Thinking in Decision-Making

In group decision-making, due to the psychological interactions among group members, there is a tendency to yield to authority or the opinions of the majority, resulting in what is known as "groupthink." Groupthink weakens the critical spirit and creativity of the group, harming the quality of decision-making. To ensure the creativity of group decisions and improve decision quality, a series of methods have been developed in management to enhance group decision-making, with brainstorming being a typical example.

Requirements for Brainstorming#

Organizational Form

The number of participants is generally 5 to 10 people, preferably composed of individuals from different professions or positions;
The meeting should be controlled to about 1 hour;
A facilitator should be appointed, who only leads the meeting and does not comment on the ideas presented. There should be 1 to 2 recorders who are required to carefully record every idea from participants, regardless of its quality.

Types of Meetings

Idea Development Type: This meeting is held to generate a large number of ideas and seek various problem-solving approaches for the topic, thus requiring participants to be imaginative and articulate.
Idea Validation Type: This meeting is held to summarize and convert numerous ideas into practical plans. Participants should be good at summarizing and analyzing judgments.

Preparation Before the Meeting

Clarify the meeting theme. The meeting theme should be communicated to participants in advance, allowing them to prepare;
Choose a suitable facilitator. The facilitator should be familiar with and master the key points and operational elements of the technique, understanding the current status and development trends of the theme;
Participants should have some training background and understand the principles and methods advocated by the meeting;
Pre-meeting softening training can be conducted, which involves breaking conventional thinking patterns and changing perspectives to reduce cognitive inertia, liberating participants from monotonous and tense work environments, and engaging them with full creative enthusiasm in the brainstorming activities.

Meeting Principles

To allow participants to express themselves freely, inspire and motivate each other, and achieve high efficiency, the following principles must be strictly adhered to:

Criticism and comments are prohibited, and self-deprecation should also be avoided. No idea proposed by others can be criticized or obstructed. Even if one believes an idea is immature, incorrect, or absurd, it should not be refuted; self-criticism is also not allowed. The psychological motivation of every participant must be activated to completely prevent the emergence of "stifling statements" and "self-stifling statements." Phrases such as "this won't work at all," "your idea is too outdated," "this is impossible," "this does not conform to a certain law," and "I have an immature opinion," "I have an idea that may not work," etc., are prohibited in the meeting. Only in this way can participants concentrate all their energy on expanding their thoughts in a fully relaxed state, inspired by others' ideas.
Focus on the goal, pursuing the quantity of ideas, the more the better. In the implementation of intellectual stimulation methods, everyone is forced to propose ideas, the more the better. The meeting aims to maximize the number of ideas generated.
Encourage clever utilization and improvement of others' ideas. This is the key to motivation. Every participant should draw inspiration from others' ideas, either supplementing them or synthesizing several ideas to propose new ones.
All participants are equal, and all ideas are recorded. Participants, whether experts in the field, employees, or scholars from other fields, as well as laypersons in the field, are treated equally; all ideas, regardless of size, even the most absurd ones, must be recorded completely and carefully by the recorders.
Independent thinking is advocated, and private conversations are not allowed to avoid disrupting others' thoughts;
Free speech is encouraged, allowing everyone to express themselves freely and think freely. The meeting promotes free and unrestricted thinking, encouraging wild imagination and maximizing creativity, as the newer and stranger the ideas, the better, because they can inspire good concepts.
Personal achievements are not emphasized; the overall interests of the group should be prioritized, paying attention to and understanding others' contributions. Everyone should create a democratic environment, and the opinions of the majority should not hinder the emergence of new personal viewpoints, stimulating individuals to pursue more and better ideas.

Implementation Steps

Pre-meeting preparation: Ensure the participants, facilitator, and topic tasks are in place, and conduct soft training if necessary.
Idea Development: The facilitator announces the meeting theme and introduces relevant reference information; break through cognitive inertia and boldly make associations; the facilitator controls the time well, striving to obtain as many creative ideas as possible within the limited time.
Classification and Organization of Ideas: Generally divided into practical and fanciful types. The former refers to ideas that can currently be realized with existing technology, while the latter refers to ideas that current technology cannot yet achieve.
Perfecting Practical Ideas: For practical ideas, further validation and secondary development should be conducted using brainstorming methods to expand the scope of realization.
Further Development of Fanciful Ideas: For fanciful ideas, further development should be conducted using brainstorming methods, as it may be possible to transform the germination of creativity into mature practical ideas through further development. This is a key step in brainstorming and a clear indicator of the quality of the method.

Facilitator Skills

The facilitator should understand various creative thinking techniques and methods, reiterate the principles and disciplines that must be strictly adhered to before the meeting, and be adept at stimulating members' thinking to create a relaxed and lively atmosphere while adhering to brainstorming rules;

Participants can take turns speaking, with each person briefly clarifying one creative idea per round to avoid forming a debate or uneven speaking;
Use appreciative and encouraging language and body language, such as nodding and smiling, to motivate participants to generate more ideas, saying things like, "Yes, that's it!" "Great!" "Good idea! This is very helpful for broadening our thinking!" etc.;
Prohibit the use of phrases like: "Someone has already said this!" "What will the actual situation be?" "Please explain your meaning." "This point is useful" "I don't appreciate that viewpoint." etc.;
Frequently emphasize the quantity of ideas, for example, aiming to generate 10 ideas within an average of 3 minutes;
When everyone seems to be out of ideas, some measures can be taken, such as taking a short break, allowing for self-chosen relaxation methods like walking, singing, drinking water, etc., and then conducting several more rounds of brainstorming. Alternatively, give each person a picture unrelated to the problem and ask them to share the inspiration they gained from it.
Depending on the topic and actual situation, guide everyone to initiate waves of brainstorming. For example, if the topic is further development of a product, the first wave could focus on improving the product formula, the second wave on reducing costs, and the third wave on expanding sales. Similarly, for discussions on solutions to a particular problem, guide everyone to create waves of "idea development," capturing "turning points" in a timely manner and appropriately guiding into "idea validation" waves.
Time management is crucial; the meeting should last about 1 hour, and the generated ideas should not be less than 100. However, the best ideas often emerge just before the meeting ends, so if the scheduled end time arrives, it can be extended by 5 minutes based on the situation, as this is when people are likely to propose good ideas. If no new ideas or viewpoints emerge within a minute, the intellectual stimulation meeting can be declared concluded or paused.

