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WASTEDTimeWASTEDMoneyWASTEDLives
Wasted

 Have you ever been in a meeting that didn't have a point?

 Worse, it goes on and on because each presenter has way too many slides 
for his agenda point?

 You look down at you watch and the meeting which was scheduled for 45 minutes is now running 45 minutes too long.  And you, your boss and that guy from legal still  haven't made their presentations...

 If this sounds at all familiar, consider taking a page from a V.P. who had taken over the next-generation development project of a luxury car company's flagship model.

 When he had his first cross-functional project team weekly meeting, each member of his senior mangement team came armed to the teeth with long slide decks defending what they were doing in micro-detail.  

 Sure, some of this PowerPoint -Palooza was because German automotive engineers are ultra-perfectionist.  But the other big influence was what we see every day at big companies:  a PowerPoint culture that truly believes that more is better.  
More slides + more detail = better presentation.

 Naturally, this first meeting went waaaaay overtime, and the VP in question ended up having more questions than he started with.  But that was the last time he wasted his weekly project meeting.  From that point forward, he implemented the 5/10 Rule.  Maximum 5 slides and 10 minutes.

 Not surprisingly, (after the initial shock from his team) the meetings became much more focussed and productive.)  

 The take-away:  don't be afraid to try the 5/10 Rule to help your meetings 
become more successful.

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