Do you announce a meeting and find either no one shows up on time, they come with their own agenda, or meeting goes on and on? If this is true in your case, then worry no more.

Here are six steps to help you develop successful meetings:

1. Establish a realistic and specific objective. Ask yourself, "What do I want to accomplish?" or "Why am I calling people together at this time?"

Do I want:

* to solve problem(s). * to inform. * to gain feedback. * to orient. * to motivate. * to reward. * to buy. * to sell.

Then decide best mode to accomplish your objective. Ask yourself which best suits your needs:

* a conference with a panel(s) of speakers? * a half-day workshop? Or a full-day seminar? * a staff meeting that includes your immediate staff? * a staff meeting that includes your department or division? * a staff meeting that includes everyone from all levels of entire organization?

2. Create a well-developed agenda. Review your agenda before announcing your meeting. Make sure it avoids:

* spending too much time on details technical subjects. (It puts people to sleep and does not communicate with them.)

* failing to specify starting and ending times. (Employees need to know when to be there, when it is expected to start, and when it is expected to be finished so that they can reschedule their other duties and responsibilities.)

* adding irrelevant topics. (Doing so only lengthens meeting time and serves to anger people or put them to sleep.)

* having speakers or presenters who are known to ramble. (One of surest ways to put your audience to sleep is to have a boring meeting with speakers or presenters who talk on and on. This is especially true in cases where agenda covers technical or scientific material.)

* crowding agenda with too many subjects. (It is better to have a question and answer period during meeting than to try to cover everything.