If you know anything about Steve Jobs, you know he was everything but a conventional man. He was known for inspiring and orchestrating meetings, and his goal in those meetings was to bring everyone together to work in harmony. Now, if you are anything like me, you hate having or attending a session just for the sake of having or attending one.
I think the first step towards learning how to have meetings like Steve Jobs is to call them what he called them, which was “brainstorming sessions” because he was not in his appointments to listen to himself; he was there to listen to his team of engineers, marketers, designers, etc. So, when he held a “brainstorming session.”
What can we learn from him and have an “apple moment” in our business? Here are six great tips to learn from him.
1. Be Clear on the Purpose of the Meeting
The purpose should be clear as soon as your staff walks into the meeting. What problem are you there to solve? A clear vision of what you want to achieve is essential, so your team immediately recognizes why they are there. Steve Jobs noticed what he wanted and why his team was there. He was enthusiastic and passionate and believed wholeheartedly in why he was there. He was unafraid to “go all out for what he wanted.” Leading off with passion and purpose, he immediately engaged his team.
2. Recognise Creative Value
It is not just about the money, and it is about what you have to offer that is so special and why people need it so badly. When your staff understands that this is something that people have to have and that they are a significant part of it, they will make it happen. Steve Jobs was a genius because he knew he could not do it alone; he needed his team to know their worth and their worth.
Our lack of accomplishment often results from not recognizing what we have before us.
It was once said that, “What you do not recognise you do not celebrate and what you do not celebrate will eventually walk out of your life”.
How sad is it to lose a valuable team member just because you failed to recognize their value, especially if they are a key to getting your product or service out there?
3. Probe & Challenge
Steve Jobs was not afraid to probe his team and listen to their feelings; however, he would push them to understand why they felt the way they did. It is not enough for your team member to say, “I do not think that is a good idea” ask them why they don’t think it is a good idea. There is always a reason or should be one for both the agreement and disagreement.
The probing was one thing, but the challenging was yet another. Steve Jobs would sometimes, in fact, many times disagree with one of his team members, but he would challenge them to listen to why. In this way, he would challenge them to think differently and even learn to challenge themselves on a better or different way to achieve something. Therefore, because of the probing and the challenging, they would stick with him because they would find themselves doing their best work and were allowed to do so. This is where you can find great talent on your team and bring them to probe and challenge themselves.
4. Game Plan
Every one of your team members must walk out of that meeting knowing exactly what they are to do. The key here is not precisely the “how to do it” but the “what to do.” The “how” is where Steve would push his team members to do their best. Your team cannot always rely on you to tell them how to do something, but they should surely know what the result is expected.
One of the most exciting statements that Steve Jobs made was that “he played the orchestra.” He knew how to bring them together in harmony to create a vision happen. Why do we as leaders want to be responsible for the “how”? Many of us miss out on the great things we could be creating because we are trying to control it all. Conduct the orchestra of great talent and lead the game plan.
5. Focus on the War and not the Battle
Wow! I love this statement because too many times, as leaders, we are worried about the small battles around us instead of focusing on the greater War. Not only our team but ourselves, we must hold ourselves accountable for what is going on. Steve once said that as a team, they were concentrating so much on the more minor battles around them that they had forgotten to keep the War in perspective.
What was that War exactly? It is SURVIVAL! As he wanted his team not just to win small battles, he wanted them to win the War, and so should we, and he did that by starting with the blame on his shoulders. Start with yourself when you address your team; you are the leader. Steve said, “if you want to change others’ behavior, start at the top.”
6. Never Let Past Mistakes Own You
A mistake could be a win, or it could be a stepping stone to success. In one of Steve’s meetings, he told his team that he did not want to keep hearing about what had not worked before and what problems they had had; he wanted to hear about the “new window of opportunity laying before them.” He recognized failure from before and what had not happened but often, as entrepreneurs, we face loss; many of us have experienced it more than once.
We must believe that success is out there. Otherwise, we would not keep trying. So, the next time you are in a meeting and your team members want to bring up the past, make it clear yes, we made a mistake, but this is not the purpose of this meeting. We are moving forward, and we will not let those past mistakes now own us.
If you have the drive, focus, passion, audacity, and patience, to mention a few, you are more like Steve Jobs than you think. These traits brought him to discover one of the greatest inventions on earth. The next time you plan a meeting with your team, take a good look at the above tips and challenge yourself to a “Steve Jobs” meeting and watch and see what great and successful things will come from it. Remember this, “Greatness and True Quality Never go on sale.”