Principles of Brainstorming

External Judgment Principle. The evaluation of various opinions and plans must be reserved for the final stage; prior to that, no criticism or evaluation of others' opinions is allowed. Treat any idea seriously, regardless of its appropriateness or feasibility.
Welcome all opinions and allow free expression. Create a free atmosphere that encourages participants to propose various absurd ideas.
Pursue quantity. The more opinions there are, the greater the likelihood of generating good ones.
Explore ways to complement and improve others' ideas. In addition to proposing one's own opinions, encourage participants to supplement, improve, and synthesize ideas already proposed by others.
Conduct in cycles.
Each person should propose only one suggestion at a time.
If there are no suggestions, say "pass."
Do not blame each other.
Be patient.
Appropriate humor can be used.
Encourage creativity.
Combine and improve others' suggestions.

Reverse Brainstorming#

Reverse brainstorming (Anti-brain Storming) is also known as questioning brainstorming or counter-brainstorming. It is a group discussion format that focuses on opposing opinions to generate new ideas. Its main purpose is to identify the flaws in a certain concept and anticipate the negative consequences if that concept is implemented. Reverse brainstorming is similar to brainstorming, with the only difference being that criticism is allowed in reverse brainstorming. Brainstorming is used to stimulate the creation of new concepts and ideas, while reverse brainstorming reveals potential problems in a certain concept from a critical perspective. In fact, the basic point of this method is to discover the shortcomings of creativity through questioning. For example, "What are the possible ways this idea could fail?" Since the focus of discussion is on opposing opinions, the facilitator should pay attention to maintaining participants' morale. Reverse brainstorming can be used before other creative methods, effectively stimulating creative thinking. During the reverse brainstorming process, various problems associated with a certain idea must first be identified, followed by discussions on how to solve these problems.

Steps for Reverse Brainstorming#

The basic operational steps involve having group members critique a certain idea or concept until all ideas have been thoroughly criticized, and then following the classic brainstorming procedure for the brainstorming group to re-examine these ideas to seek solutions for the identified flaws and select the ideas with the fewest shortcomings that are most likely to solve the problem for implementation.

The first stage requires participants to question every proposed idea and provide comprehensive comments. The focus of the comments is to study all restrictive factors that hinder the realization of the idea. During the questioning process, some feasible new ideas may emerge. These new ideas may include arguments for why previously proposed ideas are unfeasible, existing restrictive factors, and suggestions for eliminating those restrictive factors. The structure is usually: "The XX idea is unfeasible because... To make it feasible, we must...".
The second stage involves compiling a list of comments and a list of feasible ideas for each group or each idea. The principles that should be followed in questioning brainstorming are the same as those in direct brainstorming, except that affirmative comments on existing ideas are prohibited, while criticism and new feasible ideas are encouraged. During the questioning brainstorming process, the facilitator should first briefly introduce the content of the problem being discussed and succinctly present various systematic ideas and plans to focus participants' attention on a comprehensive evaluation of the discussed problem. The questioning process continues until there are no more issues to question. All comments and feasible ideas extracted during the questioning should be specifically recorded.
The third stage involves evaluating the comments extracted during the questioning process to form a final list of feasible ideas for solving the discussed problem. The evaluation of comments is as important as questioning the discussed ideas. This is because, during the questioning stage, the focus is on studying all restrictive factors that hinder the implementation of the ideas, and these restrictive factors should also be considered as important during the idea generation stage.

Is Brainstorming Really Useful?#

Reasons why people believe brainstorming is useful:

Associative Response. Association is the fundamental process of generating new ideas. In the collective discussion of problems, each new idea proposed can trigger associations in others, leading to a series of new ideas, creating a chain reaction that provides more possibilities for creatively solving problems.
Enthusiasm Infection. In an unrestricted environment, collective discussions can stimulate enthusiasm. Everyone speaks freely, influences each other, and creates a wave of excitement that breaks the constraints of established ideas, maximizing creative thinking abilities.
Competitive Awareness. In a competitive environment, everyone strives to speak up, continuously activating their thinking machines to seek unique insights and novel ideas. Psychological principles tell us that humans have a competitive spirit, and in a competitive environment, the efficiency of psychological activities can increase by 50% or more.
Personal Desire. In the collective discussion of problem-solving, the freedom of individual desires, free from any interference and control, is very important. One principle of brainstorming is that hasty comments should not be criticized, and no expressions of doubt are allowed. This allows everyone to express themselves freely and propose a large number of new ideas.

Brainstorming, which sounds impressive, has somewhat lost its original meaning; it was intended to stimulate team creativity, but often the more ideas are discussed, the fewer there are. The mention of "brainstorming" only leads to headaches. Rest assured, if you feel this way, you are definitely not alone. A recent survey indicates that most people engaged in creative work feel that brainstorming is a complete waste of time. A study conducted by Yale University in 1958 found that individuals perform much better when working alone than in team brainstorming sessions. Why does brainstorming fail to work? There are four explanations:

Collective Laziness. When people work as a team rather than individually, there is a tendency to exert less effort. This is what we often refer to as "cutting corners." Due to the bystander effect, the sense of urgency in work decreases because we feel that the same work might be completed by other colleagues in the team.
Social Anxiety. People worry about how other team members will perceive their ideas, which can be referred to as evaluation apprehension. Similarly, when team members believe that others in the team have higher expertise, their performance tends to decline. This is particularly problematic for introverted or relatively insecure members.
Regression to Mediocrity. This refers to the phenomenon where the most talented members of a team lower their performance standards to align with the overall level of the team, accommodating those who perform poorly. This effect is especially evident in sports. If you train with someone less capable than you, your performance will decline, and you will fall into the same mediocre category as your opponents.
Production Hindrance. Regardless of the size of the team, if one wants their viewpoint to be heard, each person can only express one viewpoint at a time. Research shows that a team of 6-7 people is the optimal size for ensuring the quantity of suggestions expressed. Beyond this number, as team size increases, the number of ideas proposed by each person tends to decrease.

Considering the flaws of brainstorming, why is it still so widely applied? There are two main reasons:

With the increasing specialization of the workforce, companies have found that employees each have different professional capabilities to contribute. If problem-solving benefits from different types of knowledge, then theoretically, bringing the right people together should enhance the diversity of perspectives and lead to better solutions. However, in practice, this method requires careful selection of members and significant effort to collaborate.
Even if teams cannot generate more and better ideas, brainstorming undoubtedly appears more democratic than other methods. It ensures that fresh ideas are continuously introduced. Regardless of the quality of these ideas, quantity is guaranteed first.

