About Meetings

Some people enjoy meetings and some people hate meetings.  I happen to lean toward the enjoyment side of things - but I don't like calling them "meetings" when they are with my team members at Grace.  "Meeting" has such a negative connotation to it.  I'll have to come up with some creative name for them - maybe you can help with that. I had a few such sessions with team members at Grace today, and tonight I reflect on some reasons why I tend to enjoy meetings:

1. People are smarter together.  This is almost always the case.  We typically come to much smarter decisions when we work with like-minded but diverse team members than we would have dreaming something up on our own.  I love the collaboration and results that come from working together toward a common goal.
2. Meetings are launching pads for progress.  Since I've been a working man, I've always considered the word picture of a launching pad when it comes to meetings.  Words exchanged around the table of a group of leaders are not empty words - they will eventually impact lives. That's why I try not to take any meeting lightly.  It's pretty amazing to see an idea through from the 'concept phase' with a small group to the 'implementation phase' that affects thousands.  It's quite humbling actually.
3. Meetings allow me to invest in the lives of people.  Email exchanges, conference calls, written proposals are all good - they are effective and efficient means to get things done.  But, there is nothing like sitting eyeball to eyeball with someone - catching up on their life for a while, and then rolling up our sleeves to solve a problem, birth and idea, or facilitate a change together.  It's a really cool dynamic when it's working.

Got any creative new terms I could use instead of "meeting?"