[Basenshukai]

Originally Posted by Scimitar

Great post Sir,

Is this because this allows room to maneuver around car in front in a single motion?

You are close. A motor vehicle's design is such that the driver should be able to maneuver around an object within his view from a stop. So, if you can see the tires of the vehicle in front of you, you should be able to drive around him, on either side, from a stop. This is more difficult to do in a place like NYC, where if you leave an extra inch of space in front of you, a yellow cab will attempt to squeeze in. This is an application of an old SF concept of not putting your patrol base against a cliff, for example (don't box yourself in).

Originally Posted by Scimitar

A short meetings a good meeting, but why 27 min?

The Human Selective Sustained Attention Span has been calculated at somewhere between 10 and 40 minutes, depending on the study. I have found that, in light of the myriad of things going on in the unit on any given day, the best time span is just over 20 minutes, but less than 30 minutes.

But, I have rule for my meetings: First, I prefer to do them standing up. I came across this concept from an article in Forbes magazine about three years ago. I also heard that Donald Rumsfeld used the technique. I tried it during my second company command while on deployment. Standing up during a meeting keeps folks from getting too comfortable and eliminates the BS. People tend to get to the point quickly.

I also do not allow for sidebars, or "hyperlinking". A lot of time is wasted when a single comment in a meeting brings up an issue that has little importance, but is discussed for several minutes. Also, if a person must make an "alibi" comment to the group, it must apply to the group, not to two or three people. If it applies to only a few, I leave it upon said person to conduct their own micro-meeting after my meeting, so as not waste anyone's time.

When I deployed with my company, the first thing I did was eliminate three meetings of five that were part of the previous company's rhythm. Meetings are generally a huge time waster as they force officers and NCOs to spend precious time preparing, briefing, and then discussing their brief. I found that my guys generally lost 1 additional hour, for every 30 minute meeting. Far more can be accomplished if a unit has extra time than if it has extra meetings.

Originally Posted by Scimitar

May I steal this one?

S

If you wish.