Although collective brainstorming may not yield the most brilliant ideas, it is not entirely useless. Research indicates that the value of brainstorming lies in team building rather than tactical meetings. The principles of positivity, openness, and borrowing from others' ideas advocated by brainstorming can enhance team cohesion and trust.

Where Do True Creativity and Innovation Come From?

The "Selected Works of Mao Zedong" discusses problem-solving and investigation: "Investigation is like ten months of pregnancy, while solving problems is like giving birth in one morning; investigation is the precursor to problem-solving."

True innovation is not something that a novice can stumble upon through aimless brainstorming; it comes from a comprehensive and profound understanding of the problem. Therefore, the greater the innovation, the more it requires long-term accumulation and deep cognition.

Alternatives to Brainstorming?#

In response to the issues with brainstorming, some teams have proposed new solutions:

Brain-writing

Brain-writing is a variant of brainstorming where members write down their ideas on paper during the meeting instead of verbally expressing them all at once. Members record their ideas while passing these notes around the group, reading each other's thoughts and continuing to write down their new ideas. This collaborative approach retains the constructive interaction of the group while avoiding the pitfalls that can arise from verbal brainstorming.

Sprinting

The general idea of design sprints is to gather a small team, set aside a week, and rapidly move from defining the problem to product testing.

On the first day, create a "problem map."
On the second day, each person individually sketches their ideas.
On the third day, the team decides which sketch idea is the best.
On the fourth day, build a real prototype together.
On the fifth day, find five target consumers to test the prototype.

This is like fast-forwarding into the future to see what your final product will look like when it hits the market.

Project Kick-off Meeting#

The main purpose of a project kick-off meeting is to:

Define the project and its main team members;
Clarify the responsibilities and roles of team members in the project;
Briefly discuss relevant aspects of the project.

The main topics discussed in the project kick-off meeting include:

Project overview
Project scope and deliverables
Overall project plan and schedule
Project organizational structure
Project assumptions and risks
Project documentation storage and archiving requirements

Project Planning Meeting#

The project planning meeting is convened and chaired by the product manager, with participation from project team members. The product manager decides the level of detail for the project plan based on the size of the project and its importance to the organization. The main purposes of the project planning meeting are:

Develop a detailed project plan;
Assign project tasks: clearly allocate work tasks to specific team members. For each task, the responsible person and the estimated completion date must be specified, and the responsible person is required to make a commitment in person;
Ensure that team members have an overall understanding of the project.

The main content of the project planning meeting includes:

Determine milestones based on WBS, further define project activities and tasks;
Forecast the duration of activities and tasks, and assign them to team members;
Discuss methods for completing activities and tasks;
Determine the interrelationships and sequence of activities and tasks, and develop a project schedule based on the project timeline;
Develop project cost plans, quality plans, communication plans, risk control plans, and procurement plans, etc.

Project Status Meeting#

The project status meeting is usually convened and chaired by the product manager. Participants typically include all or some project team members, clients, and project leaders from upper management. Project status/review meetings should be held regularly.

The main purposes of the project status meeting are:

Introduce the progress of the project;
Determine whether the project is deviating from the schedule, and if so, what measures should be taken;
Explain the reasons for any deviations from the schedule and how to prevent them in future work;
Report any problems discovered during project execution and potential issues, how to resolve the identified problems, and how to prevent potential problems from occurring;
Highlight matters that should draw the attention of clients or project leaders, such as documents that the client may not have signed yet.

Topics to be discussed in the project status/review meeting include:

Work completed since the last meeting, clarifying key project milestones achieved;
Project cost, schedule, and scope status:
Progress: Compare the completion status of work with the baseline plan, ensuring that the completion status is up to date;
Forecast: Based on current progress and the tasks that need to be completed, predict the project completion date and project completion cost, and compare them with project objectives and baseline plans;
Variance: Clarify the differences between the actual project cost and schedule and the baseline plan. Variances can be positive—such as completing ahead of schedule—or negative—such as failing to complete on time or exceeding the budget. Identify the issues causing negative variances. Corrective measures: In some cases, corrective measures can be proposed in the project status meeting to obtain client or management approval, such as obtaining authorization for overtime to catch up on the project schedule. In other cases, the product manager may request a separate meeting to discuss corrective measures.

Problem-Solving Meeting#

When project team members discover problems or potential issues during the project, the product manager should decide whether to convene a problem-solving meeting based on the criteria established at the beginning of the project (based on the size of the problem, its potential impact on the project, etc.). If a meeting is necessary, the product manager should determine who should participate. These issues should not wait until the next project status meeting to be resolved. Identifying and resolving problems early is critical to the success of the project.

The content of the problem-solving meeting mainly involves adopting a good problem-solving method. The steps for problem-solving include:

Describe the problem;
Identify and determine the causes of the problem;
Identify possible solutions;
Evaluate each feasible solution;
Determine the best solution;
Revise the project plan, paying attention to the impact of the solution on other areas of the project;
Implement the solution;
Determine whether the problem has been resolved.

In addition to achieving specific objectives for each type of meeting, the product manager can also achieve the following through these meetings:

Provide opportunities to correct, update, and enhance the knowledge of the project team, thereby developing more accurate cost and schedule plans and performance status reports.
Help team members identify their personal efforts and how their individual efforts can become part of achieving project goals, and understand how their personal success will contribute to the team's success.
Increase team members' commitment to the project. When team members participate in decision-making during meetings, they are more likely to accept those decisions and work towards them. Often, people oppose a decision not because of the content of the decision itself, but because they were not consulted about it. Additionally, team decisions are less likely to be questioned than individual decisions. This enhances team cohesion, making people feel the presence of the project team and truly work together as a team.
Make the project team aware of the leadership role in managing the current project.
Provide team members with an opportunity to showcase their creativity in solving project problems in specific environments.

Before convening a meeting, the product manager must define the meeting objectives. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, and result-oriented. The product manager should clarify the roles of all project team members in the meeting, even rotating these roles to ensure that each member has the opportunity to gain experience and practice leading meetings.

Frequency of Project Meetings#

A reasonable balance should be maintained between the frequency of project meetings and their potential benefits. The frequency of meetings is related to the project's lifecycle. During the concept and feasibility stages, more planning meetings should be held to reach a consensus on the final goals and methods to achieve those goals. During this stage, the client's needs should be fully met. However, once the concept is finalized, and team members move on to detailed design, implementation planning, and product development, the number of meetings should decrease. However, the frequency of status meetings may increase during the implementation planning, product development, and project closeout phases, as many things need to be coordinated at this time. Generally, review meetings are beneficial in avoiding excessive time and resource use during project implementation and later stages.

