Of course, Anita didn’t use all of my suggestions (and I didn’t expect her to) so her editing is your gain :)

I spend over 25% of my work life in my meetings, and I’ve been to more than my share of good (and bad) meetings. There are some key things you can do and make YOUR meetings more meaningful.

Always have a written agenda and distribute it at least a day before the meetings. This gives all attendees the opportunity to prepare ahead of time, do any research, and ask any clarifying questions, BEFORE coming to the meeting.

Mark on the agenda who is mission critical, and who is optional, for the meeting, and reschedule if the mission critical attendees can’t attend a meeting (or if they don’t confirm their attendance 2 hours before the meeting. No meeting should happen without key decision makers present, or all you do is talk and don’t really DO anything. We use an asterisk (*) by key meeting attendees, and this works well.

Start on time/end on time – This is a pet peeve of mine. So many people show up late, or not at all, that we talk about “professional courtesy” like you’d give a college professor, 5 minutes late is okay for most folks, 10 minutes for executives. NOT OK! If you want to respect the folks that are on time for the meeting, start the meeting on time…and end the meeting on time so folks can make it to their next meeting on time. Even better: End 5 minutes early so folks can get to their next meeting on time.

Stick to the agenda – If it’s on the agenda, discuss it, and discuss it until a decision is made. If it’s not on the agenda, table it for the next meeting. Unprepared comments in a meeting, while they may seem useful, are often made without proper research or consultation of key decision makers.

Distribute meeting minutes (with action items) promptly – Before folks forget what was discussed, distribute the meeting minutes for all to review. Include non-attendees and others that need to be in the loop. Distribute within 1 day for max effectiveness.

What are YOUR best suggestions to make meetings better?

Photo credit to northeast Indiana

Post from: EveryJoe

5 Ways to Make Meetings Better

3 More Tips on Planning Meetings and Organizational Management

1) Make sure that the expectations are as clear as possible. You want everyone’s definition of success to look the same.

2) When looking back and looking ahead, keep in mind the mission, vision, and core values of the organization. Use those as your guiding force for determining everything that you do so that you are staying true to yourself.

3) Periodically review your mission, vision, and core values to ensure that they (and the organization) are relevant to the greater community that is being served.

IMHO, these are just as applicable to the business world as they are to the nonprofit world.

What are YOUR best tips on planning meetings and organizational management?

White board courtesy of Amazon.com

Post from: EveryJoe

More On Planning Meetings

One person was checking their iPhone for stock quotes

Two people were having a sidebar conversation

Three people were looking out the door of the conference room, hoping the meeting would be over soon (we had just started).

When you’re in a meeting, be there! Find out how you can engage in the conversation and what’s going on.

Unless you’re expecting an urgent e-mail, put your iPhone and Blackberry away, and look at the person speaking.

Unless it’s germane to the agenda, don’t have sidebar conversations…and then, share it with the group.

Don’t look around like you’re bored. Ask yourself if you really need to be there.

If you’re not a required attendee, ask if you can catch up via the meeting minutes…or just show up for the parts where your area of expertise is needed.

If you can send someone from your team in your place to take notes and report back, delegate it to them.

What tips do you have for being there in meetings?

iPhone Disabled by Refracted Moments

Post from: EveryJoe

When You’re There, Be There!