1. What Makes a Bad Meeting
Establishing good practice
OVERVIEW
In todays business world we are working collaboratively. Therefore, we are meeting
more often, either in person or electronically. Most of the meetings I attend are
badly managed. The environment is wrong, there has been no prior planning, there
has not been enough communication with the agenda item owners and the reason
for the meeting is not clear. Minutes are distributed far too long after the meeting
has finished, records of decision and actions are not readily available. Everyone is
using a different format and / or a different tool for managing their meeting inputs
and outputs.
This is what makes a BAD meeting, an ineffective and more importantly COSTLY
meeting.
Management needs to take a stand and enforce some basic meeting management
rules. Yes, I said rules. I hear comments that we are not at school, not children, but
given how we manage our meetings, it is time to start all over again.
Set the boundaries, make the rules. And then enforce the rules. Create new
effective habits.
Rule # 1 Meetings Cost Money, DON’T Waste Company Money
Track the cost of each and every meeting. Track the input and more importantly
track the output value. Meetings cost money, too often meeting attendees treat
meetings as an opportunity to socialize, to catch up on their emails, etc.
Consider who should be invited and why. Consider the duration of the meeting and
the cost thereof. Where possible, only invite the attendees to the slots they need to
attend. That way they may just focus on the moment.
Rule # 2 – Use the Right Tools for the Job
Use an effective meeting management tool that will ensure your inputs and outputs
are presented professionally, which will immediately show your attendees that you
mean business. Use a tool that will help your attendees to manage their actions;
record decisions; track attendance and that will have an audit trail long after you
have left the company. And most importantly, won’t be lost on some S Drive…
Rule # 3 – Enforce Planning & Preparation

2. How often do you attend a meeting and wonder what you are doing there, or even
worse, wonder what the meeting is about?
Ensure there is a properly thought out and communicated objective and agenda,
with measurable outcomes. Ensure you have the correct type of meeting room &
correct dial in details where relevant.
If it is a meeting series, review the actions prior to the meeting. The meeting should
not be about reviewing previous actions. Time to move on!
Rule # 4 – Meeting Behaviour & Time Keeping
This is a meeting! Not a luncheon, not a rugby game. Be serious.
Eating in a meeting…yes or no? Well, if it is a working group or a workshop, maybe.
But at least ensure you don’t slobber or create a spectacle of yourself eating, don’t
be a distraction.
Arrive on time! Respect those who have given up precious time to ensure they are
behaving accordingly.
As the chair, ensure your meetings are started at the time stated. And finished at
the stated time. Soon enough your attendees will understand that you are serious
and mean business.
As an attendee, have respect for others and turn up on time. As an agenda item
owner, stick to your allotted time. If necessary, take the discussion further off-line.
As an attendee, demand that the agenda is stuck to, demand that the time slots are
stuck to.
If you have a regular meeting with the same agenda, consider reordering or changing
it to keep your attendees engaged.
If you find you cannot get to a resolution or decision, take it off line; create a parking
lot. Attendees need to be able to plan their time, they are often not involved in
each agenda item and as such may need to sit through the additional time you spend
on resolving your item. If the agenda items ends up taking that much more time, it
obviously warrants a much longer slot and better planning for it.
Bad meetings happen when there is chaos. If you make a decision, confirm this with
the person recording the meeting. If you have an action, confirm this with the
person recording the meeting. This way you will ensure you have agreement about
these items immediately with no come-backs. I like to use a projector (or a
collaborative tool such as GOTO meeting for online calls) to ensure everyone in the
room can see, and therefor agree to all items recorded immediately.
Rule # 5 – Make Meeting Inputs Professional

3. As the meeting chair or owner, you have a responsibility to ensure that your agenda
is sensible and well planned, as well as professionally presented. Use a tool that will
ensure you present a professional appearance and therefore get taken seriously.
Rule # 6 Make Meeting Outputs Effective
Too often actions are taken and not followed up, owners don’t own them. Too often
decisions are made and retrospectively no one can remember who made what
decision when, and who was present. Use a trusted tool, such as Minutz to log and
record all decisions and to help attendees manage their actions.
Distribution of minutes often takes far too long. Get them out within 24 hours or
less. In fact, I know of chairs that are able to get their minutes out literally within
minutes of finishing the meeting. However long it takes, you cannot make it too long
or the impetus will be lost.