Here are some practical guidelines for reducing the number of meetings. Before convening a meeting, the product manager should first answer the following questions:

What are the main matters (problems or opportunities) that require a meeting?
What are the facts or assumptions causing the problem? What are the possible opportunities?
What are the potential alternatives? What are their costs and benefits?
What advice can be provided to participants to address the current problem?
What might happen if a meeting is not convened?

Answering these questions may make you realize that there is no need to hold a meeting at all.

How to Manage Meetings Efficiently#

Managing meetings is an important management function. This includes planning, organizing, guiding, and controlling. A well-managed meeting is an effective way to share information, clarify direction, and eliminate ambiguity. It helps coordinate the efforts of team members and provides immediate feedback on project matters, offering a collective way to solve project problems and seize opportunities. The meeting facilitator creates an appropriate team atmosphere by planning, leading, and guiding the meeting. He/she must clearly define expectations for the meeting. Based on the goals the project aims to achieve, the facilitator must guide, clarify, control, summarize, and evaluate the meeting outcomes. If the facilitator talks too much during the meeting, it may become inefficient. The facilitator's influence depends on participants' recognition of his/her efforts to achieve the meeting goals and his/her skills and efficiency in helping participants reach those goals. Meetings can be inefficient or a complete waste of time, especially when the product manager makes some common mistakes:

Convening too many or too few meetings;
Neglecting to distribute the meeting agenda in advance;
Failing to invite decision-making managers;
Failing to coordinate with those who will speak at the meeting;
Spending too much time on trivial matters;
Failing to assign activity tasks to specific individuals.

The success of project meetings depends on various factors. These include the type of meeting (serious or casual), the form of the meeting (formal or informal), the level of advance planning, and the facilitator's level of authority. The product manager must be aware of these factors and use them appropriately to manage meetings effectively.

Good meetings produce results, and everyone can execute according to plan, while bad meetings waste everyone's time. A typical characteristic of a bad meeting is that someone is checking emails, messaging, or playing on their phone during the meeting.

Preparation Before the Meeting#

"Preparation leads to success; lack of preparation leads to failure." As a meeting organizer, some preparatory work is necessary before the meeting.

Confirm Ideal Outcomes

Every meeting must have a theme. What is the purpose of the meeting? Is it to solve a problem, discuss a product plan, or synchronize project progress? Only by clearly understanding the meeting's purpose can we accurately measure whether the purpose has been achieved afterward. Therefore, before the meeting, we need to set some expectations for the meeting's outcomes. Here are some points to stimulate your thinking:

What decisions or consensus do you expect to reach in the meeting?
What positive impacts will these decisions or consensus have on the company internally and externally?
What problems might arise if a decision or consensus cannot be formed? How serious are these problems?
What reasons (people or difficulties) might prevent the meeting from achieving the ideal outcome?
How do you define a successful meeting (e.g., having executable plans or task outputs, or everyone reaching a consensus)?

Assess the Necessity of the Meeting

After answering the above questions, the next step is not to rush to convene a meeting with everyone but to assess the necessity of the meeting.

For example, if the purpose of the meeting is to inform everyone about the current project's progress and the planning for the next phase, we need to consider whether a meeting is necessary. Can an email achieve the purpose? Can using project management tools for sharing also achieve the purpose? If so, then there is no need for a meeting, as everyone's time is precious, and we should not waste time on "listening to a meeting." Similarly, many internet companies have adopted "daily 10-minute stand-up meetings" to communicate what tasks were completed yesterday and what needs to be done today. It is also worth considering whether daily meetings are necessary or whether a weekly report or other better tools could present work tasks.

Since meetings consume the same working time for everyone, if other more efficient and economical methods can solve the issue, then there is no need for a meeting. In what situations do we need to hold a meeting? Here are some judgment principles:

Time is urgent, and information must be synchronized to everyone in a very short time.
Relevant personnel must be gathered to solve pressing issues.
Relevant departments (personnel) must reach a consensus face-to-face for matters to progress.
Divergent thinking work must be discussed face-to-face through brainstorming to develop feasible solutions.
Face-to-face discussions are necessary to eliminate differences between departments for the project to advance.

Only Invite Suitable People to Attend

Everyone's time is precious, especially in startup companies where time is counted in seconds. Some individuals without an entrepreneurial spirit enjoy meetings because it allows them to put down their work and take a break. Such individuals do not need to be called into the meeting room.

In most cases, these individuals do not need to be invited to the meeting:

They only need to know the meeting's outcomes or execution plans; an email would be more useful for them.
Someone from the same department is already participating, and that person can represent the department's opinions.
Their role is to provide necessary information (such as data) for the meeting but does not need to participate in discussions.
They only play a role in a few topics, and a separate small meeting can be held for them.

Therefore, the people we invite to participate should be those who can engage in most topics and express opinions and discussions. If a person is merely listening, they should not be called to the meeting. On one hand, they will be doing their own work during the meeting, making others feel awkward; on the other hand, this is also wasting their time. Additionally, those who are directly affected by the meeting outcomes and those involved in formulating execution plans should also be invited.

As the meeting facilitator, you must 100% confirm the list of participants before the meeting and notify them in advance. Please respect everyone's time; your project is not the only urgent and important one.

Pre-meeting Information Synchronization and Task Distribution

The duration of a meeting should not be too long; my experience is that meetings lasting over 2 hours become inefficient. There are many reasons for inefficiency, one key reason being that participants do not prepare before the meeting, leading to everyone opening their computers to find information during the meeting, and the facilitator spending a lot of time synchronizing information. This work should be done before the meeting.

Before the meeting, an email should be sent to each participant, informing everyone:

What problem we are facing and why we are holding the meeting?
What is the ideal outcome of the meeting?
What basic information does everyone need to understand before the meeting?
What materials does each person need to prepare before the meeting?
What preliminary thoughts and needs do people have?

At the same time, you should have private conversations with core participants before the meeting:

Whether they need to know additional information that is not convenient to share with everyone.
Understand if they have any special needs.
Clearly specify what materials each person needs to prepare one-on-one, rather than just sending a group email.

This is similar to project management principles; in addition to synchronizing information for everyone, ensure that each person is prepared for the meeting point-to-point.

Developing the Agenda and Communicating It

Once we have completed the information synchronization and collected relevant needs, we can develop the meeting agenda based on the meeting's objectives. In developing the agenda, it is necessary to clarify the topics to be discussed, the time allocated, and the responsible persons for each segment, as well as consider the order of the agenda. When considering the order of the agenda, I generally follow two principles:

Gradually deepen the discussion in a logical manner.
Place topics with more participants at the front, decreasing thereafter, allowing those who do not need to participate in the entire discussion to return to work.

