Mastering Meetings

1. What one thing could you do, that if you did it at every meeting, would take your meetings to the next level?
2. How much time a week are you spending in meetings? How much time are you asking of others for meetings?
3. Are you contributing usefully to the meetings you attend? (Beware of too much talking or none at all.)
4. What have you committed to at previous meetings that remains undone?

In great meetings. People don't feel like prisoners in meetings. They know why they are meeting. They know who
needs to be there. And they know what happens afterwards. Too many companies miss out on the impact of
great meetings because they don't know why they are meeting.

The only reason to have a meeting is to generate a result.

It starts with increasing your awareness.
With increased awareness comes better choices.
And with better choices come better results.

Here are some tips in meetings that will help you increase awareness, make informed choices and realize better
results.

Choose not to meet

Every meeting you don't have saves you time and credibility. Make sure that a meeting is the best way to
achieve what you need to do. Consider making a phone call or sending an email instead. People are
more likely to attend your meetings when they know that they are important.

Know why you are meeting

A meeting without a clear goal accomplishes little. Be clear on what you want to achieve and let people know
beforehand. Tell your team that you are meeting to receive progress updates, or to make a decision, or to assign
accountabilities. Write down the meeting goal on the agenda and in the invites.

Invite the right people

People should only be at the meeting if they are going to give value or get value. If you can't get the right people
to your meeting then postpone it. Resist the urge to invite people who might be interested. Provide them with
minutes afterwards.

Stick to the plan

Write out your agenda and send it out 2 days in advance. Then follow the agenda. When people go off track
gently remind them of the goal of the meeting. If an important topic comes up then set up a meeting for that
topic.

Write it down
Take minutes at your meetings. Then send them out as soon as possible. Include action steps in your minutes.

Do what you say you will do

Good meetings will increase your awareness. Great meetings lead to better choices that people act on. It's only
when people make those choices and actions that you get results. Identify who will do what and by when. And
then review these action steps at the end of the meeting and in the minutes. If most of your meetings end
without people making commitments to act, then you may be having too many unnecessary meetings.