When I fist began to ‘go to meetings’ as a young consultant at Booz, Allen and Hamilton (back in the days when Hamilton got equal billing), senior executives would stroll in with a cup of coffee and the conference room banter centered around sports, some current event, a recent company win or the latest juicy office gossip.  Now it seems, everywhere I go, the first thing people do is lay their mobile phones on the table as if they were Rooster Cogburn slamming his revolver on the bar!

More recently, this cell phone ritual is followed by a discussion of the ‘app gap.’  What’s an ‘app gap’ you ask?  It’s the inevitable comparison of mobile phone apps you have running on your phone versus the next poor soul that may be missing the latest, coolest app.  Whether its freebies like Fireplace, WhiteNoise or McSolitaire or silly apps likeAngry Birds (my kids love this one) or productivity apps that can actually make your life easier, everyone is comparing apps at the beginning of a meeting!

A few years ago, we added a ‘stand-up’ conference room to keep folks from getting too comfortable during meetings.  It worked great for scrums and quick huddles on time sensitive issues and that was just what it was designed for.  Now we have to come up with something that will help shrink the ‘app gap’ and get everyone back to work!

Any ideas?  By the way, I still love my Dunkin Donuts locater app!