Blog #21: IBP Theatre: The Most Dangerous Meeting

Have you attended an IBP Management Business Review that seemed to run well? I did recently.

The deck was tight. Only 40% of the meeting focused on looking backward – yes, we actually measured it. The refreshed set of KPIs generated good discussion. The trajectory showed we'd meet or exceed our sales targets whilst reducing inventory and maintaining DIFOT.

By every metric, this IBP cycle – only a few months old – was working well.

Yet something felt – off.

Not overtly wrong. Just... flat. Like everyone was going through the motions.

Maybe anticipating this, before we kicked off, I did something I don't usually do. I looked around the room – everyone had arrived and opened their laptops – and I asked them directly:

"Are you all actually going to be present for this? If you have your laptops open, I assume you are doing that only for the purpose of taking notes. That includes you," gesturing to the CEO and CFO. That took some bravery.

There was a moment. A slight hesitation. Then 5 out of 6 laptops clicked shut.

After that, the meeting ran well. Everyone played their part. Everyone said it was good.

And then they all scattered. Back to their "real" work.

The end.

But…

Something was nagging me. Despite all the indications we were on track for attaining everything we expected, and people shutting their laptops to focus on the topic at hand, I was troubled that something was missing. It felt like we were going through the motions. It dawned on me – had we just performed IBP theatre?

The Difference Between Attendance and Presence

Here's a question worth asking: How many people in your IBP meeting are there but not really present?

Perhaps there's:

• Laptops open "for reference"

• Quick glances at phones

• That slightly distant look when someone else is presenting

• The speed at which everyone exits

They attended. They even participated. But they weren't fully engaged.

IBP theatre happens when meetings become reporting sessions rather than decision forums. When nothing really hangs in the balance, people's attention drifts. Not because they're unprofessional – because humans engage with things that matter and mentally check out of things that don't.

You know real presence when you see it. People lean forward. Questions get sharper. Debate emerges. Meetings don't end with relief – they end with energy.

Compare this meeting to the last genuinely important conversation you had with your leadership team. Nobody had their laptop open then, did they?

A Test

If you're not sure whether you're running IBP or performing it, here's a simple test:

If you'd cancelled last month's meeting at the last minute, what actual decisions would have been delayed?

If the honest answer is "none", you know what you're dealing with.

The most dangerous IBP meeting isn't the trainwreck – those get fixed. It's the one that runs smoothly, looks professional, ticks all the boxes... and changes absolutely nothing about how the business operates.

Theatre dressed up as "good process" is how IBP dies quietly, meeting by meeting.

In your last IBP meeting, how many people were actually present?

Want to discuss how to transform S&OP theatre into genuine decision-making? Find me at www.planninglab.co.nz

#IBP #S&OP #BusinessPlanning #SupplyChain #Leadership