I Hate Meetings (pt. 1)

In my previous life, I had to take part in, or organize, a LOT of meetings. On average, I had at least two meetings a day. These meetings all tried to accomplish different things, involved different people, and created a TON of work.

That’s one thing I’ve learned about meetings: you don’t actually get anything done in a meeting. You just create more work for yourself. There’s the preparation work that needs to be done in order to get ready for a meeting, there’s the work that you promise to do after the meeting, and then there’s all the follow-up that needs to be done as you check with all the participants to make sure that they understand what they need to do. Phew. That’s one long sentence.

I remember when I first started to attend meetings for this job. I thought they’d be simple affairs where people work collaboratively for the good of the company. I anticipated that there would be some good arguments, but that what we did would end up saving all of us time and effort. I wasn’t exactly wrong, but I definitely wasn’t right.

A lot of times, participants in a meeting have their own agenda (other than the one that’s set for the meeting). Each person has something they want to accomplish as a result of the meeting, and this may or may not coincide with the intent of the meeting. It’s these preconceived ideas that people bring as ‘baggage’ into a meeting that can really slow down or derail the progress of a productive meeting. I know, since it happened to me on more than one occasion.

Hmm.. I think this post is running a bit long. I’ll continue next week with what you can do about salvaging a meeting.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Have you ever seen a building and just been taken aback by it? I don’t mean recognized landmarks like the Eiffel Tower or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but something smaller, like a house, or an office building, that looks unlike anything else around it. It isn’t the sheer scale that makes these unique constructions stand out, but the way they’ve taken traditional conventions and twisted them, or created entirely new designs in ways that neither you nor anyone else has thought of.

One man that has been on the periphery of my consciousness for years, ever since I saw pictures of his Fallingwater house, is Frank Lloyd Wright. I’ve only recently taken more time to learn about him, prompted by a coffee table book of his life and works I discovered at a friend’s house.

Wright lived from 1867-1959. This, to me, is the single most amazing thing about the man. He lived during a time when architecture in America was heavily influenced by European and Victorian designs. Somehow he was able to rise above the conservative notions of his peers and design based on how he saw the world.

His creations all have a timeless feel to them. Many of them have strong geometrical lines that project strength and solidity, and can’t be easily pigeon-holed into a particular era. His later works took on curving walls and flowing shapes. The interiors of the buildings he designed, especially the houses, are unlike many homes today. While function was just as important to him as design, he managed to achieve a balance between the two, structuring the rooms to be useful but beautiful.

His designs have influenced American architecture of the past 120 years, and will probably continue to do so as his followers and imitators take his work and put their own influences into it.

(If you’re interested about architecture, check out this Wikipedia article and the links at the bottom.)

Blades of Steel over Short Bus 2-1

We won! We won! We won!

If it sounds like I’m a little excited, it’s because I am. Here’s the situation: going into the game, we had 4 wins after 17 games. Good enough for worst in our division. And we’re in division 19 of the ASHL at Burnaby 8 Rinks, so really, we’ve sunk as low as we can go.

Short Bus is a team we’ve always played well against, and last night was no exception. It probably helped that we had three full lines of forwards and defencemen rolling.

But I think what really got us the win was that we changed our mindset. With all the games we’ve lost this season, we were stuck in a rut. Some of us were trying too hard to make the perfect shot or pass, others didn’t feel like they could make a difference anymore. Still others had just gotten used to the idea of losing, and thought that keeping the scores respectable instead of a blowout would be good enough.

It turned out none of these reasons were correct. Steve, the “Running Man” right winger, said it best: “We’re not having fun out there”. Guys were so tightly wound up that they seemed to forget we were playing in division 19 in a beer league. We are paying good money to play, so the least we can do is enjoy it.

I think that’s what happened last night. The guys finally learned that we play best when we’re having fun, when we’re taking the time to look around and make the smart play, rather than the quick play. I hope this trend continues when we have our next game Friday night.