Philosophy 101

Meetings take up a lot of the typical manager’s time. “The average number of meetings more than doubled in the second half of the 20th Century and time spent in them just keeps growing” (Management-Issues.com, 2007). Not only that, meetings often waste resources, as employees could be using the time they spend in meetings toward more productive ends: “Unnecessary or unproductive meetings have been calculated to cost managers 10 per cent of their time – 24 work days a year, while a study by Microsoft in 2004 suggested that unnecessary meetings are the number one drain on the productivity of small businesses” (Management-Issues.com, 2007). All the more reason to implement some strategies to keep meetings as short and as productive as possible with these few tips.

1. Avoid meetings if possible. Ask yourself: Is a meeting the best way to accomplish your goal(s)? If you need to disseminate information or make announcements, could you do it in a memo? If you need other people’s input, would an email brainstorming discussion or a quick stop at their desk also work? Keeping the number of meetings to a minimum will make the meetings you do hold more valuable. Less is more.
2. Rethink your use of meetings. What is best use of your meeting time? You don’t need to have a meeting for status reports, presentations and announcements; people can read those in emails, memos and newsletters. You need a meeting to engage with people. So, send your monthly sales report, the new product marketing presentation, or process improvement plan to attendants beforehand; use the meeting for feedback, Q&A or to hatch new ideas.
3. Set a time limit. Set the duration of your meeting to 50 minutes. The prospect of a short meeting will decrease attendants’ resistance toward the meeting and more willing to participate, which in turn will lead to things getting done faster. Schedule a break at the 25-minute mark to let people recharge. If your meetings normally last longer than 50 minutes, it might seem challenging to cut down on the time, but keep trying.
4. Pick a meeting leader. Assign one person the responsibility to run the meeting. Preferably, this should be someone who is not afraid to keep people on track and cut off ramblers.
5. Use a timer. To keep people on topic and on track, use a visible timer, such as an alarm clock, an hour glass or a timer on your computer projected onto a screen for all to see.
6. Have an agenda. Set a deadline for people to get their items on the agenda. Organize it in terms of priority with the most important items first. Distribute the agenda prior to the meeting.
7. Be prepared. Prime the pump by giving your attendees relevant reading materials, such as reports, data, charts, meeting notes and even a list of key discussion points, before the meeting.
8. Turn off distractions. To keep people focused on the meeting, ask them to either turn off their cell phones, Blackberries, laptops and other electronic devices, better yet, leave them at their desks.
9. Take minutes. Minutes serve as a record and a reference for what decisions were made and what actions were assigned to whom. They also help you avoid having to rehash things that you’ve already gone over at a previous meeting. Make sure to distribute the minutes to all attendants as well as people who should know what went on.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 6:36 pm and is filed under Management, Psychology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.