Picture by Benis Arapovic
A creative option for productive business conversations — a walking meeting.
Sometimes people in business need a creative place in out-of-the-ordinary locations to have productive conversations. A walking meeting allows for a fresh perspective.
Perhaps you have an employee whom you need to counsel. Or you might have a peer who needs encouragement.
For such occasions, discussions in the office, conference room or coffee shop are simply too mundane. That’s when I especially recall advice once given me by a beloved mentor in the early 1980s.
He had a doctorate in nuclear physics from an Ivy League school, was an advisor to the Pentagon, and to a television network on nuclear issues in their news coverage and movies. He also knew more about human nature than anyone I’ve ever met.
His suggestion for our first meeting: Taking a walk to a park near the Pacific Ocean on a foggy Saturday morning. The wisdom he imparted proved to be career-changing.
Among his many valuable tips was the “principle of contrary action.”
Among his many valuable tips was the “principle of contrary action.”
He suggested keeping a mental record of everything I do. He further advised me to keep doing things differently each and every time. For example, to drive to work or to a grocery store, he suggested I drive a different route whenever possible to and from my destinations.
Why?
He said practicing the principle of contrary action would teach me how to keep an open mind.
My reward? As a result, I learned how to keep an open mind, which proved to be critical for me in both creativity and problem-solving.
Walking meetings are also a habit of many business executives. I first noticed executives go for walking meetings when I was a newscaster for a 50-thousand watt clear channel radio station with a signal that blanketed nine western states. Often I’d see the station manager having a serious discussion with the company’s president in a walking meeting.
So practice the art of contrary action.
For such situations – when creativity is needed or a problem needs solving, a walking meeting works perfectly. It’s less stressful and leads to candid discussions.
For such situations – when creativity is needed or a problem needs solving, a walking meeting works perfectly.
In other words, it can be inspiring. There’s something about taking a walk in fresh air that leads to creative thinking, and a more honest exchange with people.
You’ll also find that people, who are open to walking meetings, are more open-minded and enlightened.
For productive walking meetings, here are four tips:
1. Keep the meeting small
A walking meeting is more successful for two, maybe three people. Any more than that and you will risk losing focus.
2. Consider a destination
Whether you suggest taking a walk around the block or to a specific destination, people are more open to the idea. And most everyone appreciate the suggestion to go outside.
3. Keep it healthy
Avoid the idea of walking to get a snack. The goal should be a productive chat. But a walk to buy a 500-calorie latte’ or snack doesn’t work. The snack becomes the topic and doesn’t lead to a healthy objective.
4. Have a purpose for a walk
If you’re a boss, it’s OK to extemporaneously suggest a walk to a subordinate. It’s also OK to suggest it to a peer or subordinate, but if the person is busy be ready to accept a decline to your invitation.
If it’s for a longer walk, suggest the idea in advance so both of you will be wearing comfortable shoes.
Conclusions
Get a mentor for making career decisions, continually practice contrary action, and enjoy the benefits of walking meetings. Just don’t walk around in circles. Good luck!
From the Coach’s Corner, here are more communication tips:
Tips for Productive Meetings to Improve Performance — Here’s a checklist to engage your employees in energetic, inspiring staff meetings that will increase profits.
Tips for Building Long-Term Client Relationships with Effective Meetings — Signs you have good client relationships: They’ll thank you regularly, pay your invoices promptly, and will respond well to your recommendations. If you don’t have all three of these, here’s what to do.
Consulting: Effective Management of Difficult Clients — Start with this premise: You should be focused on the continuous, improvement and performance of your firm. If you have difficult clients, here’s what you can do about it.
Consultants – Helping Clients Deal with an Emotional Crisis — No matter what kind of a consulting practice you have, it’s sometimes necessary to help clients deal emotionally with a business crisis. If you’re a management consultant and you’ve branded yourself well, the clients see you as a trusted confidante and visionary.
Advice for Men: How to Manage Women Employees — You must exercise due diligence to motivate talented employees and retain them for an efficient and productive workplace. But many male managers unwittingly mismanage their female employees.
A Top Marketing Goal: Enhance Your Internal Communication — Businesses have two communication sources that are expenses that conversely are sources of profit – the external marketplace – and internal, their human capital. But all your money poured into marketing doesn’t accomplish much unless you devote equal resources to employee programs.
6 Top Tips for Etiquette in Business Travel — If you’re into people-watching, the airport is an entertaining place to be. You’ll see all kinds of personalities. That’s especially true for the wide variety of business travelers. For successful trips, business travelers share one common trait. They need to be mindful of business etiquette.
“Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.”
-Robert Frost
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