Springfield Business Journal_2021-03-01

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 15 MARCH 1-7, 2021 HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY INSIGHT LaDonna Greiner Ge t out doors for cos t-s aving , produc tive mee tings Have your meetings increased in the past year? Have you ever stopped to calculate the hourly salary cost involved with each meeting? Now, multiply that times 52, 26, 12 or 4, depending on the frequency of the meeting. Is that number astounding? In a survey of 182 senior managers in various industries, Harvard Business Re- view found the typical executive spends an average of 23 hours in meetings each week. Sound familiar?   Most managers dislike meetings. Ac- cording to research magazine MIT Sloan Management Review, more than 61% of managers said that meetings: • keep them from completing their work; • are unproductive and inefficient; • come at the expense of deep thinking; and  • miss opportunities to improve the team’s cohesiveness. You can avoid these pitfalls by changing the format. Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs was adamant about keeping meetings small. He declined an invitation from former President Barack Obama, who invited him to a gathering of tech moguls, because he felt the group was too large.  Jobs reportedly would ask people to leave Apple meetings if he felt their pres- ence was unnecessary. Frequently, he held one-on-one meetings while walking. I call these “walk and talks.”   Walk and talk meetings offer many ben- efits, including these six. 1. Walking stimulates the thought process.  A walk outdoors can help you think more clearly, giving you a new per- spective. The fresh air and exercise can help you to work through problems, spur- ring your creativity. Walking can make you smarter because the brain functions at peak efficiency as glucose and oxygen increase. 2. Walking is good for your overall health.  Numerous studies show walking can positively impact obesity, heart dis- ease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, dementia, Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis. Walking boosts your immune system, helping you fight off illnesses. And my favorite, walk- ing slows the aging process, mentally and physically. 3. A 15- to 30-minute walk can ener- gize your body, spirit and mind . If you think you are too tired to move, take a walk. Walking reduces fatigue. Taking a walk can clear brain fog, making it easier to com- plete a task or follow through on an idea. Walk and talks can help you refocus your thoughts on the positive with gratefulness. 4. Walk and talks take you and your client or colleague out of the confines of a building.  Getting outdoors can open up an entirely new dialogue. We all have an innate need to connect with nature; this is called biophilia. Satisfying our bio- philic needs changes our attitude and out- look. Getting away from the workplace can introduce new topics and stimulate conver- sations that might not happen in an office or restaurant setting. 5. A walk and talk offers a nonthreat- ening environment for delicate issues. A walk and talk may be the best way to handle a subject that feels confrontational or dif- ficult in the confines of an office. Walking reduces stress and tension. If you are trying to build a relationship and trust, walking on a nature trail or a park may be the perfect setting. 6. Walking outdoors stirs up feelings of gratitude and well-being.  Like grati- tude, walking can improve health, mood, energy levels, sleep, love life, mental de- cline and add years to your life. Gratitude and walking can decrease stress and blood pressure, and help to reduce depression. Make plans now to launch walk and talk meetings. Wear a mask and enjoy the fresh air and exercise. If you cannot physically walk with your co-workers, use an app like WhatsApp or others, and walk together at different loca- tions. I have tried this, and it works well. You experience many of the same benefits as you would in person. I encourage you to introduce the idea to colleagues, clients and friends. You may be surprised at their reaction. Many are eager to get out of the office and enjoy the out- doors after a cold winter and COVID-19 isolation. We spend too many hours sitting in our car, at the computer or desk. Check out L.L.Bean’s Be an Outsider at Work cam- paign for more ideas on taking the work- place outdoors. Walking is something most everyone can do. Invest in a good pair of shoes and keep them handy for your next walk and talk op- portunity. Spring is the perfect time to be- gin. Why not schedule a walk and talk for fu- ture meetings? LaDonna Greiner is the author of the “21 Reasons to Say Thank You” series, a photographer and a motivational speaker with a focus on gratitude. She serves as national immediate past chair of the Association of Women in Communication. She can be reached at ladonna.g@21reasons.life. CECB is a full service firm serving the Business, Estate Planning and Business Dispute Resolution needs of southwest Missouri. It is our commitment to excellence that is uniquely CECB. Call today for the experienced lawyers at Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell, & Brown, P.C. The Choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. Uniquely Suited for Your Business 2805 South Ingram Mill Road,Springfield, Missouri 65804 417.447.4400 | www.cecb.com | cecb@cecb.com “No one gives better customer service than American Business Systems.” — Steve Bach Bach’s Medical Supply Let us find the ser vice, technology and supplies you need to help your business run better. ( 4 1 7 ) 8 6 6 - 5 0 8 3 | S p r i n g f i e l d , M O | a m b u s s y s . c o m Walk and Talk