Since it is the beginning of a new decade I am reflecting on the past and thinking of the future. It is hard to remember your mindset or what you were doing ten years ago. To jog my memory I decided to flip through some old meeting notes. There was the usual on the trials, tribulations and successes of business. What made me smile and giggle is the silly notes that are often included in our minutes.

Here is a sampling from our bi-weekly tactical meetings. Jason Cox, our Creative Director, takes most of these notes. He’s excellent at catching the little quirky things said and done in the middle of sometimes intense meetings.

Jason complimented Grant and then felt slimy about it. April 2010 by Sam

We used the word “membrane” way too much in this meeting. Just sayin’…. March 2011

Nicole owns a guppy farm… They are all named Ninja… May 2012

Once again Brant showed several spread sheets with lots of numbers and spoke in a foreign language that Betty and Grant pretend to understand as Sam and I smile and nod… July 2014

Sam’s profound statements of the day, “Ideally, optimistically, realistically,” and “Blow some rainbows up their asses.” June 2015

Pretty much nothing is Jason’s fault, so everyone needs to understand that Jackie took over the F-bombs for Betty today – there were a total of two. March 2017

Brant just threw out some logic and changed Betty’s mind on hiring – logic is stupid. September 2017

Betty wants to change our name to “We Love Beavers.” Clear communication is being kind! October 2018

Years ago when I was a member of the Vistage organization they had a habit of capturing pithy things said at meetings. They even published books on it over the years.

Here’s a sample from one of their books:

The essentials to successful management are good people, goals, roles and rules. Will Phillips, Speaker

Hoping is not a strategy. Kraig Kramers, Speaker

Let’s not confuse activity with progress. Paul Bortree, NCI, inc.

You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind. Unknown

Happiness is a self-inflicted condition. David Hanson, SyncroFlo

My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there. Charles F. Kettering, Inventor

The only one who welcomes change is a wet baby. J. Howard Shelov, Speaker

I decided we should document cool things said at meetings. We have a couple notebooks in the conference room, so people can capture these moments. They are more silly than profound and the author isn’t always noted.

Here’s a sample:

We got that done in spite of the committee. A Client

Make stupid easy. I can’t fix stupid. Unknown

It hurts when you install a porcupine Marc Dams

Couple fries short of a happy meal. Unknown

Working with us is like unicorns farting rainbows. Unknown

Unnecessary use of a big word. Unknown

I really enjoy being happy. Applicant

The wooden shoes in the photo are jarring and not appropriate for Kansas. Unknown

With all this reflection I’ve concluded it’s really important to instill fun and silly into our lives. I realized in recent years I’ve not added enough silly and laughter to our meetings. That’s a good goal for the 2020s – let there be silliness in meetings.

Happy new year!