Elon Musk's 6 Rules of Productivity Show a Divide Between Military and Civilian Workplaces

[stoker dave]

One of the rules to which I subscribe is that PowerPoint is an aid, not your purpose.

I have been to meetings where someone has spent time preparing a presentation but can't start due to some technical glitch in getting the presentation on the screen. Everyone sits around for 20 minutes while someone fiddles with the computers and screens. I usually tell the presenter to just proceed without the presentation and share it later. A shocking number of people are unable to do this.

If you can't deliver a briefing without relying on your presentation, you have no business making a presentation.

 

[FJAG]

Our law society bencher meetings used to be dominated by several long winded speakers when debating issues. We imposed a "poll" rule. At any time anyone could call for a poll of the members to ask if any of them needed more information before voting. If the majority said "no" then all debate was cut off and we voted.

Obviously works best in a room of peers rather than a hierarchy.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Our law society bencher meetings used to be dominated by several long winded speakers when debating issues. We imposed a "poll" rule. At any time anyone could call for a poll of the members to ask if any of them needed more information before voting. If the majority said "no" then all debate was cut off and we voted.

Obviously works best in a room of peers rather than a hierarchy.

That. Is. Awesome.

 

[Furniture]

One of the rules to which I subscribe is that PowerPoint is an aid, not your purpose.

I have been to meetings where someone has spent time preparing a presentation but can't start due to some technical glitch in getting the presentation on the screen. Everyone sits around for 20 minutes while someone fiddles with the computers and screens. I usually tell the presenter to just proceed without the presentation and share it later. A shocking number of people are unable to do this.

If you can't deliver a briefing without relying on your presentation, you have no business making a presentation.

When I was an instructor at the Met school we would take away a student's notes, or slides occasionally during practice, so they learned to adapt and work around technical issues.

In my last year there we were forced to stop, apparently it made some students too nervous...

 

[Eaglelord17]

I love the "please pass onto your troops" emails, just email your message to everyone. What if the supervisors are on leave or TD, the subs will miss info for weeks.

Nothing like getting a email they want a response on in 6 hours when you look at the email chain and find that the initial email was sent a week or two ago and just took this long to filter down.

I think we've experienced military meetings differently...

I can't remember the last time I was in a meeting where there weren't acronyms used by someone that attendees didn't understand.

I saw a OD get jacked up by a Coxn for asking that when a acronym was used for the first time they please use the meaning because he didn't know the acronyms used meant (I also didn't know many of them either I just wasn't going to say anything about it). The audacity of that poor OD, how dare he want to understand what the lectures he was being made to attend meant.

 

[GK .Dundas]

Current day work excuse by current client. "Didn't you get the email?"
Of course I didn't I'm not allowed access to your email server.....and you know that.
God , how I miss the inter office memo.

 

[daftandbarmy]

One of the rules to which I subscribe is that PowerPoint is an aid, not your purpose.

I have been to meetings where someone has spent time preparing a presentation but can't start due to some technical glitch in getting the presentation on the screen. Everyone sits around for 20 minutes while someone fiddles with the computers and screens. I usually tell the presenter to just proceed without the presentation and share it later. A shocking number of people are unable to do this.

If you can't deliver a briefing without relying on your presentation, you have no business making a presentation.

I like this guys' take on the whole presentation thing

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I normally use white screen in PPT, with two-three bullet points per slide. Or sometimes a piece of info that I let the audience read while I expand upon the point. I had the benefit of an instructor supervisor course, many years ago that taught me all of that.

People I brief are constantly amazed that I do not read the slides.