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Contents
Step 1: Organise people, places and times
Step 2: Prepare useful documents
Step 3: Participate with impact
Step 5: Use informal meetings wisely
Step 6: Adapt to meeting dynamics
Step 7: Run efficient, effective meetings
About the Author
Copyright
About the Publisher
ORGANISE PEOPLE, PLACES AND TIMES
‘Did we make a decision in there?’ —US executive after a meeting in the UK
Five ways to succeed
Be clear why the meeting is necessary.
Only relevant people should attend the meeting.
Book meeting rooms and facilities early.
Keep to an agreed date and time.
Send regular reminders to delegates.
Five ways to fail
Be unclear about the purpose of the meeting.
Don’t check and chase up attendance.
Don’t check layout and organisation of the meeting room.
Don’t send out invitations.
Ignore the paperwork (agenda, minutes).
Welcome to the world of meetings. This is the activity which will take up the majority of your time at work. Up to 60 per cent, in fact. An estimated four million hours are spent in meetings every day in the UK alone.
So now you’ve realised this is likely to be your major work activity you need to know how to organise your time. The best way to do this is to use the time-honoured framework of five W’s and an H: Why, What, Who, When, Where and How. Let’s start with Why.
Why so many meetings? Good question. Meetings are like tribal gatherings. Work groups share a practical and emotional need to get together and discuss things and to exchange information.
You may not have much choice about which meetings you attend, but even meetings you think are irrelevant may be useful. You get the opportunity to observe how meetings work. Remember, don’t just focus on the topic, focus on the mechanics of the meeting (how it’s constructed and run) as well.
Meetings are the lifeblood of any organisation. They are the way information is shared in the group. They are the prime way of giving the work group a sense of belonging. This is why it’s worth:
limiting the number of meetings
having more focused meetings
having shorter meetings.
Let’s unpack each item on that list.
Limit the number of meetings
Attend four two-hour meetings back to back and you’ll know why you need to limit the number of meetings. Your whole working day has gone – and you haven’t done any desk work yet. So you’re already behind. In addition, by the end of the fourth meeting, what you discussed in the first meeting is a distant memory.
If you’re lucky enough to be able to choose which meetings to attend, consider these criteria. Prioritise meetings which:
directly concern you
have information you need to know about
cover responsibilities you have to report on
contain people you need to meet or talk to
deal with things which interest you or you can learn from.
For all the rest, take a view.
Get a copy of the meeting invitation and the agenda. Does it meet one of your criteria above? If yes, try and go. If not, ask your line manager if you need to attend.
Learn to discriminate. Decide which meetings will be important or helpful to you. For the others, explain your workload to your line manager and ask if you can be absent. Ask yourself constantly: ‘What is my purpose for being here? Could I use this time better, doing something else?’
Most meetings can be summarised over the coffee machine. If you miss a meeting, ask a colleague: ‘Did I miss anything important?’
If you did miss something important, get a copy of the minutes. If necessary and appropriate, follow up with your own views.
Types of meetings
Obviously, not all meetings are the same. The type of meeting will depend on its function. Let’s look at some of them.
Tribal gatherings
These are fairly rare. They tend to be semi-public occasions and involve the paramount chief and various sub-chiefs. Each clan in the tribe is involved in praise songs and ‘death to our enemy’ chants, awards are handed out and there is some hospitality on hand. If you’ve attended an annual school prize-giving or sports day you’ll know what we’re talking about. In a company it’s usually called the AGM (Annual General Meeting), new product launch, or something like that. Why go? You go for the jamboree and the hospitality. It’s also a good chance to network, and if you’re to be honoured with a prize like ‘employee of the year’, it’s probably worth a look-in.
Weekly or monthly updates
These are usually project team and departmental meetings. Their function is to update on activities, check progress against deadlines, allocate responsibilities, troubleshoot problems and make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing. Why go? You need to attend these. They’re