1. Determine the purpose. People are quick to judge something
as stupid if it wastes their time. Holding a Friday afternoon
meeting every Friday because it’s Friday is stupid. Having a
clear purpose for the meeting that contributes to everyone’s
success is smart.
2. Consider alternatives to meetings. Can the purpose be
accomplished equally well through a less time-consuming method
such as email, Twitter, Facebook or through audio or video
conferencing? If the purpose is simply to keep everyone
informed, maybe so. If it’s to discuss a complicated matter,
generate enthusiasm for a new plan, or brainstorm solutions to a
problem, maybe not. The bottom line is not to hold meetings just
for the sake of holding meetings. It will drive your productive
people crazy.
3. Create an agenda. Be sure to identify who, what, and when.
In other words, each item on the agenda should describe who’s
responsible for presenting the issue, what they expect to
accomplish (decision, solution, information dissemination, etc.),
and how long they expect to take (e.g., 2:00pm-2:15pm).
4. Start on time. How often have you arrived at a meeting at
the scheduled time only to have it start fifteen minutes late?
The problem with starting meetings late is that they then tend to
run late. It also insults the people who made an effort to get
there on time and rewards the people who got there late. Finally,
it teaches those who are concerned about their time to arrive
late on purpose. If you want your meetings to start on time,
start them on time, even if people are missing. As people learn
that a 2:00PM meeting really starts at 2:00PM, they will begin to
get there on time. Either way, proceed whether they are there or
not.
5. End on time. How often have you attended a meeting that was
scheduled to end at 3:00PM only to have it drag on to 4:00PM or
5:00PM or later? There is only one reason meetings don’t end on
time: they don’t end on time. If you want your meetings to end on
time, end them on time. If you stick to the ending time, a magic
thing will begin to occur. As the ending time approaches, people
start talking faster. They come to the point quicker and they
digress less. It follows the famous Parkinson’s Law, which says,
“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
6. Stick to the agenda. This will help keep the meeting from
getting off track.
7. Assign responsibilities. People like to know what they are
responsible for. If a meeting ends and there is not clarity about
who’s going to do what by when, people will often assume it’s
someone else’s responsibility. When they’re asked later why they
didn’t produce, they will blame you for not clarifying that they
were supposed to do it.
8. Take notes and publish minutes with assigned
responsibilities clearly defined. That way, when the people get
the email with the minutes, they know what they’re supposed to
handle and they can act accordingly. Start every meeting by
reviewing who was supposed to do what and ask for their status
reports.
