The Best Way to Keep Track of Meetings

How should you keep track of meetings?

Have you ever wanted to run away from a meeting? I worked for one of the top five companies in the US and they seemed to hold meetings to plan meetings. It absolutely drove me around the bend! I would try and multi-task like all the other participants and secretly hoped they would not call on me for any information. In the long run, I did not get any value out of these meetings and my work was being ignored. I had to keep track of the meetings and place action items in my calendar so I would remember what the heck it was they wanted. In simple terms, my attitude absolutely stunk!

When it was my turn to run the meeting, I decided to make changes. I planned what we should discuss and not just get updates from everyone. The meeting changed from keeping us up-to-date to one with meaning and relevant issues. Once this happened, there was more of a necessity to record the minutes and track the meeting progress. Meetings are a crucial part of running a company and winning clients. Client meetings should run smoothly and not be time wasters. You need to get to the point and move on.

Keeping track of meetings and agendas only required the use of tables in a word processing program, or the use of an excel spreadsheet. This allowed the use of check marks to identify those action items that were completed. A list of outstanding issues yet to be resolved was easy to spot and did not require retyping everything. Tracking action items for customers should be done in the same simple manner. Customers expect to have their items taken care of ASAP. If you do not take the time to record the information, it is not likely you will remember what it is they wanted.

The aim of this process is to service the customer and to keep you on track. Milestones, action items, and other events will likely keep you busy. Do not fall down on the job and forget what it is you were supposed to do.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

---

Building Trust in Your Business Relationships - 10 Steps

There are some simple things you can do with your... Read More

Pitching to Employees

The senior flight attendant on the WestJet flight was starting... Read More

Regaining Control - Nine Steps for New Managers

My client had faced the same challenge, which was frustrating... Read More

What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate

Today's successful organizations are the ones which carry on open... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Providing Career Opportunity

This article relates to the Career Opportunity competency, commonly evaluated... Read More

You?re Hired, Now Go Home: Managing Workers at a Distance

Telecommuting or virtual work opens up a wider net of... Read More

Problems with Group Decision Making

DECISION BY AUTHORITY RULE: Many groups start out with-or quickly... Read More

Crisis Management Essentials - How to Communicate Effectively During a Crisis, Emergency or Disaster

A crisis, emergency or disaster can happen at anytime and... Read More

Group Discussion Guidelines

DISCUSSION METHODS: There are two basic types of discussion methods;... Read More

How to Get the Best from Outsourcing

There's a great little article ('Business Lifeforms') on... Read More

You Didnt Use Brainstorming to Select Your Measures, Did You?

IntroductionWhen Alex Osborn invented the creativity technique called brainstorming, I... Read More

Delegation Obstructions

OBSTRUCTIONS: 1. Staff deficiencies. Lack of confidence in employees quite... Read More

Performance Reviews That Actually Improve Performance

Employee performance reviews are one of the most dreaded tasks... Read More

Project Management - Preventing Project Slips

Can Project Managers prevent projects from slipping?Ask a techie to... Read More

Dont Get Caught With Your PR Down

Why risk the embarassment when with a little basic PR... Read More

Growing Profits is Easy!

Everyone involved in running a business from the smallest start-up... Read More

Implementing Change

There are different reactions that individuals experience during time of... Read More

It?s Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 2)

In part one of this article I told you about... Read More

Creativity Management ? Quality from Quantity

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

Unveiling the Value of Your Expertise

All of us have knowledge, expertise, and experience that others... Read More

Character: Is It Necessary In Leadership? (Part One)

We know character when we see it, but what exactly... Read More

Innovation Management ? the power of decision makers

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

Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines Part II

SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION PROCEDUREEvery complaint will be thoroughly investigated.... Read More

Give Yourself a Boss Day Gift, Part 2: Are You the Position or the Person?

Are you the position or the person?Bosses can lose their... Read More

Creativity Management - The Value of Being Prolific

When asked his secret to success, the author Graham Green... Read More

Reflections in the Glass Ceiling

The recent news about one of America's most powerful woman... Read More

The Power of ?Ask?

For Call Center managers, it is not a pipe dream... Read More

Having Your Phil

February 2nd, at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time on Gobbler's... Read More

Strategic Clarity for Communication Management

Over the past few weeks I've been developing plans for... Read More

Using the Six-Sigma Methodology to Improve Wafer Fab Productivity

As a result of consolidation of operations and significantly increased... Read More

Where Else in Your Business Do You Accept a 60% Failure Rate?

I recently surveyed CEOs and Business Leaders of large companies... Read More

Don?t Get Down ? Manage Up!

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is... Read More

Employee Motivation: It?s More Than A Paycheck

Managers often ask, usually with exasperation, "How can I keep... Read More