When we work in EOS sessions with our clients, we neither require, nor desire, Internet access. We do all our work together on white boards or easels with paper.
Further, we provide Leadership Team Manuals for each leader, which are 3 ring binders with paper documents we distribute and generate.
We are often asked why we still use paper and why we don’t encourage the use of laptops or iPads for everyone?
The reasons we use paper Leadership Team Manuals are several:
- They foster face-to-face interaction, which is best for building team trust and for ensuring people are “present” in the meeting.
- They provide a place to take hand written notes which often, but not always, reinforces learning.
- They provide a convenient place to store materials that you develop.
- They are a reference place for EOS principles and tools.
- Eyeball to eyeball is the most effective way of building trust.
How frustrating is it for you when you are in a meeting and everyone is glancing at their phones, tablets or laptops checking email, or worse, typing?
The first and fifth benefits above accrue to meetings which use whiteboards, or paper easels, instead of PowerPoint. Don’t you agree?
