Finding the cure to Parkinson’s Law in Gold Coast
I’m in Gold Coast at the moment for RetailFest from 16th to 18th April to try out a unique conference format called Hosted Meetings. Dylan DiPierdomenico and the Retail Global team have done an amazing job to bring Personatech from the US to the Australian market to help facilitate this.
The format is simply a solution provider like Area Ten selects attendees we’d like to see and attendees select the vendors they’d like to chat with. If there’s a match then a meeting is booked, simple.
What makes it even more interesting is that the meetings are only 15 minutes long which is a great format because it distills the conversation on both sides to its core points. The rapid format doesn’t allow for extraneous or irrelevant details. It’s a highly efficient way to match problems with solutions which I am enjoying.
The effectiveness of the 15 minute format reminds me of the power of constraints. While some might see time limits as constraints it can equally be seen as a catalyst for focus.
It reminded me how pervasive Parkinson’s Law is which is “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” I find that meetings that are scheduled for an hour magically take at least the time allotted, when on critical inspection could have been concluded much faster with clear objectives and preparation.
I will make it more of a habit to push for 15 minute meetings to encourage more focused conversations.
If you’re also at RetailFest please message me. I’d love to connect.
1300 471 730