In a blog post related to productive business meetings, adapted from his new book The Earned Life, the renowned leadership expert and bestselling author Marshall Goldsmith talks about some of the ways businesses can improve efficiencies, including through a streamlined meeting known as a Business Plan Review.
Goldsmith writes, “I adopted the Business Plan Review from the way that former Ford CEO Alan Mulally structured weekly meetings. It involved a fixed time and day, mandatory attendance, five minutes to report progress, traffic-light colors (red, yellow, green) to grade status updates, no judgment, no cynicism, and other rules. I saw that the BPR was grounded in a piercing understanding of people. The BPR made everyone accountable to both themselves and the group. This met their dual need for internal validation and belonging to something greater than themselves.”
Choices can be difficult, especially in the age of Covid. Many businesses are struggling with how and when to ask employees to return to the office, after they’ve successfully worked remotely for the last couple of years. Apple recently suspended its requirement that employees return to the office this month for at least three days a week because of a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
A few weeks ago, a group of Apple employees published a letter urging the company to allow for a hybrid and flexible work schedule. Many other companies are weighing the risks of allowing employees to work from home or insist they return to the office, at least a few days a week. Mandatory corporate policies are becoming more divisive these days, and companies have to adjust to a new reality.
In The Earned Life Goldsmith uncovers the source of today’s existential crises, including regrets that stem from choices that irrevocably alter our lives, reroute destinies, and haunt our memories. These are particularly timely themes today.
With Goldsmith’s book as a guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—even in a world full of inescapable unfairness and curveballs—and live an earned life that is fulfilling in the long run.
You can read Marshall Goldsmith’s blog here.
About MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized for years as the world’s leading executive coach and the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Mojo, and Triggers. He received his Ph.D. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In his coaching practice, Goldsmith has advised more than 200 major CEOs and their management teams. He and his wife live in Nashville, Tennessee.
About THE EARNED LIFE
In THE EARNED LIFE (Currency Books), Marshall Goldsmith uncovers the source of today’s existential crisis: regret, the kind stemming from choices that irrevocably alter our lives, reroutes destinies, and haunts our memories—particularly timely themes as the pandemic and Great Resignation inspire people to seek meaning in their lives, get unstuck and make changes. With this book as their guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—even in a world full of inescapable unfairness and curveballs—and live an earned life too fulfilling to dwell on the “what ifs.”
If you’d like more information on Marshall Goldsmith, The Earned Life, and his work, please get in touch with Lyda Goldsmith.
