Before starting the EOS Process with prospective clients, I ask them to rate the effectiveness of their meetings on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 is great). Over the last 5 years I have asked that question of over two hundred leaders. On average, they rated their meetings a 4.7 - Not great. There's nothing like a number to cut to the chase and quickly assess how we're doing.

I found a new way to help teams reach significant breakthroughs in a recent session, and it relates to my essay on “Fear Junction”. This was a story I told in one of my newsletters about the electrician who told the fable – not of a real electrical switch box – but of a real and personal daily decision point – where we must choose to be open, candid and honest – or miss the chance to do so.

George Perles, the head football coach of the Michigan State Spartans from 1983 to 1994, delivered a powerful message years ago. He shared a mantra from his days as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers during their heyday in the 1970s. He said, “We made every decision like we were going to the Super Bowl,” and they ended up winning the Super Bowl four times.

The shortcomings of email communication is not the only point of this post. It is the subject of a short video, entitled Why Email Starts Fights, from Ed Muzio, the CEO of Group Harmonics, which you can view it its entirety here. The video is co-produced by CBS Interactive/BNET.