Sample chapter by Marlynn Schotland, submitted in the Green Your Operations section.
***
Like many business owners, I am asked to participate in a large amount of meetings. In my years of working in corporate communications as well as being a serial entrepreneur, I’ve discovered that as much as 90 percent of requested meetings are completely unnecessary. While the mid-century American institution known as the business lunch is still alive and well, and the 1990’s insurgence of coffee meetings rages on, my experience is that cutting out a large percentage of in-person meetings greatly improves productivity, reduces cost, and minimizes the carbon footprint of a business. All three benefits are critical in remaining a profitable sustainable business in today’s society, and all are easier to achieve thanks to technology.
When I have a 30-minute meeting, I know to schedule two hours to incorporate time for meeting prep, travel, parking, and time to settle back into the office and regain focus for what’s next on the agenda. That’s an hour and a half per meeting, wasted. With virtual meetings, I can schedule 2 to 4 per hour, often more than doubling my customer reach in the same amount of time. Less travel equals less environmental impact as well as cost reduction, which inevitably all leads to increased profits. What’s good for the environment can, indeed, be good for business.
I won’t argue that sometimes there is no replacement for the in-person meeting. However, ask yourself if the value of that meeting justifies the loss of productivity and the environmental impact of driving or flying. You’ll find most issues can be handled via email, telephone, Skype, or even social media. If you’ve ever been to a conference having never met a soul in person prior to the conference, but having developed close relationships with attending colleagues via Twitter or Facebook, you understand the the relationship power that is possible through technology.
As a native Portlander, I grew up practicing eco-friendly methods, so it was easy for me to transfer a lot of the day-to-day sustainable habits I’ve been doing at home to work. However, I am also a very social person, and let’s face it: I love the social and the food and drink benefits that come with many meetings. So, although it took me a while to get used to this practice, the results speak for themselves: minimizing meetings and maximizing technology leads to a more sustainable, more productive, more profitable business.
Marlynn Jayme Schotland is Owner of Urban Bliss, LLC, President of Mamapreneurs Inc DBA The Power MOB, & Editor of Urban Bliss Life. | Urban Bliss Design | @designmama
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
There is a trade-off:
From “Reading People” by Dimitrius and Mazzarella:
The results of a recent national Harris study found that the potential for miscommunication beween adults varies predictably depending on their opportunities to “read” one another while communicating. The potential for misunderstandings while using different means of communicating were found to be:
80% when using email
78% when text messaging
71% by letter or other written form
53% by telephone
37% when face to face
Better to make sure that any meetings – real or virtual – serve a valuable purpose for all attendees.
@Joy Hughes: Thanks for the comment. Certainly face-to-face communication has distinct and irrevocable advantages over the mediated kinds, if only because most of interpersonal communication is non-verbal. I believe Marlynn captured the distinction best here:
“I won’t argue that sometimes there is no replacement for the in-person meeting. However, ask yourself if the value of that meeting justifies the loss of productivity and the environmental impact of driving or flying.”
{ 1 trackback }