I recently listened to an episode of The Knowledge Project with Kunal Shah about the value of time. Shah stated Indians would not understand the “value of time” because efficiency and productivity are not concepts in the culture. Time, energy, money in one equation simply cannot be computed in Indian culture and I cannot stop thinking about this.

One of my personal frustrations in consulting work is the limits of time. I know people don’t feel excited about meeting for several hours, but I’ve sometimes noticed a long meeting is what is needed to have a meaningful conversation. Recently, in the planning of a retreat, the organization’s planning team stated anything more than two hours would be too much. When we did the retreat, participants unanimously expressed a desire for more time to talk and listen to each other.

I’m not the only one experiencing time challenges. I recently worked with a group where we used the Iceberg Model to process why they struggled to communicate across the departments. One interesting revelation was that people thought their colleagues were busy and did not have the time to discuss initiatives, new ideas, or ways to collaborate. Additionally, I’ve engaged in several retreats where the groups acknowledge the retreat being the first time the group has literally been together in person. Some organizations have recognized they don’t make time for strategizing or being strategic in their work because they don’t have time for a meeting. I think all of this is a disservice to our work and the impact our organizations wish to have in the world.

When I reflect on the things that are most successful, high-quality, and sustainable, they took a long time to develop. Think of the best meal you’ve ever had or your favorite food, then think of how long it takes to prepare that meal or food. Even if your favorite food is macaroni and cheese, the long-prepared version will most likely be more satisfying than the quick microwave version.

My colleague, Chris, shared an article about time and the challenges of getting tenured professors to use their digital calendars (a time frustration in higher ed). The article asserts that “resisting someone else’s understanding and organization of time is a power move,” and I think this is an important argument as we engage in social change work. Under the guise of a scarcity of resources, nonprofits “beg” and compete for restricted funding that is only available for a year or so. If great things take time, how on earth can a year of funding be sufficient to achieve lasting change truly? To me, there's a power move to be made.

 The other thing I’m realizing is that as long as we work through time, there will never be time. There will never be a perfect time to get everyone together, but you have to meet anyway. If the conversation or meeting is to gain clarity or understanding, resolve a conflict, or obtain consensus—meet in person and give yourself a lot of time. Plan it in advance and get it on everyone’s calendar. If you need to meet regularly, create a culture where the meeting is sacred so participants begin planning around that meeting to be available.

If you need to take time for an important conversation, such as strategic planning, or if you want to practice new different ways to optimize time at work, reach out to me and the team at The Spark Mill, we’d love to make that change happen.