Productive Meetings

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I’ve made the argument in the past that time is more valuable than money because you can create more money, but you cannot create more time. We have all been in meetings that last longer than they need to, in many cases much longer. If we put some thought into the meeting beforehand and create some parameters, we could not only run more productive meetings, but save considerable time in the process.

Every meeting should have purpose. What is the goal for the outcome of the meeting? It’s hard to know when you reach your destination if you don’t know what it is. The roadmap for your meeting is an agenda. Preparing a meeting agenda in advance will help keep the meeting on task.

Every meeting should have a predetermined duration. If you set it for one hour, start on time and end on or before the hour is up. Once people realize they must get through the agenda in a set amount of time, they are more likely to stay on track and take the necessary steps to ensure they cover what needs to be done within the allotted time. If you cover your agenda and reach your goal prior to your preset time, end the meeting.

Take things offline. If there are side conversations taking place, especially if they are not moving you to your meeting goal, take them offline. If one topic is dragging on too long, and the issue can be handled by a subset of the group, allow the smaller group to meet separately.

Institute a policy around complaining. Don’t raise a complaint without offering a solution.

Try standing meetings. Once people sit they get comfortable. If you’re standing you have added incentive to move things along. Standing will shorten the length of your meeting.

Finally, don’t have a meeting for the sake of having it. If you have nothing important to discuss or your issue has been resolved, cancel it. People will appreciate having that time back in their day.

If you have thoughts on running more productive meetings, send them along.

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