Managing Meetings

Plan/prepare - lack of purpose causes aimless meetings. Know why you're there - what the meeting is for.

Unnecessary meetings waste time, and regular meetings, e.g. weekly, become habitual/traditional, regardless of need. Only have meetings when necessary, and cancel when not.

Set agendas which are more than a list of headings without explanation. Each agenda item can have only three reasons for inclusion - to discuss, decide, or inform. Adding short descriptions of items can help people prepare and decide attendance.

Choose an appropriate order. Most important first encourages punctuality. Leave less important items to the end - if necessary they can be postponed/abandoned. Putting them last discourages taking too much time on them.

Attendance needs managing - absence can cause delays, and lead to fruitless discussion. Check important people are attending, and make judgement calls to cancel/reschedule if not. Consider phoning for input during meetings if people can't physically attend, or get briefed beforehand.

Poor timekeeping is rude, disrespectful and a waste of time. If not dealt with, it becomes acceptable, and things usually get worse. Very few meetings have an end-time. Why? Try to give an end-time - it allows people to plan adequately. Otherwise people assume meetings will always be an hour.

Too many people are hard to control - discussions take longer! If people are only needed for some items, let them leave after them, saving everyone's time.

Unhelpful behaviour needs controlling. People digress, ramble, don't pay attention, argue pointlessly, interrupt, even fall asleep! You owe it to others to take action. Be assertive - ask people politely to behave. If necessary, take a break for 5-10 minutes, and during it, take people to one side and privately deal with the problem - ask them to be more considerate.

Tackle past problems head-on - take a few minutes at the beginning of a meeting to lay down some ground rules, or have a private word with difficult people.

Poor chairmanship/control of meetings causes problems. Mischievous or bad-mannered people will misbehave if allowed - it's human nature. If the leader doesn't control things properly, step in. You risk undermining their authority, but they might be grateful for help/support. In any event, your time is at stake!

Action required post-meeting is often unclear. Mixed messages mean several people duplicating time and effort, or things left undone. Be clear about who is doing what, by when, otherwise, the next meeting can be pointless. Be clear - set objectives. Taking minutes, typing them up, and distributing them can be an unnecessary ritual. Only take minutes if necessary.

Learn from your mistakes. If you attend fruitless or badly-managed meetings, make apologies in future.

Recommended action:

· Don't suffer in silence, take action.

· Be ruthless with your time. Don't attend unnecessary meetings out of politeness.

· You may have to make waves or undermine a meeting chairperson to improve things. Think of the long-term benefits.

Julie-Ann Amos is a professional writer and business consultant. For more information, visit http://www.hackingreality.com

---

Get Over Yourself

Let me tell you a secret.Things don't always go the... Read More

Business Fit

I have been an entrepreneur for over twenty years and... Read More

Employee Motivation: Make Everyone A Cheerleader For Your Company

Do you manage by walking around? What do you see?... Read More

Hold Your Applause!

It's amazing what you can accomplish if you don't care... Read More

Culture Management and Creativity

Many concepts in the fields of managing creativity are very... Read More

How To Get 10% More Work Out Of Your Employees

It is getting harder to run a business for a... Read More

Managing Employees Is A Little Like Herding Cats

Q: I started my small business about a year ago... Read More

Innovation Management ? Measuring Failure!

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Increasing the Return on Your Training Investment

Insightful leaders and organizations recognize that training is a valuable... Read More

Downsizing in Organisations - The Real Truth

I've met and worked with many people in all sectors... Read More

A Management Strategy

I witnessed some interesting behaviour from one of our premier... Read More

Key Control ? Who Has the Keys to Your Kingdom?

Key control, or more accurately the lack of key control... Read More

Sharing the Reins: 10 Reasons To Sell Your Company To Your Employees

In 1987 I sold my business, South Mountain Company, to... Read More

Protect Your Computer System with a Comprehensive Security Policy

The most difficult part of creating a Security Policy for... Read More

Knowledge Management - Leadership Behaviours Which Encourage Knowledge-Sharing

The concept of knowledge management or knowledge sharing makes intellectual... Read More

Conference Calling Can Save Your Sales OrganizationTime and Money!

Conference calling can save you money. There is no doubt... Read More

The Crisis of Modernity

Since the beginning of the industrial era our world has... Read More

How to Reject a Job Applicant

A Nightmare That Really HappenedOver 10 years ago, when I... Read More

Managing Yo-Yo Style

Does being managed by others smack more of "Survivor" than... Read More

Dialogue: the Four Dialogic Principles For Successful Communication

"But you don't understand!" exclaimed the manager, "this new initiative... Read More

Prepare A Winning CV

There is every chance that elements of this article may... Read More

Print Buying Consultant

Ten Money Saving Tips for Print ManagersDespite their stated desire... Read More

You Cant Not Communicate

Most of us would like to be better communicators. As... Read More

Managing Performance: Don?t Let Slackers Bring Down Your ?A? Players

As a manager, it is your job to ensure that... Read More

Innovation Management ? IBM Opens Lid On Its Treasure Chest

IBM, which registered 3248 patents last year, has decided that... Read More

Performance Expectations - 5 Tips and 5 Questions

People want to understand their role - they want to... Read More

Can You Sleep While The Wind Blows?

Let me repeat a story I heard many years ago... Read More

Get Out Of The Stone Age: Give Leadership Talks

160 years ago, the newly invented electric telegraph carried the... Read More

How To Delegate for Fun and Profit

Ah, the wretched pain of delegation. It comes easy to... Read More

The Boss Didn?t Understand Why His Staff Wasn?t Reading His Mind

Many people believe that everyone sees the world exactly the... Read More

Can What Someone Does Off-hours Affect Your Business?

Q: How much do I have to worry about what... Read More

Developing Your Management Style

One thing a lot of us don't do in sales... Read More

6 Ways to Keep Things Simple

Six Ways to Keep Things Simple We can have greater... Read More