A harsh comment by Steve Jobs and how we can turn it into a meaningful lesson about meeting time

Read more thoughts on the art of communicating week-daily at https://michaelgerharz.com/blog

Mentioned in this episode:

My new book is out now

You’ve got a bold vision and a strategy to achieve it! But why does your company seem to be standing still? Why is the gap between what strategy promises and what it delivers so vast and disheartening? And what to do about it? Find out in my new book “The PATH to Strategic Impact”: https://geni.us/the-path

New book

After Andy Miller had sold his company to Apple, he reported directly to Steve jobs.

In an interview, he explained what it was like when he wasn't paying attention

for a brief moment in a meeting.

Jobs immediately pulled him out and said to him: “You weren't paying attention.

If I ever noticed that again, you'll never again, sit in one of these meetings.”

It sounds harsh, but it makes sense when you turn it into a bidirectional deal.

You must pay attention.

But at the same time you get the right to demand that the content is worth

paying attention to, that we don't waste anyone's time with the things

we're discussing in the meeting.

Essentially, as the leader, you not only demand attention, but you also demand

to make good use of the attention.

For example, you guarantee everyone the right to point out when someone,

and that includes you, when someone speaks a lot without saying much,

when someone waste everyone's time with not getting to the point.

When you demand that everyone pays attention, it means that there's an

incentive for everyone to prepare their material in a way that makes

it worth paying attention to.

How can you create an environment where everyone pays attention because

it's worth paying attention, where you make the best possible use of

the time together in a meeting.