meetings.
A man using a chainsaw

A man using a chainsaw. Notice all the safety equipment, and his obvious focus on what he's doing. If we all paid as much attention at meetings as he's paying to his chainsaw, meetings would be far more effective and produce far more valuable results. Photo courtesy .

It's OK to hate meetings. It's not OK to hate meetings while at the same time doing the very things that make them so unproductive and hateful. last time we examined some meeting patterns that distract us by creating or contributing to toxic conflict. This Part II explores distractions that waste time through irrelevance or by hijacking the meeting agenda to personal ends.

Axe grinding
To advance a previously blocked project of their own, or to inject an I-told-you-so, some make contributions that have the not-so-hidden purpose of advancing their previously blocked projects. The group must then knock down this obstacle before it can begin problem solving.
Horn-blowing
Horn-blowing is making a contribution that reminds the group of something the horn-blower considers to have been his or her own personal achievement. See Backdoor Bragging.
Rhetorical fallacies
Rhetorical fallacies are errors of logic, used intentionally or not, that cause the group to come to erroneous conclusions unknowingly. There are dozens of different fallacies. Read about a few of the more common rhetorical fallacies.
Electronic fiddling around
If you want meetings to be worthwhile, give them your full attention. Composing or reading mail, texting, tweeting, surfing, or other forms of electronic fiddling around can cause us to lose contact with the discussion. Follow the chainsaw rule: If you can't do it while operating a chainsaw, don't do it while attending a meeting.
Meta-discussion
As a group is discussing several related issues, it might slide into a discussion of the order of discussing the issues, without really making a conscious choice to discuss the discussion. Any conscious choice is more likely to lead to a productive outcome.Follow the chainsaw rule:
If you can't do it while
operating a chainsaw, don't
do it while attending
a meeting
Inappropriate problem solving
Once the group identifies a problem, the temptation to dive into solving it is almost irresistible, even if complete information is lacking, or the group doesn't own the problem, or critical people are not in attendance. See "The Solving Lamp Is Lit," Point Lookout for September 6, 2006, for more.
Optimization
Even when we're solving a problem that is ours to solve, and even when we have the people and information we need, we can be distracted by the urge to solve it in an optimal way. Most of the problems modern organizations face don't actually have optimal solutions. Solutions have strengths and weaknesses, depending on our goals. There usually is no single best way. See "Holey Grails," Point Lookout for October 23, 2002, for more.
Meta-optimization
Optimization, described above, entails discussing the best way to do something. Meta-optimization is a discussion of the best way to discuss optimizing something. A group that regularly gets so distracted that it enters a meta-optimization discussion is a group in need of distraction training.

One key to eliminating these distractions is making everyone aware of them. Pass this list around and see what happens. First in this series  Go to top Top  Next issue: Mitigating Outsourcing Risks: I  Next Issue

101 Tips for Effective MeetingsDo you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

About Point Lookout

This article in its entirety was written by a 
          human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:

A rock climber in Joshua Tree National Park, United StatesLet Me Finish, Please
We use meetings to exchange information and to explore complex issues. In open discussion, we tend to interrupt each other. Interruptions can be disruptive, distracting, funny, essential, and frustratingly common. What can we do to limit interruptions without depriving ourselves of their benefits?
Uphill trekSelling Uphill: Before and After
Whether you're a CEO appealing to your Board of Directors, your stockholders or regulators, or a project champion appealing to a senior manager, you have to "sell uphill" from time to time. Persuading decision makers who have some kind of power over us is a challenging task. How can we prepare the way for success now and in the future?
Thumb upDecisions, Decisions: I
Most of us have participated in group decision making. The process can be frustrating and painful, but it can also be thrilling. What processes do groups use to make decisions? How do we choose the right process for the job?
A team raises a wall of a new home sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentOrganizing a Barn Raising
Once you find a task that you can tackle as a "barn raising," your work is just beginning. Planning and organizing the work is in many ways the hard part.
Space Shuttle Columbia during the launch of its final missionHow to Reject Expert Opinion: II
When groups of decision makers confront complex problems, and they receive opinions from recognized experts, those opinions sometimes conflict with the group's own preferences. What tactics do groups use to reject the opinions of people with relevant expertise?

See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness, Effective Meetings and Conflict Management for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

A meeting in a typical conference roomComing April 3: Recapping Factioned Meetings
A factioned meeting is one in which participants identify more closely with their factions, rather than with the meeting as a whole. Agreements reached in such meetings are at risk of instability as participants maneuver for advantage after the meeting. Available here and by RSS on April 3.
Franz Halder, German general and the chief of staff of the Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942And on April 10: Managing Dunning-Kruger Risk
A cognitive bias called the Dunning-Kruger Effect can create risk for organizational missions that require expertise beyond the range of knowledge and experience of decision-makers. They might misjudge the organization's capacity to execute the mission successfully. They might even be unaware of the risk of so misjudging. Available here and by RSS on April 10.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

Reprinting this article

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Follow Rick

Send email or subscribe to one of my newsletters Follow me at LinkedIn Follow me at X, or share a post Subscribe to RSS feeds Subscribe to RSS feeds
The message of Point Lookout is unique. Help get the message out. Please donate to help keep Point Lookout available for free to everyone.
Technical Debt for Policymakers BlogMy blog, Technical Debt for Policymakers, offers resources, insights, and conversations of interest to policymakers who are concerned with managing technical debt within their organizations. Get the millstone of technical debt off the neck of your organization!
Go For It: Sometimes It's Easier If You RunBad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? Learn what we can do when we love the work but not the job.
303 Tips for Virtual and Global TeamsLearn how to make your virtual global team sing.
101 Tips for Managing ChangeAre you managing a change effort that faces rampant cynicism, passive non-cooperation, or maybe even outright revolt?
101 Tips for Effective MeetingsLearn how to make meetings more productive — and more rare.
Exchange your "personal trade secrets" — the tips, tricks and techniques that make you an ace — with other aces, anonymously. Visit the Library of Personal Trade Secrets.
If your teams don't yet consistently achieve state-of-the-art teamwork, check out this catalog. Help is just a few clicks/taps away!
Ebooks, booklets and tip books on project management, conflict, writing email, effective meetings and more.