“If you had to describe in one word why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be “meetings.”
– Dave Barry (b. 1947), American humorist who understands the life-sucking-effect of bad meetings
This is provable, but I’m only going to put one link in the post, which we’ll revisit on Wednesday.
I bet 93.789% of all meetings fit the description of “bad meetings.” If you’re the betting type, take the over on that! Before we dive in, let’s define a meeting as “a scheduled interaction between three or more people.” (One-on-ones will be broken down later this week…)
Meetings should be used to debate and decide, not to share information.
There are plenty of channels and tools for information sharing. Don’t waste meeting time on what should be in a report, a portal, or otherwise shared in advance.
If You’re The One Calling the Meeting:
1) Make sure the purpose is clear. A good meeting has an outcome.
2) Make sure the agenda maps to the outcome. A good meeting has an agenda set in advance that guides the discussion.
3) Make sure that everyone knows what preparation they need to do before the meeting and what their role in the meeting is. A good meeting comes with clear expectations.
If You’re Invited to / Required to Attend the Meeting:
1) Expect to know the purpose and desired outcome, in advance.
2) Insist on an agenda and to understand your role and what preparation you need to complete to be productive in the meeting.
3) Do the pre-work. Research. Prepare. Then, when the meeting starts, engage and participate. Map your thoughts and words to the outcome described in #1.
If The Meeting Doesn’t Have A Purpose, Agenda and Prep Work…
1) If you’re the organizer, cancel it.
2) If you’re the invitee, decline it or request that it be postponed until you have what you need to make it a good use of everyone’s time.
3) Seek the “Why?” answers with your teammates. “Why don’t we know what we want to get out of this time together?” “Why are we meeting at all if we don’t have an agenda?”
OK, OK, here’s a second link: Patrick Lencioni’s “Death by Meeting,” is worthwhile perspective.
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