Meeting Magic

How many useless meetings have you attended? And how many have you been in charge of? Whether the meeting is a team status review, sales pitch, or interview, following a structured approach can make an appreciable difference. Consider this framework:

• Define the purpose of the meeting: Before you even consider scheduling, define for yourself what the best outcome of the meeting will be. "The meeting will be successful if we ___________ ". At the end of the meeting, you can double check to see if the objective is met.
• Plan the agenda (and distribute it). If participants understand how the meeting will be played out, they will be better able to prepare. Furthermore, developing the agenda based on the meeting purpose helps determine who should be invited.
• Invite the right people. No one will show up unless they are invited. If the purpose of the meeting is to make a decision, then the decision-makers must be in the room.
• Give Pre-work. Asking people to prepare - or at least review work that you have prepared - will mean that everyone hits the ground running.
• Start and end the meeting on time. Keeping to the schedule shows respect for people's time and priorities. If you're late for a job interview, you probably will not get the job. Why should our mutual expectations change once we're on the job?
• Set expectations and rules of order. Will the meeting be free-wheeling and informal, or be managed with Robert's Rules of Order?
• Facilitate professionally. Great facilitation ensures that everyone participates, that the agenda is addressed, and that the meeting objectives are met.
• Take minutes and note action-items. If you think that minutes are not required, maybe the meeting isn't either? Minutes document the discussions, decisions, and resulting action items.
• Follow-up. Check with people just after the meeting to make sure they have what they need to move forward. Then circle back later to check status on their action-items.

While this framework is designed for regular business meetings, with some minor adjustments it also works for job interviews and performance reviews.

This week's action item: Look in your calendar, and commit to incorporating at least some of these items into your next meeting. If it isn't your meeting, reach out to the organizer, and make some suggestions: why not ask for the agenda or volunteer to take minutes? Or better yet, point them to this Tipsheet, and make some meeting magic.

Make It Happen Tipsheet
Comments or questions?
Let us know: editor@ptadvisors.com

Copyright © 2007 Knowledge to Action Press and Randall Craig. All rights reserved.

Publication Date: August 14, 2007