Is humour possible in a management review meeting?

Of course we have to make our way through the data and facts, but is it possible to do it with a smile on our face? Maybe not such a good idea if results are bad, little interest and a lot of arm folding.  Or maybe this is the time to break the cycle.  I say yes and I have some ideas to share, but first is it a good thing or not?

Humor is useful, as long as it does not distract from the purpose of the meeting.  So it's OK to interject a turn of a phrase that causes people to laugh and smile, that breaks up the tedium.  But it's not OK to go down a "bunny trail" to get a laugh which diverts the group from their goal.  That's only a waste of time.

And, of course, since this is about food, it must be in good taste.  :doh:

Martha

Nice little quip at the end there Martha. :smile:

In the early day's management reviews led by me were tedious affairs and nobody wanted to be there, yes it captured a few actions points and fulfilled requirements, but dull.  Latterly I tried to introduce some learning element like talk about PDCA and Deming or something like that and yes it raised eyebrows somewhat. 

The best one I ever did went through the agenda concisely and professionally and then through the power of voice clips, images of people and animation led them through the concept of the internal / external customer in a fictitious business followed by an exercise that consisted of each attendee noting down some of their internal customers, what they delivered to them and how they perceived they performed.  This led to a full blown program of internal customer-supplier agreements and company-wide training.  It succeeded in breaking down some barriers and uncovered a lot of never-to-be-spoke-of truths.  I will post some of it. 

The best feedback I got was “are you on acid?” – I took it as a compliment. :smile:

Anyone else got an interesting management review anecdote or idea to share?

I know I had one in 2014 that left me traumatised.... I am as you know an external technical support provider, but I was left to arrange, prepare and deliver the Management Review meeting. The MD at the time took me to shreds in front of the rest of the team, none of whom spoke up. I swore from that day onwards that I would never be left responsible for the MRM again!!!

Ouch Trubertq that must have hurt.

  :sofa_bricks:

I suppose at least the MD was showing some sort of commitment.

Commitment to being a t***

Yes lol a real twit.

Happy Friday!

Here is a small segment of that Management Review presentation.

Unfortunately without the sound and animation, but you should get the idea.

MR on Acid.pdf   2.49MB   180 downloads

This was the sound clip on the last slide.

baker_arduous.wav   31.55KB   58 downloads

As in all things in the end it all depends on your group or management group. Some people like humor, but sometimes the head management doesn't like humor and prefers to stay on topic.

Only if you are reviewing Spam..

https://www.youtube....h?v=anwy2MPT5RE

Martha

I once sharted myself during a management meeting. It enlivened an otherwise dull hour.

It's unfortunate, but not funny for either party.

Does anyone have ideas (fun or otherwise) that helped stimulate engagement in management review?

I thought our MRM's were unique but it appears not. Simons question about 'stimulating engagement' says it all. I find it very difficult to get anything productive from these meetings and feel that we are going through the motions to satisfy the standard.

Dear dgt39 I have exactly the same feeling ... I would love to improve and that meeting could became an important tool to help plan and organize the year ahead.

Barbara, agree with your comments. Its a fine line between planning and organizing the year ahead and getting involved with things that directors feel is their 'domain'. 

Yes, you are also right ... "their domain", and once again is them and the others, we need to starting seen the "us" ... 

The poll is an overwhelming YES we can have humour and also the feeling of this discussion thread is management reviews are a bit of a let down. 

So the challenge is what can we do to liven things up?

:band:

This may appear an obvious question and if it is I apologise but what is the point / purpose of a Management Review Meeting?

That's a fantastic, question, dgt. 

Management review meetings are, in theory, an invaluable opportunity for a qualified quality manager to explain the legal and technical limits of what your Company is capable of, from a production, maintenance and quality perspective. Sadly, no-one will show up to these meetings, and you will be the killjoy who has to point out that the almond based niche product that will be produced once a month will actually have a severe knock-on affect on the Company's day to day activities. Then sales will be all like "but we've been working on this project for 10 months!" Then you will get a bollocking from your MD for not pointing this out sooner. As uncomfortable as sharting is for all involved, it is far more comfortable than the reality. Sometimes, the humour in a management review comes from what you get out rather than what you put in. 

Hi shea quay,

Your occasional, mostly delightful, nuggets are sorely missed.

Time for an annual "fusillade" ?

Best Wishes.

Hello everybody,

Though we discuss the management review seriously, there were always humour as an intermission. Some member can crack jokes as we talk on food safety, resources, personnel issues and etc. 

Humour can ease the tension between members during meetings.

regards,

redfox

No idea about this...I've been planning our management review for almost one year but no one wants to cooperate so we end up fabricating the minutes of the meeting for audits purposes.

Really sucks  :glare:

I mean how should I made them cooperate?? They really making my job harder.

Well, depending on the standard you are certificated to, it probably requires that you do management review meetings. If you are pencil whipping minutes, any decent auditor will be able to see that.

You might want to recommend that you just do what you are supposed to do, rather than not doing it, because it's the right thing to do.

We are BRC. BRC requires at least annual management review meetings. I have implemented quarterly review meetings. It's much easier to sell a hour or two meeting once a quarter rather than an all day meeting once a year. 

Management staff where I work wear many different hats. There is simply not time to spend all day in a meeting. 

I have never seen the point in the once a year meeting. Seems to me that if you are talking in December about something that was an issue in April, you are not being proactive.

In addition, BRC requires that quality management goals be reported to senior management quarterly, so why not use that requirement to get together and discuss all the other required stuff?

Marshall