“The Secret to Great Meetings that Every Employee Should Know” was published in the UK. I didn’t want you to miss it! It’s includes some great advice.
Welcome to the Clarity Quiz! Which of the following is most essential to an effective meeting? An agenda On time start and finish Assigned roles (e.g., time keeper) Ground rules (e.g., cell phones off) Assigned action items None of the above Make your selection and then click “more” for the answer.
Uncommon Meetings – 7 Quick Tips for Better Results in Half the Time by Ann Latham is now available in print and ebook editions on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and Uncommon Clarity Store. Uncommon Meetings is short and powerful, just as every meeting should be. People who follow these seven tips will definitely get better results in half the time.How many total hours are you and your employees spending in meetings each month? What would it be worth to you if you could cut that time in half, dramatically improve the results, and reduce the number of attendees? Start saving that time and money now! Read this book today! “‘Uncommon Meetings’ is a must read for everyone in any organization, not just top management.” Al Kasper, President & COO, Savage Sports Corporation “To achieve your desired outcomes in less time and with fewer people, read this book! It has great tips and memorable examples for improving meetings and is concise and clear as well. All and all, a huge value for anyone who spends a lot of time in meetings as I do.” Simon Lingard, Director of R&D, Aspen Technology, Inc.
“You must have an agenda!” is a demand that has guaranteed nothing but a flood of atrocious agendas. Most agendas are literally recipes for wasting time: 8:00 Waste time on X 8:15 Waste time on Y You get the idea Now download these typical and seriously flawed agendas. Do they look like yours? Why more companies don’t do something to improve their meetings is way beyond me. I have met almost no one at any company who doesn’t complain about the time wasted in lousy meetings. Furthermore, I have never encountered a company that couldn’t slash the total time spent in meetings and realize huge gains in productivity. Can you think of a better opportunity to: Free up large quantities of valuable resources for more important, profitable work? While simultaneously pleasing shareholders from the Boardroom to the shipping dock?
Spending too much of your week in meetings? Tired of meetings that just lead to more meetings? Want to take back those meeting hours so you can do something else with your day or maybe even go home at a more reasonable hour? Then get this audio seminar, Meeting Mastery – How to Slash Meeting Times in Half and Get Better Results by master facilitator and performance improvement expert Ann Latham today! In this 45 minute audio seminar, you will learn: The six secrets to slashing meeting times in half and getting better results The three critical criteria for holding a meeting How to recognize meetings that should be eliminated Techniques that will make you a better meeting leader today How to recognize trouble on an agenda and intervene to minimize wasted time Available in both CD and MP3 download. Buy it today and start saving time and getting better results!
The most popular article on my website is 4 Reasons to Cancel that Meeting! but no one had ever contacted me about it until I got a call this week from someone in Baltimore. His meeting fit the bill so he cancelled it. Unfortunately, his actions were not well received! Why? Because it wasn’t really his meeting to cancel. Sure, he was responsible for the agenda. He scheduled the meeting. But he was not the true instigator. He was acting on behalf of someone with more authority and that was undoubtedly the person upset by the cancellation.
I am sure there are more good reasons to call a meeting than poor reasons. However, I think I have been to more meetings that happened for poor reasons. These include: We always meet on the 4th Tuesday of the month or first thing Monday mornings (meeting because it is time) We haven’t had a meeting in a long time (meeting because it is time) The boss formed this team so I guess we better have a meeting (meeting because we were told to) We need to tell people what is going on (meeting as a substitute for written communication) We need a meeting to figure out what we should do at our meeting (meeting as an alternative to doing the homework of planning and/or analysis) We need a meeting so people will feel they were heard and believe they had a say (meeting as manipulation) We need to meet or this just won’t get done (meeting as an alternative to self-discipline and accountability) Note: This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t meet if the above are true, it just means these are not reasons in themselves for having a meeting.
Wondering when it makes sense to call a meeting? Here are some excellent reasons: You need to leverage multiple perspectives and varied expertise in order to understand a situation or sequence of events, identify alternatives, make a decision, uncover risks, assess consequences, etc. You need to quickly compare plans before everyone runs off in opposite directions as a means of clarifying priorities, communicating last minute changes, and minimizing resource conflicts You want everyone to have the opportunity to hear the same message, particularly when part of that message will be delivered through hard-to-predict Q&A It is important for everyone to hear the message at exactly the same time