Like the hit TV show “The Office,” this ad is humorous because it’s absurdly over the top. But it also magnifies the uncomfortable truth that some business people can’t seem to run a productive meeting without sucking the life blood out of participants.
We’ve all been there — meetings with no defined purpose, where discussions meander off on wild tangents, where time creeps by as nothing of consequence gets done.
Whether you’re a meeting initiator or one of the participants, there are things you can do to help focus the discussion and make everyone’s time more productive. As a guide, ask yourself (or the meeting planner) the following questions:
• What is the meeting’s purpose? Every meeting should have a clearly defined raison d’etre. A mission statement or end goal for the meeting is important, since it gives participants a guideline for how long and for what they will be meeting.
• Is there an agenda to guide the discussion? Whether in writing or simply understood by all participants, an agenda is the group’s road map for getting its work done. Without one, a meeting will quickly become one of the dreaded “traps” mentioned above.
• Is the agenda reasonable? Each agenda topic needs an appropriate amount of time for deliberation and assigning follow-up actions. As a quick rule of thumb, a half-hour meeting can rarely accommodate more than three topics; a one-hour meeting should be kept to no more than six.
• Are the right people in the room? All relevant decision makers and topic experts should be present. If key participants are absent, consider rescheduling.
• Is the agenda action oriented? If your topics require no follow up or actions to be taken by members of the group, then you probably could have accomplished your aim without a gathering. When preparing an agenda, remember that the best use of pulling together a group is to find common ground that leads to some defined action, decision or follow-up plan.
• Is everyone responsible for the meeting’s success? When each participant has a defined role to play at the meeting, the group’s engagement and productivity can improve. Important meeting roles and responsibilities include: A facilitator, whose job it is to introduce agenda items, encourage involvement from all participants and help keep discussions on track; a timer, who holds discussions to their allotted amount of time; a recorder, who takes notes on discussion highlights, action items, persons responsible for follow up and any timelines by which assignments are due; and meeting contributors/evaluators, who are responsible for sharing their opinions during the discussion and making recommendations at the end to improve future meetings.
Using these guidelines can help take the dread out of work meetings while simultaneously encouraging group participation, buy-in and, ultimately, success.
Who knows? You may even find you can dispense with the complimentary refreshments.
Gail Wilkerson owns Accent Business Consulting in Falmouth, which specializes in strategic planning, customer service, marketing and special events consulting for organizations large and small. She has been a communications and planning professional for nearly 20 years. Contact her at gwilkerson@accentbusinessconsulting.com.