Marcus UdokangProject Manager| Aivaz ConsultingCalgary, Alberta, Canada
I recently read a book by Cameron Herold called "Meetings Suck". It professes to turn one of the most loathed elements of business into one of the most valuable. The general premise of the book is not that meetings suck, but how we manage meetings can suck, unless we follow a few golden rules to make them effective.
I'd be interested to hear, what do you do to make meetings poignant and effective? Saving Changes...
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Joyjyoti RoychowdhuryProject Engineering Manager (India offices)| BechtelNew Delhi, Delhi, India
Dear Marcus,
I think the trick lies in giving an interesting hue to the concept of meeting. Many organizations carry out this ritual as if without this there is no productive work, which is far from true. The following, is in my opinion, the most important parts of a checklist that the meeting organizer should verify before pressing the send button in the outlook calendar:
a) check whether a meeting is required at all?
b) Is this a status check meeting?
c) Can the status check be achieved through a collaborative and automated tool?
d) Is this a meeting about some decision making to be achieved or a road block to be cleared?
e) If d) is a "Yes", is there an agenda?
f) If d) is a "Yes", is the time accorded to that discussion correct?
g) If d) is a "Yes", do we have the correct people invited?
h) Do we have a mechanism to record the meeting and generate actions resulting out of it?
And finally, the meeting must conclude with a decision to either meet again or with the actions initiated, could lead to some other suitable decision.
Any thoughts ?
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1 reply by Marcus Udokang
Jun 14, 2020 2:20 AM
Marcus Udokang
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This decision type of tree is well thought out. I think it is very valuable. Many thanks.
Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Marcus
the raise of virtual meetings demands and allows for a more thoughtful approach to meetings. Some things work just differently like lack of body language, direct eye contact and some things we omitted in face2face meeting should be setup differently (making sure the purpose and agenda is understood be everybody).
Some points I just heard in a webinar:
- make sure you know what you want to achieve with that meeting and make sure everybody understands and agrees - be aware of different environments of participants, we are not sitting in the same room - help with good connectivity for everybody (e.g. get them a good webcam or a better contract) - give participants some relief, do not extend or fully use time allotted for the meeting, be aware of increased energy needed to attend - have some fun
I would add some questions - how to build trust in a virtual context? (e.g. measured by how many show their webcam) - how to make sure everybody can contribute and leverage the power of the group? (e.g. doing polls, and a debrief) - how to make team work addictive? (e.g. using gamification techniques) Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
First of all, when talking about meeting the definition I use is "an assembly of people for a particular purpose, especially for formal discussion". So, the method and tool to meet can be selected according to best fits for the situation to get the objective. With that said the solution is simple: a meeting must be planned. That´s all. And that´s the big mistake people do. You need to state the meeting objective, the meeting strategy and with that you must plan de metting to go for the objective. Just to add some reference in my actual work place we are using Responsive Working as the general method to use. It does not implies just in case we can not use it we return to the tranditional meeting. But always we plan it. Saving Changes...
Marcus UdokangProject Manager| Aivaz ConsultingCalgary, Alberta, Canada
@Joyjyoti, @Thomas, @Sergio, I certainly do value these ideas. Much appreciated. Saving Changes...
Marcus UdokangProject Manager| Aivaz ConsultingCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Jun 13, 2020 2:10 AM
Replying to Joyjyoti Roychowdhury
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Dear Marcus,
I think the trick lies in giving an interesting hue to the concept of meeting. Many organizations carry out this ritual as if without this there is no productive work, which is far from true. The following, is in my opinion, the most important parts of a checklist that the meeting organizer should verify before pressing the send button in the outlook calendar:
a) check whether a meeting is required at all?
b) Is this a status check meeting?
c) Can the status check be achieved through a collaborative and automated tool?
d) Is this a meeting about some decision making to be achieved or a road block to be cleared?
e) If d) is a "Yes", is there an agenda?
f) If d) is a "Yes", is the time accorded to that discussion correct?
g) If d) is a "Yes", do we have the correct people invited?
h) Do we have a mechanism to record the meeting and generate actions resulting out of it?
And finally, the meeting must conclude with a decision to either meet again or with the actions initiated, could lead to some other suitable decision.
Any thoughts ?
This decision type of tree is well thought out. I think it is very valuable. Many thanks. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Agree with Joujyoti, the key is to understand why a meeting is needed. Most often we have meetings because we must. Once we have determined that a meeting is actually required and what it is for then we need to ensure that all participants understand what is required of them. Make sure to provide a proper agenda AND any supporting documentation i.e. 'homework'. A meeting is not the place for people to sit and read through previous meeting minutes or other doicuments. Saving Changes...
Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Set ground rules for the meeting (no phones, not allowed to reply e-mails during meeting, no side conversations, etc.). Start the meeting on time even if a participant is missing, this will give an assertive message.
As others mentioned, the meeting must have a clear goal and a defined agenda. The participants must have received the materials to prepare for the meeting in advance. The audience must be fit for meeting purpose: if someone does not participate at all during the meeting, most likely s/he was not needed.
Create and distribute meeting minutes and derived actions with owners and due dates. Ask for feedback to improve experience of next meetings. Saving Changes...
Marcus UdokangProject Manager| Aivaz ConsultingCalgary, Alberta, Canada
@Anton, @Eduard, many thanks for your informative points. Much appreciated.
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