When people come to your meetings, do they say "this is a meeting I never miss" ( MINM) or do they say "this is just another meeting." (JAM) Unproductive meetings gobble up an estimated 20% of corporate payrolls, throwing away $420 billion a year. American business people engage in an estimated 11 million meetings every workday. The average American executive spends 17 hours a week in meetings and more than 6 hours preparing. At an average salary of $45,000, more than $18,000 per executive is spent in meetings. Before you call another meeting, ask yourself:
·what's
outcome I want from this meeting? The more people know what "deliverables" should come from
meeting,
more focus you can bring to
conversations.
·is there a more effective way of getting
results without a meeting?
·who REALLY needs to be involved?
·when is
optimum time to have it and what time limit shall I set?
Sounds silly, but agendas make a huge difference. And forget 'old business". Who ever got excited about starting a meeting with "old business"! If it has relevancy to current situations, it is not "old"-it is pressing business.
The skills of running an effective meeting can easily be learned. These skills involve gatekeeping (i.e. making sure that one person does not monopolize
meeting), summarizing
points, calling for a decisions, establishing protocols, and keeping discussion on track.