Once the agenda is finalized, we can send an email to all participants, allowing everyone to make additions. Sometimes, an agenda developed by one brain may not be sufficiently comprehensive.

Privately Address Potential "Disturbers"

During meetings, some "disturbers" may appear. They are not intentionally disruptive but can extend the meeting time and make other participants feel like they are wasting time.

For example, if the purpose of the meeting is to determine the development progress of the next product version, and while everyone is discussing the timeline, one person suddenly jumps up and says, "I think the features of this version are wrong; we shouldn't do it this way. Discussing the timeline is meaningless; we should go back to discussing the features."

At this point, as the meeting facilitator, you have two choices: interrupt their speech and continue discussing the timeline, which may make them unhappy and lead to passive participation or leaving; or let them speak, which may frustrate others since the timeline has already been discussed halfway.

Regardless of the choice, the impact on the meeting is negative. A better approach is to have a private conversation with potential "disturbers" before the meeting, clearly stating that the product features have been locked, and the meeting is about discussing the timeline, with no changes to the features; the company has confirmed this direction and will not change it, and we should trust the company's decisions.

How to identify these potential "disturbers"? On one hand, observe their personalities; on the other hand, you can observe their work habits in the agenda to find clues.

Prepare Meeting Room Equipment 10 Minutes in Advance

Do not waste time during the meeting looking for a VGA adapter or discovering you cannot operate the projector at the start of the meeting. As the meeting facilitator, you should book the meeting room in advance and prepare all necessary props and test all equipment needed for the meeting.

The reason is simple: meetings need to be efficient. Do not waste everyone's time on something that only requires 10 minutes of one person's time.

Meeting Techniques#

How to encourage everyone to contribute ideas during the meeting instead of remaining silent? How to keep the meeting focused on the topic instead of letting those who are good at expressing lead the pace? These meeting techniques need to be mastered one by one so that we can achieve our ideal goals within the limited time.

Basic Communication Principles

A good meeting facilitator needs to have good communication skills. Many books and articles on how to communicate and speak well mention these basic principles of communication interaction:

Maintain self-esteem and enhance confidence.
Listen carefully and respond kindly.
Seek help and encourage participation.
Share opinions and communicate openly.
Provide support and encourage accountability.

Most people have used these principles to some extent during meetings and communication. Briefly discussing the role of these five principles in meetings (assuming you are the meeting facilitator):

Maintaining self-esteem means that when participants show negativity or lack confidence, you should encourage them to build their confidence so they can actively participate in subsequent discussions. Often, praise is necessary. For example, when a newcomer nervously expresses an opinion, even if their idea is average, to encourage them, you might say, "That's a good idea; let's record it."
Listening carefully and responding kindly is a basic principle for ensuring the meeting runs smoothly. No one likes their comments to be ignored by others, even if they are expressing them with emotion. As the facilitator, when you encounter someone who is very angry, you can listen carefully to their comments, soothe their emotions, and then gently restate their points in your own words, making it easier for others to accept.
Seeking help is a good way to encourage participation. Some people may stop speaking during the meeting, which is not the desired outcome. You can encourage them to re-engage by asking them questions. For example, after the previous person has finished speaking, you might ask, "What do you think of XX's proposal?" This is not a good way to encourage participation because the other person can respond passively, saying they think it's fine. Instead, you can change your approach to seek help, saying, "In XX's proposal, YY was mentioned, which is your area of responsibility. How can you support XX?" This way, they may not be able to respond passively.
Honesty is essential in relationships, and the same applies to meetings. If you are honest with others, they are likely to be honest with you, allowing the meeting to identify fundamental issues and resolve them at their root. If everyone is evasive and only partially expresses their thoughts, fearing that others will take credit for their contributions, it is not beneficial for the company. As the meeting facilitator, you should lead by example, expressing your views and information honestly, and then encourage others to communicate openly.
Providing support and encouraging accountability means that as the meeting facilitator, you may not be the project leader, or the project may be divided into many small projects, each with its own responsible person. You should encourage everyone to take on a small leadership role in the project so that they can participate with a greater sense of responsibility. However, some individuals may be hesitant to take on responsibilities, requiring appropriate encouragement. For example, you might say, "XX, you are most familiar with this part of the work; you should take it on. If there are any resource issues, feel free to communicate with me, and I will coordinate to allocate resources for you."

Starting the Meeting

After familiarizing yourself with some communication principles, let’s officially start the meeting.

The first thing to do is for the convener, i.e., the facilitator, to open the meeting. Although you have already sent an email to everyone stating the purpose and ideal goals of the meeting, it is still necessary to emphasize these points before entering the discussion. You need to emphasize:

The ideal outcomes of the meeting.
The significance of achieving the ideal outcomes: the benefits for the company, the team, each individual, and the clients and market.
The potential negative consequences and serious repercussions if the ideal outcomes are not achieved.
Topics that will not be discussed in this meeting.
The meeting agenda.

The fourth point is particularly important; everyone's time is precious, and do not discuss matters outside the agenda during the meeting, especially when everyone is unprepared for those topics.

Explaining the Issues

Next, we will discuss each topic according to the meeting agenda. Before discussing the proposals, you should synchronize the information, questions, and issues you collected before the meeting with everyone.

This process is best done by encouraging the corresponding responsible persons to speak rather than doing it yourself. Since you have already asked the relevant responsible persons to prepare the materials needed for the meeting, you should let them present the data, facts, and issues from their perspectives.

Once the corresponding responsible persons have explained the issues, encourage everyone to participate in the discussion. The discussion should focus on the issues themselves, as everyone will express different opinions due to their varying positions, and members from other departments may help the speaker identify the root of the problem. This discussion phase should be open and equal.

Once the issues have been sufficiently analyzed, we will move on to the third step, which is "forming multiple proposals."

Forming Multiple Proposals

After analyzing the issues, it is time to seek solutions.

At this point, you can ask if anyone has a solution. If someone does, let them propose it and discuss it, allowing everyone to point out potential problems with the proposal and whether there are better solutions.

If no one has a solution, as the meeting facilitator, you should propose one yourself. Your proposal does not have to be the best; your goal is to stimulate discussion. Sometimes, you might even propose a solution that you believe is unfeasible to spark discussion among everyone.

