Meetings! Where Minutes are Kept and Hours are Wasted. by:Laura Stack, MBA, CSP

A survey respondent told me, "Meetings are my big timewaster

. I have

literally spent entire days in meetings. I not only get nothing done at my

desk but also inherit additional work. I suppose if I could wish for one

thing it would fewer meetings. Hey, I can dream, can't I?"

Yes! Let's dream a little. Wouldn't it be nice to have a pass that says,

"Get Out of a Meeting Free"? Here are some ideas for making your meetings

more productive:

Consider the timing. If you're someone with the ability to call a meeting

during a certain time, seriously consider the best time to hold it.

Corporate America has trained most people to be "morning people." Our

natural energy cycles cause us to be "up" or have "prime" time first thing

in the morning. Unfortunately, many people insist on holding meetings at

that time. Some kinds of meetings are good during prime time, like those

involving brainstorming, problem solving, or strategic thinking. Routine

staff meetings, project updates, or information-only meetings should be held

during lulls in productivity. Similarly, a brainstorming session on Friday

afternoon at three o'clock will probably not yield the best results.

Establish a code of conduct for your department or organization. Without

a set of "rules" or "protocols" for holding meetings, people do their own

thing, creating unpredictability between different meetings. I just

facilitated a training session with a corporate division with 75 people.

Together, we created the following Code of Conduct, which will govern their

future meetings:

1. Meetings are only allowed 9-4 Monday through Thursday and 9-1 on Friday.

2. An agenda, along with any pre-work, is required 72 hours in advance of

the meeting, clearly outlining the objective of the meeting. If a purpose

can't be defined, cancel the meeting. Outline the time requirement for each

item on the agenda and the responsible person.

3. If meeting is not within these guidelines, each attendee has ability to

question the meeting.

4. Be sensitive to time constraints and deadlines of other departments.

Match the importance and complexity of the issue to the length of the

meeting.

5. Meetings should only be 50 minutes (rather than one hour) or end ten

minutes before the top of the hour, so attendees can make the next meeting

that begins at the top of the hour.

6. Meetings will start and stop on time, unless all in attendance agree to

extend the time. Try to finish early if possible; don't stretch the meeting.

Attendees may get up and leave at the stated end time. You can ask the

previous group to leave if you have the conference room reserved.

7. Use the meeting for items requiring dialogue, decisions, or team building

only, not informational items.

8. If the meeting is canceled or the room has changed, the leader is

responsible for calling all attendees to notify them of the change. If you

can't attend, you must notify the leader.

9. Put people in later time zones at the beginning of the agenda. Or if an

attendee's presence is only required for small portion of the meeting, let

that person speak first, and then leave.

10. Ensure that all invitees really need to be there.

11. You may send a delegate in your place, if the person is capable of

making decisions and can sign off or take away an action item. Let the

leader know you're sending someone.

12. Come prepared and read advance materials. Bring your own copies of any

documents. If you will not be adequately prepared, notify the leader.

13. If the leader or key decision maker no-shows, attendees may leave after

10 minutes.

14. Use a timekeeper (appointed by the leader) to keep the meeting on target

and follow the agenda. Don't limit meaningful conversation.

15. Eliminate any discussion that involves only two people.

16. Appoint a scribe for the meeting. When something comes up that's not on

the agenda, the scribe records it on an easel pad labeled "parking lot." The

scribe also creates "one minute" minutes during the meeting (a list of who

is responsible for/what/by when).

17. Don't stop meetings to bring latecomers up to date, except in the case

of emergency.

18. During the meeting, respond to emergency "911" pages only. If you must

take a call, step out of the meeting room.

Get your group together and facilitate (or have someone else facilitate)

a discussion and create a similar code of conduct. Reportedly, these rules

have greatly reduced miscommunications and improved meeting productivity!

Lastly, try to reduce the time you spend in unimportant meetings. Can you

send an alternate? Can you call the meeting chair and ask to report first,

and then explain that you have another meeting on its heels and you need to

depart in a timely manner? Can someone tape record the meeting for you to

listen to in your car?

Here's to the meeting revolution---where minutes aren't taken and hours aren't wasted!

Make it a productive day!

About the author

Laura M. Stack, MBA, CSP, is "The Productivity Pro" and

the author of Leave the Office Earlier. She presents keynotes and seminars

on time management, information overload, and personal productivity. Contact

her at 303-471-7401 or Laura@TheProductivityPro.com.

TheProductivityPro.com

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