Everyone has probably heard of Steve Jobs. This famous Apple CEO, inventor, computer scientist, financier and entrepreneur remains the icon of the Apple brand. We are inspired by his intelligence and his way of working, so we looked at how the Apple founder managed and organised his meetings effectively.
Say yes to short meetings!
Mr Jobs was always against meetingitis. Many people agree, seeing it as one of the most problematic business trends to come about in the 21st century. While this mania for meeting about everything has become widespread, some great business leaders, such as Mr Jobs or Elon Musk, have made a point to organise quick, simple meetings.
Mr Jobs thought that allowing a weekly meeting to go on for too long left room for too much input from the participants, which hindered simplicity and distracted from the meeting’s key objective.
Just like his Apple products, his meetings had to be minimalist to maximise time.
Minimise the number of participants for maximum efficiency
If you were invited to a meeting with Mr Jobs, you could be sure that you were directly involved with the subject and that your presence was really necessary!
And yes, he wanted to invite as few participants as possible to make sure that the meeting didn’t drag on and veer into other topics. With the right people present, it is easier to get to the point and move projects forward efficiently.
Designate someone to oversee the agenda
Mr Jobs thought it was essential to have an agenda and a designated person to ensure that all items were covered.
According to him, preparing an agenda in advance saved time and avoided wasting time on items that were not part of the meeting’s topic. By appointing a timekeeper, everyone becomes more organised and can prepare effectively in advance.
Motivate your crew to participate
For the Apple founder, being able to speak freely in meetings was paramount. He wanted each meeting attendee to speak up and participate actively in the discussions to optimise efficiency, encourage collective intelligence and develop ideas so that the group could make optimal decisions.
This is why open communication and debates were central components in his meetings to facilitate discussions and make them more effective.
End meetings by looking to the future
Conclude the meetings by defining and organising the next steps.
A fan of the famous to-do list, Mr Jobs wanted each participant to leave the meeting with a list of all the actions to be completed by their next meeting.
When we don’t have to waste time remembering where we left off before, we are more agile and have better visibility of our tasks. This was his TOP technique for improving efficiency between meetings!
Get rid of PowerPoint slides
Are you used to hiding behind PowerPoint slides during your presentations? Challenge yourself to make your presentations more effective!
According to the former Apple CEO, you should try to be as engaging as possible while presenting. PowerPoint presentations tend to be very formal and therefore boring.
Be actively involved in the meeting and let your creativity speak for itself!
Go for a walk
Why not try hosting a walking meeting? This is a format that’s becoming increasingly popular.
Mr Jobs believed this technique allowed participants to be more focused, more efficient and more creative!
This activity is good for the body as well as the mind. It allows you to be more focused on the current topic of discussion and activates reflection.
We can easily incorporate these seven tips from Mr Jobs into our habits! So, are you ready to challenge yourself to transform the way you organise your meetings?
You can also use collaborative tools like Beekast to support you and make your meetings more interactive and efficient!