“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.”
Thomas Sowell
By Keyan Zandy
1. State the meeting’s objective. At the top of your meeting agenda, state the objective. The objective should answer what we’re there to discuss, what solutions we’re intending to deliver, and what decisions we’re going to make. This helps to narrow the focus of the meeting.
2. Allocate time for each agenda topic. Breaking up the meeting’s objective into agenda items will allow you to divvy up the time of the meeting, allowing a set number of minutes for each agenda item. The meeting is unlikely to over-run because it has been outlined for efficiency, and everyone is clear how long they have for each item.
3. Assign a time-keeper, note-taker, and facilitator. If you want to honor the clock, you’ll need someone to be responsible for that. The time-keeper tracks the allocated time, and documents the actual time used. The note-taker is responsible for capturing action items and meeting notes and the facilitator is in charge of managing the entire process.
4. Start on time, finish on time. Don’t wait for stragglers – start on time. Once people learn that you don’t wait for them, they’ll make extra effort to be there on-time. Respect everyone’s time by keeping to your schedule and not allowing ancillary items or conversations to derail your meeting.
5. Differentiate meeting notes -vs- action items. “Who said what” is different from “who needs to do what by when” – you’ll want your note-taker to separately track both so the difference is clear and action items aren’t lost.
6. Assign responsibilities and a due date for action items. Things that need to be taken care of, answered, learned, or followed up on should be assigned to specific people. Document these action items with the name of the responsible party. As each one is identified, clarify and indicate the expected delivery date.
7. Articulate the next meeting’s objective. When wrapping up this meeting, set your plan for the next one. Articulate the objective now, with everyone in the room so you’re in agreement and expectations are managed.
8. Establish the time, date, facilitator, note-taker, and time-keeper for the next meeting. The more work you do here to set things in stone for your next meeting, the easier it will be for everyone. Rotate the roles so you have different people managing different parts at each meeting. This also helps to build empathy for the roles within the team.
9. Perform a quick Plus/Delta evaluation on the meeting. Take a minute or less at the end to perform a Plus/Delta. Plus = what was good; Delta = what needs to change/be done better. Ask: did we stay on track? Start/finish on-time? Did we meet our objective? Did we clarify next steps? Did everyone participate? Was this time well spent? What can we do to improve this process for the next meeting? Note the Plus/Deltas in the meeting minutes.
10. Complete the meeting notes live, and send them immediately afterwards. Because you’ve captured meeting minutes, notes, and action items as they happened, the final document is ready to distribute at the conclusion of the meeting. Your attendees will receive the minutes while the meeting is still fresh and action items are clearly defined. Everyone is aware of the next meeting date and objective and who needs to accomplish what in advance of said meeting.
Source Intuit
Tips for Running Effective Meetings
• Email an agenda 24 hours in advance
• Arrive 5 minutes early
• Start and end on time
• Come prepared
• Stay on topic
• Be brief and concise
• No side conversations
• No smartphones
• Everyone participates
• Silence = agreement
Meetings by the Numbers
25 million meetings take place in corporate America daily
47% of workers state “Too many meetings as the number one time-waster
45% of senior executives believe their employees would be more productive if their organizations banned meetings for a least one day a week.
11 minutes is the average amount of time it takes for people’s attention to drift in a meeting.
Additional Reading
Bad Meetings Happen to Good People: How to Run Meetings That Are Effective, Focused, and Produce Results by Leigh Espy
HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter by Harvard Business Review
Points of Reflection
“Meetings move at the speed of the slowest mind in the room.”
Dale Dauton
“Get the right people on the bus and in the right seat.”
Jim Collins