Own Your Meetings

I had the privilege of presenting at 2 financial conferences recently. The target audience was predominantly CFOs and leaders in the finance community. In my research, the number one time waster was – you guessed it – meetings.Here is a snap shot of the tools you can use to maximise your meetings. They are a combination of my own insights, research and my muse Seth Godin.

• Not all meetings are created equal – question the default 60 minute slot. Just because Outlook defaults to 60 minutes, you don’t need to. Think about it, we generally finish discussing the most salient points within 20 – 30 minutes and the rest of the time is used for idle chit chat to fill the time left. There is nothing wrong with sending out a meeting invite for a 25 minute meeting!
• Require preparation and an agenda. Give people things to read or do before the meeting, and if they don't, kick them out. Enough said.
• Everyone invited is someone who needs to be there, and no key party is missing. However, there is a default step forward if someone doesn't come.
• Remove all the chairs from the conference room – consider a standing status meeting. It’s incredibly effective and keeps people on point.
• If someone is more than two minutes later than the last person to the meeting, they have to pay a fine of R50 to the coffee fund. There is no such thing as ‘JUST’ 10 minutes late! Why? Because being just 10 minutes late becomes contagious and eventually becomes culture. I am incredibly passionate about this point. Think how many meetings have run over time and set you on a trajectory of late meetings for the entire day? Please respect other people’s time and if you see it becoming contagious, lock the door. They will never be late again.
• Bring an egg timer to the meeting. When it goes off, you're done. Not your fault, it's the timer's.
• The organiser of the meeting is required to send a short email summary, with action items, to every attendee within ten minutes of the end of the meeting.
• Create a public space (either a big piece of poster board or a simple online page) that allows attendees to rate meetings and their organisers on a scale of 1 to 5 in terms of usefulness.

I must raise a *disclaimer* here. I am all for human touch and ensuring we connect with our clients and fellow work colleagues. However, if we are all constantly complaining about how much time meetings waste, use your discretion on when to maximise efficiency so you can carry on with your great work and being a contribution.Here’s to owning your meetings,Warm wishes,Lori