CHAPTER 3
WELCOME PEOPLE

I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.

HARRIET TUBMAN

Greetings. Whether you’ve picked this chapter as the place to start reading Let’s Stop Meeting Like This or have been with us all along, we’re glad you are here. This is the first of six chapters devoted to the elements of the Meeting Canoe, our framework for creating meetings that work. Each chapter is devoted to one section of the Meeting Canoe. In this chapter you will take a deep dive into the how and why of making people feel welcome.

Productive meetings are rooted in safety. The first task of any meeting is to create an environment that is safe enough in which to do the work. It all starts with creating a welcoming environment.

What a bunch of psychobabble!

Excuse me. Who are you?

I’m Clockman, protector of the precious minute. This talk about welcoming people is wasting time.

But, how welcome people feel determines how they participate in meetings. When people don’t feel safe, they can’t bring their best selves to a meeting. They are like tortoises, pulling their heads inside and waiting for the danger to pass.

Safety, schmafety—these people are adults. Why should they need to feel welcome? They’ve got a job to do. Adults don’t need to feel welcome to do their work. If people need to feel safe, then maybe you’ve got the wrong people and what you need to do is fire them.

Then you’d have to fire the whole company. Clockman. It is Clockman, isn’t it?

Yes, Clockman is my name; time is my game.

Did you ever think that your focus on time actually gets in the way of saving time? No one wants to waste time. Creating a safe environment is time well spent because it allows the rest of the meeting to go faster.

I’m all for not wasting time.

This banter between us isn’t getting us anywhere. Would you be willing to take your eye off the clock for a few minutes while we explain why scientists think safety is so important?

Well, okay. Just be brief and keep the psychobabble to a minimum.