Spank You Very Much! Don't Forget To Stay Focused

I recently attended a big electronics show and was excited to share my experiences with my co-workers and leaders.  Our big boss rounded up all the attendees post-show, and one-by-one we sounded off about our meetings and discoveries. Each person mentioned three to six big meetings they attended, answered a few questions and then the boss went on to the next person.  Then it was my turn.

I was so excited to tell everyone about the incredibly productive time I had,  I forgot to mention the most meaningful and relevant meetings of my visit.  Instead, I enthusiastically bounced around and shared all the discoveries I had made and new things I had seen. In front of the whole room I was gently scolded and told I needed to stay focused on my core businesses while simultaneously told that the convention was indeed a great place to do such exploration.  I was bummed.  This was a classic example of a course correction and a slight thank you all in one. I call this, "Spank you very much."

The unfortunate thing is that I did attend a robust amount of meetings that were very important to my core business--I just failed to make this clear.  I actually gained insights and information that will help my team and I make better decisions.  I gained insight into future technology that was absolutely relevant to my line of work. Too bad I focused on the wrong things in my spoken words.

But my misfortune can be your fair warning!

Here are the lessons I learned and the mistakes I made:
1. Pay attention to context.  The other folks in the room did not go overboard on sharing their exploratory experiences. I did. They primarily focused on their main businesses and how their attendance advanced their efforts.

2. Don't assume everyone else--including the boss-knows as much about your business as you.  Because I minimized my core meetings and chose to talk about everything else, I looked foolish.  I should have started by talking about the meetings relevant to my business, which would naturally re-state the product line I manage. I assumed others wouldn't care about my familiar business and would rather hear about the new stuff.  Perhaps someone did secretly enjoy learning about everything I saw, but not the boss.

3.  Don't try to show off. I was proud of all I had done and seen, and this wasn't the forum to uncork it.

After hearing that I needed to stay focused, I snapped in line and shared the more meaningful meetings I attended, but I was clearly back-pedaling.   The meeting ended well, and the boss could clearly see we worked hard to cover a lot of ground, but the scare taught me to pay much greater attention in the future.


Are you paying attention to the social context of your meetings?
Are you focused?
Do others perceive you as focused?


Ashley