Are you trying to find ways to get more exercise into your sedentary life while juggling the increasing number of work tasks in your day? Are you looking for more creative ideas from your staff or a way to connect with them at a deeper level?

Try a phenomena that is catching on across corporate America... walking meetings. What are they and why should you care? Great question for this week's newsletter.

Great walking,

Walking, thinking and talking are nothing new. But walking, thinking and talking as a form of meeting for work may just put traditional meetings on its head. We can credit Apple Founder, Steven Jobs and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg as just a few of modern day leaders that embraced this way of meeting. We know that walking and thinking are not new! Writer Charles Dickens would walk for hours at night in London when he could not sleep and see or greet unique individuals who would soon become characters in his fictional stories. Composer Ludwig van Beethoven walked the woods near Vienna with paper and pencil finding inspiration for his melodies in the sounds of birds.

So, what is a walking meeting? It can be a group in size from 2-10 or more that are gathering together to brainstorm ideas, search for solutions to problems, give feedback or just get to know each other better.

Why should a company look into adding a different meeting format? According to an Inc. Magazine's article by Peter Economy titled, 7 Powerful Reasons to Take Your Meeting for a Walk, the following are great reasons to add this style of meeting to your organization:

So what are some tips that will help a walking meeting be more productive and successful?

• The best use of this type of meeting is for brainstorming, giving feedback (not necessarily a performance evaluation which should be more formal), solving tough problems or getting to know someone better

• It is best to keep the number of participants between 2 to 5. One-on-one meetings are best suited for the walking meeting but they can be used with larger groups. If larger groups are walking, you may need to schedule breaks so smaller groups that naturally break off, can regroup with the larger group. In addition you will need a strong leader with assistants to keep order.

• Have someone take notes with a small notebook or with their electronic devices, i.e., cell phone's voice memo, etc.

• Be intentional with time. If the topic or purpose of the meeting is clear and needs only twenty minutes, choose a walking route that will last twenty minutes.

• Clarify next steps. Make certain whomever is assigned to take notes follows up with the action steps needed to move the idea or project forward

• Wear comfortable walking shoes

• Keep cell phones and electronics off unless taking notes

• Use designated stops along the way to change topics or offer a different viewpoint

Some of the concerns of this type of meeting include:

• Will they really get work done or are they just wasting company time? Having notes and follow up action items will show and prove the productivity of the meetings

• How are notes kept? According to Wire magazine, an article by Nilofer Merchant gave several ideas. If you have Siri, ask her to take notes, use paper and pen, write down the key ideas back at the office and email your walking partners once you get back to office if you forgot a main point.

• Distraction. It is true that Mother Nature offers many distractions while meeting outside. Those meetings that need visuals and require focused attention may be best suited in a conference room as long as the electronic distractions like texts, emails and interruptions are minimized as well.

• Weather. While rain, sleet and snow may keep us from walking outside research has shown the same benefits occur when walking in a building or on a treadmill.

Question for You:

Are you struggling to find a way to exercise each day and get your growing list of tasks accomplished? Do you want to boost productivity in the summer when many want to "kick" back? Do you need more creative ideas from your staff along with a way to connect deeper with them?

Action for You:

Give walking meetings a try. This type of meeting is not meant to replace traditional conference room meetings but rather add a way to get the creative juices flowing, engage your employees and get to know them in a more informal way. Try the steps listed above to improve your chances of success. Once the cold weather hits continue the meetings by walking in your in your office building, your local workout facility or mall if necessary.

                       "It is only ideas from walking that have any worth."

                                  Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche