👋 Hi Reader!
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This week, we'll explore:

• How Elmo helps make meetings more effective
• The quickest way to do things the right way
• How to make big, intimidating projects feel not-intimidating

Let's Make Meetings Better

Why I bring a stuffed Elmo doll to all my workshops now

In meetings and workshop discussions, people have a tendency to get stuck going in circles on the same topic.
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It's human nature — it comes from the need to feel heard and an aversion to uncertainty. (If we keep talking, maybe things won’t feel so ambiguous, so let’s just keep talking.)
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But it stalls progress and drains everyone’s energy.
It’s annoying.
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Yet nobody wants to be the bad guy who interrupts someone else to say, “I think perhaps we’ve beaten this dead horse for long enough.”
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So, I let Elmo do the dirty work.
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I put Elmo at the front of the room and let everyone know:
Elmo stands for "Excellent! Let's Move On."
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(Actually, I first heard it as "Enough! Let's Move On" — but someone shared this more positive version, which I prefer.)
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If, at any point, anyone feels like we’ve spent too much time on a particular topic, or someone is monologuing, or the conversation is doing so many loop-de-loops we’re getting dizzy……
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…please quietly walk to the front of the room and hold Elmo up.
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Everyone will get it.
Excellent. Let’s. Move. On.
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It shifts things from feeling confrontational to feeling lighthearted.
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Just having Elmo visible in the room — staring out with those big ping-pong-ball eyes — makes the group more aware of making their points and moving along. Very often, nobody has to raise him up. His mere presence makes a difference.
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It’s a great conversation starter and a fun way to be memorable, too.
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(The ELMO acronym was shared with me by a participant in a facilitation training I ran with Regeneron a few months ago. I added the doll part myself. 😁)
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Feel free to order your own Elmo doll and give it a try.

Let's Make Speed Our Competitive Advantage

The quickest way to do things the right way...

...is to quickly do things the wrong way first.

I love learning, reading, classes, courses, books, and newsletters as much as the next dude. But no matter how much I read or prep in advance, I never figure anything out until I actually do the thing.
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And I ALWAYS do it kinda wrong the first time.
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The first several times.
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I’m probably doing it kinda wrong right now.
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It’s so tempting to overthink things, keep pondering, keep strategizing, keep reading, keep waiting for the timing to be just right… when the actual secret is to simply EXPECT IT TO BE WRONG, until we’ve learned how to do it right.
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And yeah, that requires safety. Physical. Psychological. All the safeties.
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Since we know it’s going to be wrong, don’t do it wrong where it matters a lot. Do it wrong in places where we can experiment and play and try things.
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This is, by the way, exactly why I love workshops so much. They create safe conditions to LEARN BY DOING, and they force us to go ahead and do it whether we’re ready or not. “The facilitator just said to do it, so we’re doing it. Let’s go.” No overthinking allowed.
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I forget this truth just as often as I remember it. But every time I remember it and apply it… magic things happen.
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The fastest way to learn to swim is not by reading a book about swimming. It’s by getting in the water.

Let's Stop Overthinking and Start Moving

Follow the headlights

In the classic book about writing books, Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott shares this great EL Doctorow quote:
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​”It’s like driving a car at night.
You can see only as far as your headlights,
but you can make the whole trip that way.”
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​They were talking about writing novels, but this applies to any kind of big, intimidating project.

Don't worry about the whole thing. Trying to imagine every single step, need, or potential issue is daunting — and dare I say, impossible.

But figuring out just the next step to take is easy. So do that.
Then figure out the next step and do that one.
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Only plan as far as our headlights can currently illuminate.
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It's faster, and we can make the whole trip that way.

How we can work together.

I facilitate High-ROI workshops, off-sites, and trainings that help smart teams stop overthinking and start moving. If that sounds valuable, I'd love an introduction to whoever plans workshops or trainings for your organization. You rock.

I also offer cohort programs on High-ROI Facilitation, which you'll hear me talk more about soon enough.

Smiles,
-Tim-