Effective Meetings - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Effective MeetingsSlide2

Three Rules of Meetings

“Was this meeting necessary?” Only have a meeting if there is no other viable option.

Only talk in a meeting if what you have to say is relevant to

everyone

in the meeting.

Only invite those participants who are needed (quiet observers, OK)

Fewest possible. Five is the ideal. With more than nine complexity and ineffectiveness go up geometrically.Slide3

Meeting Types

Strategic

Strategic meetings concern the biggest decisions that need to be made – about business models, vision, strategy, organizational configurations, and so on.

Need more than an hour or two – typically all-day, off-site meetings. Slide4

Meeting Types

Operational

Operational meetings involve reviewing forecasts and measures of short-term performance, and adjusting activities and plans in light of those results.

Can be one-hour weekly meetings or 15-minute daily stand-up meetings.Slide5

Meeting Types

Learning

Learning meetings are often scheduled on an as needed basis, often after crises or in response to emerging issues or new product or service introductions. They can also focus on team building.

Learning meetings should be scheduled regularly and often (twice a month or more).

Learning meetings should be followed up with exams so learning can be measured. Online tests not only measure learning but also reinforce their importance.Slide6

Planning Meetings

Define

type of meeting and the

purpose

of the meeting.

Identify

agenda items and the person

responsible for each

item.

Estimate amount of time needed for each item.

Determine

participants

.

Arrange logistics

.

Communicate with participants

.

Send out agenda with time frames.

Length of meeting (ideally an hour or less)

State time for each item.

Leave time at the beginning for chit-chat, catch up (psychological safety)Slide7

Planning Meetings

Rule of Halves

No item put on the agenda unless is has been given to the person who owns the agenda item (topic) one-half of the time between regular meetings.

Gives topic owners time to plan and prepare for assigned items. Slide8

Planning Meetings

Rule of Three-Quarters

Agenda items should be distributed at the three-quarters point between meetings.

E.g. distribute agenda for monthly meeting a week before, for weekly Monday meetings, on Thursday before.

The

agenda should be distributed with any material required for effective

preparation by participants

(including minutes of previous meetings, if minutes are involved)

.

For regular meetings minutes are a waste of time.Slide9

Planning Meetings

Rule of Thirds

In the first one-third, handle minutes, make announcements and get one or two moderately easy items out of the way in order to get the participants in a pattern of successful accomplishment.

Schedule a moderately difficult item and the single most difficult and lengthy item in the middle third of the meeting (in this third of the meeting attention is typically at its peak). Slide10

If the meeting is to run longer than one-and-a-half hours, give participants a brief break at the two-thirds point.

In the final third of the meeting schedule For-Discussion-Only (FDO) items and schedule the easiest item as the very last item on the agenda in order to end on a positive, successful note.Slide11

FDO

items help release tensions and provide the opportunity for the ventilation of feelings and discussion of poli

tical orientations and ramifications.

Two

techniques to use during these discussions are the

straw vote

(an unofficial testing of the waters) and the

in-principle notion

(an agreement on a general orientation).Slide12

Rules About Food

First rule, follow cultural norms.

Allow coffee, but never beer, wine or booze.

Provide refreshments at break time (if there is one).

The less food, the more work that gets done.

Unless you have a lunch- or dinner-time meeting at which you serve food.

In non-meal-time meetings, use food as a reward, available only after the meeting.Slide13

Guidelines For Meeting Leader

Plan the meeting effectively (remember the rules of fractions).

Insure agenda and temporal integrity.

Facilitate, clarify and regularly

summarize

discussion.

Remain objective and impartial. Don’t be a tyrant.

Move the discussion along to keep on time. Time integrity is vital.

Get closure on items whenever possible.Slide14

Conducting a meeting

Start on time.

Hand out and review meeting type, purpose and agenda.

Introduce participants (if needed).

Allow time for chit-chat (psychological safety)

Set expectations – what you hope to accomplish.

Assign meeting roles.

Note taker

Time keeper

Facilitator (if needed)Slide15

Guidelines For Meeting Leader

Stay on track – stick to agenda.

One person talk at a time.

Never discuss anything that relates to just one person.

Promote positive interactions.

Draw out silent members.

Temper overbearing members’ output.

Never single out one person for criticism.

Discourage idle chit-chat (except at the beginning), side conversations or horsing around.Slide16

Consider

Bezos Rules

(if appropriate):

Leave one chair empty – it’s for the customer.

Imagine if a customer where there, what would he or she be saying, asking for or objecting to

?

Have people read memos before discussing items.Slide17

Summarize meeting outcomes.

Specify next steps.

Who has what assignments, tasks, deliverables and deadlines

.

End on time.Slide18

Follow up.

Check with note taker on follow-up items.

Send an

e-mail thanking participants for attending and participating. Summarize next steps, tasks, assignments, deliverables and deadlines.

If there is no follow-up, stuff falls though the cracks.

Can’t assume everyone took notes and will automatically get anything done.Slide19

See “Checklist for Effective Meetings” at http://

www.charleswarner.us

/articles/

artindex.html

.