I struggle to lead meetings that feel “in the zone.” I am talking about setting mood. You know, there is an appropriate mood for everything. Toby Hecht, the CEO of The Aji network gives the example of coming home after work, dimming the lights, putting Barry White on the stereo, pouring two glasses of red wine, and saying: “Honey, let’s work on our taxes.”
There is a mood that is perfect for strategic team meetings: passionate; focused; relaxed; jokes but not too many, healthy conflict; creative; willing to listen but not indulgent of, well, indulgent remarks; urgent; skeptical but not cynical. How do you achieve this?

Pat Lencioni’s great book "Death by Meetings" gives some ideas that I’ve tried to follow: have a clear conflict to grab people, such as what are we going to decide? I’ve tried to open with inspiration remarks. I’ve played music. I’ve started by having the group recount our victories. I’ve eliminated PDAs that people might be emailing with. I’ve brought strangers in to change the dynamic. I’ve removed people from my team entirely. And yes, I have in fact started meetings with five minutes of group hypnosis.

What is the key? Banging a shoe on the table and saying, c’mon people …