When soliciting proposals from participants, try to use open-ended questions rather than yes or no questions. For example, when XX proposes a solution, you can directly ask YY. A better way to ask is not "Do you have any thoughts on XX's proposal?" but "What concerns and thoughts do you have about XX's proposal?" or "XX's proposal has some unresolved issues; how do you think we should address this problem, YY?"

After the entire discussion concludes, multiple solutions will generally be formed.

Reaching Consensus

In the fourth step, we need to select the optimal solution from the multiple proposals formed in the third step and reach a specific execution plan.

The optimal solution should be the one closest to the ideal outcome, not one insisted upon by a minority or determined by a vote. As the facilitator, you should always keep the ideal outcomes of the meeting in mind, starting from the results to choose the most suitable solution, and involve everyone in the process of adjusting the proposal.

Once the proposal is determined, the next step is to discuss specific execution details. These may include:

The responsible persons and divisions for each item.
Which departments will participate and what additional resources need to be coordinated by company leadership.
The final timeline for achieving the goals.
Key checkpoints (milestones) for important matters.

At this point, one agenda is completed, and subsequent agendas can repeat these three steps.

Meeting Summary

After all agenda items have been discussed, summarizing and expressing gratitude is very necessary.

Before the meeting ends, there are seven points that need to be addressed:

Review all decisions and consensus reached during the meeting.
Review all determined execution plans.
Have the responsible persons for the plans restate their items and execution timelines.
Define the communication methods for the project moving forward, such as daily morning meetings, using Trello, WeChat communication, etc.
Suggest that different departments and individuals discuss execution details privately.
Review the project's goals again and encourage all participants.
Thank everyone for their time and express confidence in the project.

Thus, the offline meeting process has concluded, but the entire meeting process is not over; there are two things that still need to be done.

Post-meeting Matters#

The discussions in the meeting room do not mean the end of the meeting; often, this is just the beginning of the project. To better advance the project and ensure everyone understands their responsibilities, two things must be done.

Meeting Records

A person should be assigned to take meeting minutes and send the records to everyone afterward. The recorder should preferably not be the facilitator, as the facilitator needs to focus on communication and advancing work, and taking minutes can distract attention.

A good meeting record should be:

Before the meeting, establish a basic format for the meeting record using proficient office software, allowing for direct input during the meeting without worrying about formatting, layout, or typos.
Record audio simultaneously (if conditions allow).
After the meeting, the recorder should reorganize the notes into a structured format and send it to everyone. The term "structured" means that everyone can clearly and quickly review the meeting and clarify responsibilities.

In addition to serving as a memorandum, the necessity of meeting records lies in their ability to hold individuals accountable and prevent deviation from the intended path.

Follow-up

Since the meeting facilitator is often the project leader, after the meeting ends, you need to continuously follow up on progress, especially on the first day after the meeting. You need to ensure that everyone is working according to the plans set the day before. At this time, a project management software may be necessary; we generally use Teambition and Trello for task management.

At the same time, you also need to plan for the next meeting, determining when to hold it based on achieving certain milestones or encountering specific problems.

The above outlines some detailed implementation rules for pre-meeting preparation, in-meeting control, and post-meeting summary and follow-up. Of course, during the meeting process, we may encounter various special situations and difficulties. How should we respond to these special situations?

Handling Special Situations#

If the meeting proceeds according to the previous process, that would be ideal. However, various difficulties may arise during meetings, such as:

Conflicts arising between participants, potentially escalating to physical confrontations.
Regardless of the discussion, certain individuals persist in their opinions and attempt to dominate the meeting.
Some individuals' personal habits may lower the quality of the meeting, such as constantly playing on their phones.
Someone receives a phone call in the middle of the meeting, causing the meeting to be interrupted while waiting for them to finish.
When a proposal is reached, some individuals exhibit extreme negativity, even contemplating resignation.
Some individuals speak for too long, causing others to become impatient.
In certain issues, multiple parties remain deadlocked, unable to reach a resolution.

For these issues, here are some intervention suggestions:

Emphasize the Meeting Agenda. When participants shift from discussion to conflict, we can reiterate the ideal outcomes of the meeting, pulling them back from the conflict between two individuals and returning to the discussion.
Encourage Turn-taking. Taking turns to speak is a good way to interrupt monopolized speaking. When one person is rambling on and others are becoming impatient, you can use an appropriate communication method to interrupt their speech. For example, you might say, "Sorry to interrupt, but we only have 1 hour for today's meeting, and we must complete the entire agenda. Let's hear XX's opinion first, and then you can continue with your thoughts afterward."
Use Summarization to Interrupt Monopolized Speaking. Using summarization to interrupt monopolized speaking is a better method. For instance, in the previous situation, you could say, "I understand your point is XXXXX; does anyone else have any comments?"
Emphasize Meeting Rules. When someone continuously interrupts others or plays on their phone or takes calls during the meeting, you can emphasize the meeting rules, requiring everyone not to interrupt others while speaking and asking everyone to put their phones away. If they need to take a call, they should leave the meeting room.
Break Time. Break time can be used to address two issues. If certain individuals persist in their opinions and hinder the normal progress of the meeting, you can have a private conversation with them during the break, using the communication techniques mentioned earlier to ensure the meeting can continue smoothly. Another issue that can be resolved is the negativity of certain individuals; you can privately stand in their shoes and explain how the proposal may seem negative for them, but if the proposal is successful, it will actually benefit them, thereby building their confidence.
Postpone Problem Resolution. If certain issues cannot be resolved during the meeting, consider postponing their resolution. Often, after everyone calms down, progress can be made, either by finding a better solution or by one party cooling down and making some concessions. There is no need to waste everyone's time on issues that cannot be resolved during the meeting.

Samsung's Efficient Meeting Principles:

Every meeting must have a theme;
Every theme must have an agenda;
Every agenda must have resolutions;
Every resolution must have follow-up;
Every follow-up must have results;
Every result must have accountability;
Every accountability must have rewards and penalties;
Every reward and penalty must be transparent.

22-Minute Meeting#

This is a guide to controlling meeting time to 22 minutes, with specific content as follows:

Set a 22-minute meeting – Who says meeting times should be half an hour or an hour? Is there any data to support such meeting durations? Of course not. Thirty minutes or an hour is not enough time for everyone to articulate and debate their viewpoints; on average, each person needs an hour to clarify their thoughts. In reality, not all meetings can be controlled to 22 minutes, but many can be, and we should try to keep meetings as short as possible.
Have a goal-oriented agenda – An agenda with a clear goal will enhance the meeting's effectiveness and focus. Consider writing the agenda on a whiteboard, highlighting key points to remind everyone of the meeting's objectives.
Send meeting invitations 3 days in advance – Although this may be a burden for the meeting organizer, it minimizes costs for team members. Never let a meeting turn into a time for everyone to familiarize themselves with documents; doing so punishes those who prepared for the meeting. (Note: personal tasks should be communicated 24 hours in advance as well.)
Start on time – How many meetings actually start on time? The answer is almost none. Some situations may arise because programs like Outlook do not have the functionality to set multiple meeting time intervals. To repay the daily debt of meeting time, keeping meetings to 22 minutes allows enough time for buffering and resting.
Stand during the meeting – Standing during a meeting can remind everyone not to complicate the meeting or divert it to another goal. Speak your viewpoint or needs; otherwise, remain silent. If disagreements arise during the meeting, they can be addressed afterward.
Do not bring laptops; only a facilitator and a note-taker – If you can ensure the meeting is completed within 22 minutes, then there is no need to bring any unrelated items. You need to focus on listening. Only one person should facilitate, and one person should take notes.
No phones or other distractions – For the same reasons as above.
Focus on meeting priorities! Prevent agenda creep – If you have an agenda, the meeting facilitator must ensure all participants adhere to it. If the agenda is acceptable, then during the meeting, ensure discussions do not stray too far from the topic.
Send meeting minutes as quickly as possible – If the meeting is controlled to 22 minutes, then the meeting content and resolutions should be sent out as soon as possible before the next meeting.

Narrowing Learning into Memory#

American educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom categorized educational (learning) objectives into three types: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. In the cognitive domain, there are six levels from low to high: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Knowledge: This refers to memory and recognition, the ability to recall important terms, facts, methods, standards, principles, and concepts;
Comprehension: This means understanding the meaning of important terms and concepts, being able to translate and explain them;
Application: This means being able to apply learned knowledge, concepts, methods, steps, and principles to different situations;
Analysis: This means breaking down certain information contained in knowledge into its components, elements, relationships, and organizational principles, and then reassembling them while clarifying the relationships;
Synthesis: This means being able to rearrange or combine certain elements of knowledge into an organized whole or present the relationships among them;
Evaluation: This means evaluating or comparing knowledge information according to certain standards.

Using memory to measure learning outcomes can only measure one of the three major categories of learning objectives and one of the six subcategories, and it is the lowest level. True learning is much more complex and profound than mere memorization.

Not Considering the Breadth and Depth of Learning#

Breadth Issues

It is undeniable that practical operational learning outcomes are absolutely better than pure reading, which everyone knows, and it does not require psychologists to conduct special experiments to prove it. The problem is that people's time and energy are limited, and it is impossible to learn everything through practical operation, and we may not be able to afford the costs of learning from failed experiences. Experience is the best teacher, but it is also the harshest teacher; it often requires you to pay a painful price before it teaches you something.

People can learn through three avenues:

Learning through experience,
Learning through observation,
Learning through abstract symbols (such as reading).

The things learned through experience leave the deepest impressions and are the hardest to forget, but they are also the least efficient and come at the highest cost. In a lifetime of only a few decades, how many things can one personally experience, and how much money can one afford to lose? Learning through reading may not be as profound as practical operation, but it is the most efficient; for a few hundred dollars, one can read the experiences and wisdom of a master’s entire life. As for the effectiveness and efficiency of observational learning, it falls between the two.

Depth Issues

Experiential learning and learning through practical operation share a common problem: high costs (including time and money). You cannot participate in experiential education activities every day, but you can read every day; experiential education usually requires an afternoon or even two days and nights to fully experience, and what you gain are only some simple concepts, such as cash flow is important, trust is important, empathy is important, and teamwork is important… etc. These simple concepts are things we already know; the key is whether they can lead to change. Experiential education or attending speeches and other short-term, expensive learning methods can provide sudden insights but cannot produce lasting change. In education and psychology, behavioral change or the emergence of creativity cannot be achieved by listening to a speech once or having a moment of inspiration; it requires long-term continuous learning, solid foundational knowledge accumulation, and the right catalysts (motivation) to produce results.

For the same simple learning material (content), experiential education does indeed yield better learning outcomes than pure reading. However, in the long run, the breadth and depth of the material learned through reading far exceed what experiential education can provide. Spending the same amount of time, the knowledge gained from reading and attending classes is definitely deeper and broader than that gained from experiential education. In fact, various learning methods have their necessity and applicability. According to Bloom's three major learning objectives, in the "psychomotor" domain, practical operation is the most effective (with a few exceptions, such as pilot training, which requires simulation learning); in the "cognitive" and "affective" domains, reading and community learning (modeling and environmental education) are the most effective.

Not Considering the Most Important Learning Motivation#

If we can learn anything from the widely circulated learning pyramid on the internet, it is the concept of active learning versus passive learning. "Active learning" refers to learners actively and proactively acquiring learning materials, such as participating in discussions; while "passive learning" refers to learners passively receiving information and knowledge, such as watching television. Of course, the effectiveness of active learning is undoubtedly superior to that of passive learning.

The problem is that the distinction between active and passive learning does not limit specific learning methods. For example, students conducting experiments are not necessarily engaging in active learning, while listening to a teacher's lecture is not necessarily passive learning. If one is inattentive and merely following the steps in a book or the teacher's instructions during practical operations, they are still engaging in passive learning. Conversely, if one is fully engaged during a lecture, continuously dialoguing with the speaker in their mind, and critically thinking about the content being presented, that is undoubtedly active learning. More importantly, what truly distinguishes active learning from passive learning is the learner's "learning motivation."

What is the Learning Pyramid? Dale's Cone of Experience Theory!#

With the advancement of technology, more and more media are applied in education. Dale's Cone of Experience, centered on the concept of experience, is a representative work of audiovisual teaching theory.

Early Visual Teaching Theory#

In 1928, Weber articulated the importance of visual teaching in his article "The Value of Images in Education": The visual sense plays an important role in the educational process, and using only language in education can weaken students' interest; it can lead to verbalism; improvements in photographic technology have expanded the learning environment for learners; experimental education has proven that visual teaching aids make courses more vivid and intuitive, thus producing significant benefits in the learning process. The core components of early visual teaching theory include the following three aspects:

Visual media can provide concrete and effective learning experiences. Using visual teaching aids allows learning to develop from vivid and intuitive to abstract thinking, aligning with the natural progression of human cognition.
The classification of visual teaching aids should be based on the degree of concrete learning experiences they provide. Weber's classification of typical visual teaching aids follows the continuum from concrete to abstract: real world → simulated reality → pictorial reality → diagrammatic symbols → verbal symbols.
The use of visual teaching materials should be organically integrated with the curriculum.

