Check your cellphone at the door!

GUEST OPINION

Imagine being part of “Operation Midnight Hammer,” the much-acclaimed joint U.S. Air Force and Navy air strike which obliterated Iran’s nuclear bomb-making facilities a half a world away.

B-2 Stealth bombers flew directly from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri — 18 hours non-stop and undetected — to drop our unique “bunker-buster bombs” on Iran’s Fordow nuclear operations deeply embedded underground. Meanwhile the Navy fired Tomahawk missiles from under the sea to help polish off the other two key sites — Natanz and Eshafan. That takes detailed planning, precise execution and down-tothe second timing. It takes airtight, leak-proof security.

Now can you envision a B-2 pilot flying to Iran taking a cellphone call from “his old pal, Jocko, telling him Sally broke up with Joey and now wants to date him?”

Our military does not tolerate cellphone distraction whether they are texts or calls. They are toxic and could compromise missions and cost lives. So, why should those in business?

In the April issue of Fortune, a frustrated JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon addressed what experts say has been a workforce elephant in the room: cellphones. “I see people in meetings all the time who are getting notifications and personal texts or who are reading emails,” Dimon wrote in his annual letter to shareholders. “This must stop. It is disrespectful. It wastes time.”

Dimon is no fan of meetings but says they are necessary and those attending must make them productive by focusing, engaging and not texting on cellphones or tablets. He is increasingly frustrated with the number of employees viewing meetings not as a time to 100% focus on the topic at hand — but to multitask.

TalentSmart’s Dr. Travis Bradberry believes: “There’s nothing worse than whipping out your smartphone during a meeting, and few things will turn someone off to you quite like a mid-conversation text message or even a quick glance at your phone.”

It shows a lack of respect, listening and social and self-awareness.

Gary Rich, founder of executive coaching firm Rich Leadership, told Fortune: “When people are multitasking during a meeting, the distraction creates a ripple effect — the speaker feels disrespected, other attendees lose motivation and the meeting becomes less productive.”

During my 25 years at the Association of Washington Business, we saw cellphones grow from useful modern technology to annoying distractions.

Some complained about too many staff meetings. We agreed and whittled the schedule to quarterly gatherings focused on things people needed to know. For example, our cellphone policy.

We published advance agendas and started at promptly at 8:00 a.m. and ended by 9:30 a.m. When staff members entered the room, they turned off their phones and left them at the door. If there was an emergency, the switchboard could find the person; however, “IT BETTER BE AN EMERGENCY!”

Cellphone abuse was not just a staff issue; at times, we saw the volunteers chairing meetings with their cellphone under the table answering e-mails or texting. When one got busted the response was, “I just thought folks would like to know there is white smoke coming out of the Sistine Chapel Chimney and there is a new pope!”

Texting at large conferences is especially distracting. Frank Luntz, the pioneer of an “Instant Response” focus-group technique that lets him understand not just what people think but why, would patrol the meeting room and pounce when he saw texting during his presentations.

While workers are tempted to incessantly

Cellphone calls and texts are valuable tools if used properly; however, bans during meetings work for our military and beginning to take hold in our schools’ classrooms.

It is about time for businesses to get on the bandwagon!

DON C. BRUNELL IS A BUSINESS ANALYST, WRITER, AND COLUMNIST. HE IS A FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON BUSINESS, THE STATE’S OLDEST AND LARGEST BUSINESS ORGANIZATION, AND LIVES IN VANCOUVER. CONTACT THEBRUNELLS@ MSN.COM.