Meetings —Energize Them for Peak Results

Q. Wasted meetings are driving us nuts. Many times they’re pointless: people come late, so we start late and finish late. They get off track and sometimes we’re not even sure what we’ve accomplished. How can we fix this? Bob F. (Team Leader)

A. It is fixable—but you’ve got three separate problems. First, the meetings are pointless. To correct this problem, circulate a written agenda with start and stop times for each topic before the meeting. If it’s not your meeting, and you don’t get an agenda, ask the meeting organizer for one. Let those who’ll attend the meeting know that you need their feedback on the agenda before the meeting so you can adjust it and meet their needs. Otherwise, the agenda stays as is, and people can’t change it without group discussion at the meeting.

Next, some people are always late—for almost everything in their lives. When we wait for them, we’re really punishing the people who arrive on time, and we actually discourage promptness. If I’m prompt, and I know you’re going to start the meeting 10 minutes late to accommodate late-comers, I’ll probably start coming 10 minutes after the announced meeting time. I can get a lot done in 10 minutes.

Tell the team about your concerns, and ask for their agreement to start meetings on time. (It’s rare that someone will say, “No, I like them to start late.”) Once you have that agreement, begin each meeting exactly on time. (One company that wanted to make a point about people arriving on time for meetings locked the door at the start of the meeting, and didn’t let anyone in. That solved the late-comer problem fast. (You’d better get everyone’s buy-in on this drastic step before you try it.)

Finally, have three people act as partners to run the meeting: a facilitator who develops the written agenda and circulates it before the meeting, then leads the meeting to make sure the meeting goals are met. Appoint a scribe, who takes notes to summarize key ideas, writes each point on a flip chart for all to see, and asks for clarification if the point isn’t clear. (The scribe is also actively involved in the meeting as well, and doesn’t just sit in a corner and take notes.)

Today, some scribes even bring a laptop computer into the meeting. They summarize the key ideas, action steps, deliverables, and deadlines dates, then leave 10 minutes before the meeting ends to print out the summary, and immediately circulate copies before people leave. No more waiting two or three days for notes.

And be sure you appoint a timekeeper to help the group stay focused on the right topic, and announce benchmark times for starting and stopping the discussion. The timekeeper should also initiate “process checks”—asking participants if they’re satisfied with the progress of the meeting. (If one topic of the meeting seems to need longer discussion than planned, all members should agree to change the meeting schedule, so that topics scheduled for later in the meeting aren’t shortchanged.)

Consider these “Top Ten” guidelines for great meetings. You might want to post them in the meeting room, or attach them to each agenda circulated before the meeting. You can even put these guidelines on tent cards, placed near each participant.)

• Invite only those who can really contribute. People who are just sitting there listening can make better use of their time staying in their office and reading the meeting notes.

• Don’t set up meetings with fewer than five or more than 12 people. One to four people might better use a conference call.

• Publish a clear agenda before the meeting. Let participants help plan it and adjust it if necessary.

• Stay with the agenda, but allow time for discussion of open items. It’s better to leave the meeting early—with fewer items covered well—than to rush discussion just to squeeze in all the topics.

• Limit meetings to 50 minutes to allow people time to get to their next meeting.

• Watch the group for trouble spots, and bring them out into the open:

- People not participating

- Side discussions

- Not dealing with problems

•  When people become angry or frustrated over an issue, re-focus the discussion and get back to the facts.

•  Summarize the key points at the end, and get clear-cut agreement on actions: who, what, when. Circulate a summary immediately after the meeting.

• Get consensus on decisions. Don’t let people with strong personalities bulldoze others with their ideas.

• Encourage everyone to list on the agenda questions they’d like answered at the meeting—and take personal responsibility for getting the answers.