We have been noticing how almost anyone in organizations these days can check everyone else’s calendar on their intranet. It might be contributing to the meeting mania that seems to be mushrooming; “number of meetings” booked has emerged as the new status symbol. Having a meeting to plan another meeting is now trumped by having a meeting to plan the meeting that is aimed at planning a meeting! But, we recently had one refreshing deviation from the paralysis from analysis method of avoiding a responsible, take-a-stand decision.
We were trying to schedule an hour phone conversation with a very senior leader of a large manufacturing company. His on-the-ball assistant looked at the leader’s calendar for his availability at a requested time and said, “I know he wants get some time with you, but he has that entire morning blocked out to meet with a group of customers. He wants to get their participation in planning a new product launch.” We later learned it was not a board room meeting; it was an off-site candid discussion. And, he took with him a blank note pad, not a slick PowerPoint deck or sanitized report.
Customers learn your priority and their importance, not by what you say, but by where you spend your time. What would your customers learn if they could see your calendar?
