Here are ten fundamental concepts that characterize an effective meeting.
Definition: A meeting is a business activity where select people gather to perform work that requires a team effort.
A meeting, like any business event, succeeds when it is preceded by planning,
characterized by focus, governed by structure, and controlled by a budget.
Three things guarantee an unproductive meeting: poor planning, lack of appropriate
process, and hostile culture. Effective leaders attend to all of these to create an
effective meeting.
Effective meetings require sharing control and making commitments.
Short meetings free people to work on the essential activities that represent the core
of their jobs. In contrast, long meetings prevent people from working on critical
tasks such as planning, communicating, and learning.
The ultimate goals of every meeting are agreements, decisions, or solutions.
Meetings held for other reasons seldom produce anything of value.
Unprepared participants will spend their time in the meeting preparing for the
meeting.
It is better to spend a little time preparing for solutions than to spend a lot of time
fixing problems.
Meetings are an investment of resources and time that should earn a profit.
A meeting can be led from any chair in the room. And if it's your meeting, you want
it to be your chair.
IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye works with leaders who
want to hold effective meeting. His innovative workshops have informed and
inspired people nationwide. His facilitation produces results that people will
support. Call 714-528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100 pages of valuable
ideas. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com
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