The basic content of early visual teaching theory remains valid today. Dale, the spokesperson for audiovisual teaching, developed a theoretical system centered on the Cone of Experience based on these fundamental concepts. The Cone of Experience is a theoretical model for classifying learning experiences, offering more practical value than all classification methods from the early audiovisual teaching movement. It can be summarized as follows:

Purposeful Direct Experience. Dale believes that the base of the cone represents direct experience, which involves direct contact with real objects. This is the most substantial and concrete experience, obtained through seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and doing real things.
Designed Experience. This refers to "real adaptations," which can make it easier for people to understand reality. For example, creating models, which differ in size and complexity from the original, can sometimes yield better teaching results than using actual objects.
Participatory Drama. There are many things we cannot directly experience, such as events that have already passed. Some conceptual things cannot be adapted into designed experiences. Participating in drama allows us to approximate reality as closely as possible; participating in drama is significantly different from merely watching it. It enables people to engage in repeated experiences, which is closer to direct experience than just watching a performance.
Demonstration Observation. Watching others perform tasks allows students to learn how to do something, which they can later attempt themselves.
Field Trips. These allow for seeing real objects and various phenomena.
Exhibitions. This refers to observing without participating in actions.
Movies and Television. Movies and television abstract real events and present them on screen. The things on screen represent real objects but are not the objects themselves. By watching movies and television, we do not gain direct experience but rather substitute experiences. Although movies and television may cause us to lose directness, they also provide compensation. This is because movies and television select typical materials, allowing us to focus on observing important aspects. Movies and television are not limited by time and space, presenting past and distant events; they can also depict phenomena that change too quickly or too slowly at appropriate speeds. The difference between movies/television and exhibitions is that the former can condense time and space.
Radio, Recordings, Photos, and Slides. This level of experience is sometimes referred to as "one-sense" experience because it emphasizes enhancing either visual or auditory experiences.
Verbal Symbols. This primarily refers to charts, maps, etc. At this level of the cone, the real forms of objects can no longer be seen; they are merely abstract representations. Charts and maps do not explain things using words but express them using what some call new language—visual symbols.
Verbal Symbols. Verbal communication refers to the activities of using language for communication and thinking. This includes oral language, written language (text), and internal language (silent language). This level is the top of the cone. Here, the original forms of any objects have been transformed into abstractions; except for the unchanged meanings, there is no resemblance between the words and the objects or concepts they represent. Verbal symbols can be real words or concepts, principles, formulas, etc.; the most important aspect is that these symbols are purely abstract.

In summary, the Cone of Experience categorizes learning experiences into three major types:

Doing learning experiences, including purposeful direct experiences, designed experiences, and participatory experiences.
Observational learning experiences, including demonstrations, field trips, exhibitions, movies, television, radio, recordings, and still images.
Symbolic learning experiences, including visual symbols and verbal symbols.

Key Points of Dale's "Cone of Experience" Theory#

The learning experiences at the base of the cone are the most concrete, becoming increasingly abstract as one moves up. It classifies different teaching materials and methods based on the degree of concrete learning experiences they provide, serving as a theoretical guide for teachers to select appropriate media based on students' needs and abilities and the nature of the teaching tasks.
The classification basis of the cone → the degree of concreteness or abstraction is unrelated to the difficulty of learning. Various learning experiences are interconnected and permeate each other. Teaching should fully utilize various learning avenues, allowing learners' direct experiences to organically connect with indirect experiences.
Teaching should start with concrete experiences and gradually move towards abstraction, preventing verbalism—moving from concept to concept. Indirect experiences should be based on direct experiences as much as possible. At the same time, students should be guided to develop abstract thinking at appropriate times.
Everyone's experiences are limited by time and space. The audiovisual teaching media located in the middle of the cone can provide learners with what Dale calls substitute experiences, helping to overcome the limitations of time and space and resolving the contradictions between concrete and abstract experiences, compensating for the deficiencies of various direct experiences.

Insights from Dale's "Cone of Experience"#

It points out ten levels of learning pathways from concrete to abstract. Although current learning pathways far exceed those in the era of the Cone of Experience, the learning principles it presents still hold guiding significance today. The experiences at the base of the cone are direct and concrete, making them the easiest to understand and remember during learning. The experiences at the top of the cone are the most abstract, making it easy to grasp concepts and apply them.

It outlines general methods of learning. Learning should start with concrete experiences but should not stop there; it should gradually transition to abstraction, rise to theory, develop thinking, and form concepts, which is a more effective learning method.

Substitute experiences are excellent aids for scientific abstraction. The experiences located in the middle of the cone are substitute experiences, bridging the gap between doing experiences and abstract experiences. They can help overcome the limitations of time and space, providing necessary, easily understandable, and memorable materials for students while facilitating teachers' explanations, prompts, summaries, and transitions from concrete images to abstract concepts and principles, forming laws, making them effective learning tools.

Influence is actually the result of the continuous accumulation of trust.

In the early stages, we might receive feedback like, "I really enjoy working with you," or "Working with you feels different from working with others." This feeling is reminiscent of my previous experience in operations, where everyone enjoyed interacting with me and was willing to participate in the activities I organized. I pondered for a long time without fully understanding "why me," and later realized that the "secret" was quite simple: being sincere and treating users as friends (because I naturally did this, I didn't think it was anything special at the time). Looking back now, this is indeed a practice for building long-lasting relationships.

People are no longer focused on products but on meaning. The purpose of consumption is not to acquire something but to create a change within oneself. Many brands today are essentially symbols. For example, purchasing lululemon conveys the message that I am starting to get fit.
Customers establish identity through purchasing goods. Traditional enterprises view users as sheep to be slaughtered. However, from a user-centered perspective, the goal should be to help them become the person they want to be. Lululemon offers many fitness courses to help its customers achieve their health goals.
Support communities instead of doing market segmentation. The internet has highlighted community culture, where everyone loves to band together and believes they have a voice in certain areas. Therefore, one should support communities rather than market from a position of superiority (which would alienate the community). Once trust is established, the community will rally behind the product. This reminds me of how Xiaomi gained a large number of MI fans through community operations.
Abandon authority and embrace sincerity. This stems from a company's mission, which goes beyond merely existing for profit. Sincerity arises from meaningful relationships, open communication, and one's personality (not being overly agreeable) and boundaries.