This week’s public version is here forbes The Careers Newsletter delivers the latest news, commentary and ideas about the workplace, leadership and the future of work directly to your email every Wednesday. Click here to get the newsletter list!
Stephanie Dismore, Managing Director, North America, HP Inc., spoke at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas on March 12, 2022. She audited all her meetings to see what was unnecessary. “I tell my team, ‘If you don’t have a purpose, don’t show up,'” she says. Photographer: Matthew Busch/Bloomberg© 2022 BLOOMBERG FINANCE LP
© 2022 Bloomberg Finance LP
“Me Tell my team, ‘No purpose, no attendance,'” HP North America managing director Stephanie Dismore told me in a recent interview. Without a clear goal, she says: If it’s important, at some point I’ll come back to my calendar with a goal. ”
After returning to business trips balancing a schedule full of back-to-back Zoom calls that remained on the calendar despite a return to pre-pandemic norms, Dismore and her assistant attended each meeting on the calendar. , discarded the meeting that had just ended. We shared information, delegated some meetings to others, and told teammates that we had to wait until we had a meeting without a clear agenda.
“The actual meeting schedule is not what it was pre-COVID,” says Dismore. “Everybody feels the same pressure.”
Not everyone has the authority (or executive assistant) to do this kind of calendar hygiene. But after his two-plus years of meeting bloat due to remote work, I’ve been talking to more companies and executives. These companies and executives need to take a hard look at their calendars and sometimes start from scratch.
GitLab, an open-source software platform, has an annual “meeting cleanup” day to reset the required recurring meetings, and some teams have “asynchronous weeks” that drastically cut meeting times. increase. Software company Asana conducted an experiment this spring using a process called “end-of-meeting.” Ask workers to review which standing meetings are worthwhile and schedule a time to remove them all. Only add worthwhile meetings after considering how often you need them and who really needs to attend.
Slack said in June that it had added “Focus Fridays” (a practice many companies, including HP, have forbidding internal meetings on certain days), as well as “Maker Weeks” twice each quarter. rice field. During these weeks, all of the company’s regular meetings are canceled, giving you more time to focus as well as a “reset” to see which ones are still important.
“It’s basically like, ‘Delete all recurring meetings,’” says Brian Elliott, Slack’s senior vice president who leads the “Digital First” task force, for a week of practice. Slack executives call this process “calendar bankruptcy.” “this [meeting] 8 people in the past. Currently there are 25 people. can’t you shrink? ”
As summer ends and a busy fall looms, why not do the same with your calendar? Get rid of everything and audit what really needs to be left. And if you’re in a leadership position, who really needs to be present? Here’s sage advice to make your life, and the people you work with, a little less hectic this fall. . We hope the other tips and ideas in the newsletter below will help you make the rest of your week productive and manageable. As always, a big thank you to Emmy Lucas, her editor’s assistant, for helping us edit this week’s newsletter.
Feature article
This high school dropout shipped with a goal of $550 million.His next startup could be worth double
Serial entrepreneur Bill Smith, 36, launched Landing in 2019 to provide members with quick access to ready-to-move apartments and short stays. To cater to a generation working from anywhere, the rental company expects to make $200 million in revenue this year. forbes Senior Editor Amy Feldman reports.
Work smarter
With the prospect of recession and inflation continuing to create economic uncertainty, you may be considering a career change. Here’s how to reduce your risk and evaluate your employer.
Do you go blank at a job interview? Here’s what you can do:
Here’s how to embrace the “it’s not about you” mantra and not take things personally at work.
It can be difficult to unplug from work, or from our phones in general. Here’s how to set boundaries with technology and give yourself compassion.
Here are some tips for building a cohesive, work-from-anywhere team and making the most of interactions.
about our agenda
HBS — Free: Harvard Business School (HBS) announced Tuesday that it will award full tuition and scholarships to its most financially needy MBA students (representing about 10% of all students). HBS said it would also strengthen scholarship support for middle-income students.
The CEO posts a crying selfie. LinkedIn becomes more and more personal as employees share their testimonies and confessions. His CEO of HyperSocial, Braden Wallake, posted a photo on LinkedIn last week of himself crying at the pressure to cut staff. forbes Senior contributor Jack Kelly advises leaders on how to avoid mass layoffs. “It’s time for the CEO to be held accountable,” he wrote.
Shifting tides in employee-employer power relations?: Between high unemployment claims and layoffs, analysts say the market’s mixed signals are not yet cause for much concern. forbesJonathan Ponciano reports. But does this uncertain job market mean that power is moving away from the workforce? Expectations may change. forbes Written by contributor Tracy Brower.
Shifting tides in employee-employer power relations?: Between high unemployment claims and layoffs, analysts say the market’s mixed signals are not yet cause for much concern. forbes Jonathan Ponciano reports. But does this uncertain job market mean that power is moving away from the workforce? Expectations may change. forbes Written by contributor Tracy Brower.
The new talent market is aimed at climate change: As the negative impacts of climate change become more pronounced around the world, businesses are looking for new ways to be environmentally friendly and people are beginning to upskill themselves for the ‘green economy of tomorrow’. forbes Written by contributor Ankit Mishra. California-based global climate career platform Terra.do will bridge the two, connecting industry professionals and workers with environmental and climate knowledge to businesses to help drive green initiatives. I’m doing it.
Biden cancels $3.9 billion in student loan debt: More than 40 million student loan borrowers are waiting for President Joe Biden’s decision on whether to grant student loan forgiveness. Meanwhile, loan relief for his 208,000 students who attended his ITT Technical Institute from 2005 to 2016 was announced Tuesday. forbes senior contributor Zach Friedman reports.
Adam Neumann could make a comeback. VC firm Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly investing $350 million in WeWork co-founder’s new venture, Flow. new york times Reported on Monday. The one that keeps the von Neumann landing trade, forbes Contributor Sean Harper writes that while it may be a good idea on his part, it is also his prerogative.
book club
A new book by the president of Temple University (and forbes Contributors) Jason Wingard, University devaluation crisisargues that the value proposition of college degrees has declined and that courses are no longer keeping up with the rapidly evolving skill sets and technology required in today’s workforce. It uses case studies from companies such as Google and Ernst & Young to detail traditional out-of-class talent development strategies.
.