How to… have better meetings
We spend 15% of work in meetings, and managers spend as much as 50%. This interesting article from Ethan Mollick shares some ideas on how to have better meetings.
Preparation
Let’s get this meeting started: Meeting lateness and actual meeting outcomes
Meetings that start late are less productive and creative
Acute aerobic exercise: an intervention for the selective visual attention and reading comprehension of low-income adolescents
Exercise improves your attention and comprehension abilities.
Stumbling out of the Gate: The energy‐based implications of morning routine disruption
Disrupting your morning routine leads to higher levels of depletion and reduced calmness and work engagement.
Waking up on the right or wrong side of bed.
Studies show that your morning mood can stay with you throughout the day.
A person who turns up to work in a “good” mood, can be more than 10% more productive throughout their work day than those in a “bad” mood.
Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of attention
Meditation changes the way the brain works.
This research found that even small doses of daily meditation can improve focus and performance.
Entrepreneurship
A Psychological Approach
Research findings show evidence for a positive effect of business planning on business performance, both for strategic planning and for individual level self-management strategies.
Should entrepreneurs plan or just storm the castle? A meta-analysis on contextual factors impacting the business planning–performance relationship in small firms
The findings of this study determine a positive relationship between business planning and performance.
Routinization, free cognitive resources and creativity: The role of individual and contextual contingencies
By creating and sticking to a routine, cognitive resources aren’t wasted on small decisions, etc
Planning helps free up cognitive resources, which in turn helps identify priorities.
Are formal planners more likely to achieve new venture viability? A counterfactual model and analysis
Planning tends to up the chance of business success by between 10% and 20%.
Plans help generate agreement, surface assumptions, ensure things aren’t missed, and highlight potential dangers.