Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939), an American steel tycoon, led Bethlehem Steel to become one of the largest steelmakers in the United States. He was also a skilled motivator. Schwab liked to tell the story of one of his mills, where people weren’t producing their quota of work…
The power of numbers
While visiting the mill one day, Schwab asked the manager for a piece of chalk, then, turning to the nearest man, asked, ‘How many heats (batches) did your shift make today?’ He replied, ‘Six.’
Without another word, Schwab chalked a big figure six on the floor, and walked away. When the night shift came in, they saw the ‘6’ and asked what it meant. ‘The boss was in here today,’ the day shift people explained. ‘He asked us how many heats we made, and we told him six. He chalked it down on the floor.’
The next morning Schwab walked through the mill again. The night shift had rubbed out ‘6’ and replaced it with a big ‘7’.
When the day shift reported for work the next morning, they saw a big ‘7’ chalked on the floor. The crew pitched in with enthusiasm, and when they quit that night, they left behind them an enormous, swaggering ‘10’.
A competition started and shortly this mill, which had been lagging way behind in production, was turning out more work than any other mill in the plant. Schwab’s history-changing ‘6’ proves an invaluable point: informed employees produce better results.
This is why you must score your meetings
Asking someone for feedback about your performance can feel odd the first time you do it, especially if it’s ‘in the moment’ and they are in front of you. But like most things, you’ll soon get used to it and wonder why you didn’t do it before.
Here are eight reasons why it’s worth putting your doubts and skepticism to one side and scoring your meetings:
- Numbers cut through subjectivity
- Measuring increases accountability
- The right people appreciate numbers
- Targets create clarity and commitment
- Scoring builds competition
- Numbers generate results
- Scoring meetings fosters teamwork
- Numbers help you learn
Let’s look at each point in a little more detail:
Cutting through subjectivity
Numbers support effective communication between a manager and their direct report. Importantly, scores make the conversation objective because there is data, not just an opinion. It also makes management fair across the firm.
Measuring increases accountability
Accountability starts with clear expectations, and numbers help people understand what’s expected of them. You and your team are not just thinking about how many hours you’re spending in meetings; all of a sudden everyone is mindful of the effectiveness of those meetings.
The right people appreciate numbers
The wrong people in the wrong seats in your firm will push back against being measured. The right people will welcome measurement because it allows them to show the rest of the team their contribution. Winners like to know the score.
Targets create clarity and commitment
When someone is clear about what’s expected of them, and agrees with the target, there are no grey areas; you’ll have commitment. This is why it’s important to agree on how meetings are going to be scored WITH your team and to agree on targets together. Start with success being where you are today and gradually increase targets with the team over time. Celebrate the process of improvement, not just the end goal.
Scoring builds competition
By sparking a little competition between shifts, Schwab was able to turn an underperforming mill around. That’s because many of us thrive in a healthy competitive environment (and remember, business is a competition). It’s good to get your people thinking about their performance.
Scoring generates results
When you get people thinking about their performance, and the performance of others, it encourages them to strive for improvement. And by making scoring a routine feature of meetings, you keep continual improvement front and center of everyone’s minds.
Scoring meetings fosters teamwork
If you have the right people in your team, challenging them with a problem brings them together. Give them the resources they need to answer the question, ‘How can we get all our meetings scoring 10 out of 10?’
Numbers help you learn
Scoring allows you to learn what’s working – so it can be shared and repeated across the firm – and what needs to be improved. If your firm’s meetings aren’t as good as they could be, you’re better off knowing what’s not working rather than wasting time, losing money and missing opportunities year after year.
What next?
Scoring your meetings is a hugely effective way to monitor and improve meeting success. But there are other building blocks for effective meetings, such as always having an agenda, agreeing on team rules for successful meetings, having a purpose, setting pre-work and deciding on clear actions/follow-ups.
The ultimate goal is to build a culture of better meetings across the whole firm, and in client meetings. To really embed this attitude, consider having a metric for meeting effectiveness and including meeting performance in individual performance reviews.
Talk to your team about scoring, invite them to read and discuss this article, and come back to us if you need support. We can always facilitate a conversation about meeting performance for you.
