Football is perhaps the most popular sport in America—at least if the Super Bowl is any indicator. More people watch the Super Bowl each year on TV than any other event. Despite its popularity though, games are only played once a week. Contrast that to other American sports that play games every few days, and you have to ask: What do professional football players do the rest of the week?
Of course, we all know the answer … they practice. Even players who have reached the peak of their game by making it to the professional level show up for practice throughout the week. And, because there are fewer games than many other sports, practice is even more important. You cannot win the game if you don't spend enough time in practice!
In the world of business, meetings are practice. All too often, we think of meetings as a waste of time—distractions from getting real work done. However, meetings provide the necessary preparation required to perform better when the actual game begins. Just like football players who cannot excel if they don't show up for practice, we cannot excel if we don't meet together and plot our strategies.
Just like practice in sports, meetings can be a waste of time if we don't take them seriously. In principle, though, they can be a great benefit if we use them to prepare. How do you use meetings in your organization?
David Lykken, a 43-year veteran of the mortgage industry, is president of Transformational Mortgage Solutions (TMS), a management consulting firm that provides transformative business strategies to owners and “C-Level” executives via consulting, executive coaching and various communications strategies. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News and hosts his own weekly podcast called “Lykken On Lending” heard Monday’s at 1:00 p.m. ET at LykkenOnLending.com. David’s phone number is (512) 759-0999 and his e-mail is [email protected].
