Читать книгу Will there be Donuts?: Start a business revolution one meeting at a time - David Pearl - Страница 38

Finally, the most pervasive reason of all, we nearly meet so much because we don’t realize, remember, or believe we can really meet.

I am reminded of a leadership programme we were involved in delivering to the top echelons of a major European financial services company. It was held in a spectacular castle on the outskirts of Paris. At the end of our three days together the participants were talking about what they had gotten out of the experience. One man was asked what he had learned. I knew that this self-confessed “numbers guy” was earmarked for great things, but he looked terribly awkward as he said his piece.

“Every Monday I have a meeting with the people who report to me and I usually just like to get on with it. I don’t see any need to talk to them about themselves, how they are or what they’re up to. I am a doer and I see this kind of thing as a waste of time. What I didn’t realize until now, though, was that there was a real person sitting opposite me.”

He then sat down, looking somewhat apologetic and puzzled by an insight that was at once so mundane and yet so far-reaching—not just for his career but beyond.

I think this client spoke for all of us who crash through the day, intent on getting things done, and forgetting to connect with the people around us. We forget they are people, not just “functions.”

It’s because of stories like this that I’ve become curious about meetings. We go into meetings disconnected not only from others but also from our own thoughts, feelings, bodies, and our true nature.

Realizing that nearly meeting is mostly what you are doing is a great first step to start really meeting.