Effective Meetings BENWOLLMAN By:

TODAYSAGENDA Beginner’s Training Session Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings What Are The Solutions? Salvation Summary Expert’s Training Session Apply What Has Been Learned Question & Answers

BEGINER’S TRAINING SESSION…

THE SEVEN SINS OF DEADLYMEETINGS

SINONE: People don’t take meetings seriously Solution: Adopt a mindset among all participants that meetings are real work You have to make your meetings ‘uptime’ rather than ‘downtime’ Example: Put a poster on the wall of every Conference Room with a series of simple questions about the meetings to act as a visual reminder: Do you know the purpose of this meeting? Do you have an agenda? Do you know your role? Do you follow the rules for good minutes?

SINTWO: Meetings are too long Solution: Time is money Track the cost of your meetings by salaries of meeting participants Meetings should last no longer than 90 minutes Increase productivity Help generate more ideas and decisions per minute Wait your turn to speak

SINTHREE: People wander off topic Solution: Get serious about agendas and stick to them The agenda should list: Key topics Who will lead which parts of the discussion How long each segment will take What the expected outcomes are Circulate the agenda several days before a meeting to let participants react to and modify it Specify the meeting’s decision-making style Authoritative – leader has full responsibility Consultative – the leader makes decision after weighing group input Voting Consensus Keep meetings focused without stifling creativity or insulting participants who stray

SINFOUR: Nothing happens once the meeting ends Solution: Convert from “meeting” to “doing” People leave meetings with different views of what happened and what's supposed to happen next Focus on the creation of shared documents that lead to action Comments, questions, criticisms, insights should enhance the quality of the document and create a universal understanding

SINFIVE: People don’t tell the truth Solution: The leader of the meeting needs to solicit participation Influence people to speak their minds Eliminate dominate personalities that intimidate the rest of the group Promote security to enable people to say what they really think and not lack trust

SINSIX: Meetings are always missing important information Solution: Get data, not just furniture, into meeting rooms Create a “self-contained information network” to make critical decisions Computer and technology services and capabilities Allow space in your meeting rooms for teams to store and place materials

SINSSEVEN: Meetings never improve Solution: Practice makes perfect You get better only if you commit to it, so aim high Designate someone to serve as an “observer” and create a list of what went right and wrong and include in the meeting minutes Use the list to create an agenda for change Meetings aren’t just about work, they’re about fun Create an environment of team collaboration where people free each other up to think more creatively

SALVATION #1 Adopt a mind-set that meetings are real work. #2 Time is money, meetings should last no longer than 90 minutes. #3 Get serious about agendas and store distraction in the “parking lot.” #4 Convert from “meeting” to “doing” and focus on common documents. #5 Solicit participation and eliminate secrecy. #6 Get data, not just furniture, into meeting rooms. #7 Practice makes perfect, monitor what works and what doesn’t and hold people accountable.

EXPERT’S TRAINING SESSION

Questions? THANK YOU!