I've long believed the only person who thinks a particular meeting is important is the person who called the meeting.
Science backs me up. A meta-analysis of more than a decade of research shows 90 percent of employees feel meetings are "costly" and "unproductive" and that they're right: Employee productivity increased by over 70 percent when the number of meetings was reduced by 40 percent.
Still, sometimes meetings are necessary. Maybe that's why smart leaders – and, as you'll see in a moment, leaders who look out for the best interest of their employees – prefer walking meetings.
Like Richard Branson, who likes to walk and talk because he feels walking meetings improve focus and lead to quicker decisions. Or like former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, who says walking meetings eliminate distractionsand make meetings more productive.
Or like Steve Jobs, who loved walking meetings, especially for brainstorming. (Legend has it he and Jony Ive finalized the design of the groundbreaking iMac G4 while walking around a flower garden.)
Research backs Jobs up. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that over 80 percent of the time, people come up with more (and, more important, better) creative ideas and solutions when they walk as opposed to when they sit.
But that's not the only reason to take your meeting for a stroll. A study published in Nature Medicine found that walking approximately 8,200 steps per day makes you less likely to become obese or suffer from sleep apnea, acid reflux and major depressive disorder; weight loss tends to reduce the severity of sleep apnea and acid reflux, while exercise has long been known to improve mental health by reducing anxiety and stress. (More on that in a moment.)
The impact is even greater for people who have a BMI of between 25 and 29, or "overweight." While participants didn't necessarily lose weight, walking 11,000 steps per day cut their risk of someday having a BMI of 30 or higher – or "obese" – in half.
And then there's this. A decadelong study published in JAMA Network Openfound exercising 45 minutes per week – with "exercise" including walking – makes you less likely to experience depressive symptoms and major depressive disorder. (The more you exercise the better, up to around 300 minutes per week; after that, the mental health impact doesn't necessarily increase.)
Add it all up, and yeah: Walking meetings make you – and whomever you walk with – more creative and a little healthier, both mentally and physically.
And may help you live longer: A 2019 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that participants who increased their daily activity by 2,000 steps, regardless of where they started in terms of step count, faced a lower risk of earlier mortality and a host of positive health outcomes, especially where heart disease and diabetes were concerned.
The next time you need to meet – especially with one or two people – make that meeting a walk and talk. You'll be more focused. More creative. More decisive.
And you and they, will enjoy mental and physical health benefits in the process.
Which makes a walking meeting a great double-dip.
Inc
