5 Ninja Checklists for Conducting Better Meetings

Ninja Meeting Checklists
5 NINJA CHECKLISTS FOR
CONDUCTING BETTER
MEETINGS

5 Ninja Checklists for Conducting Better Meetings 2
5 Ninja Checklists for Conducting
Better Meetings
Table of Contents
1. Brainstorming and Collaboration Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Client Update Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3. Executive Team Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4. Project Management Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5. Staff Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6. Bonus: The “Six Hats” Approach to Executive Problem Solving. . . . . . . . . . 25
7. Ultimate Library of Leadership Guides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8. About Adigo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

BRAINSTORMING AND
COLLABORATION
MEETINGS

Brainstorming and
Collaboration Meetings
Brainstorming and collaboration meetings are used to rapidly generate
many ideas. They place high value on both creative and human
capital, and afford you the opportunity to identify unique and creative
approaches to solve business problems or discover opportunities.

Brainstorming and Collaboration
Meeting Checklist
4
• Structure sessions to allow
for individual brainstorming.
• Create a level playing field
during group sessions. Be alert
for “loud voices” and have a
strategy for dealing with the
problems they can cause.
• Apply objective criteria to
systematically evaluate every
idea submitted to the group.
• Be flexible on format. What
works for one group may not
work for a different group.
Key Points for
Meeting Leaders
Assign participants the problem or topic ahead
of time and ask them to prepare a list of 3 ideas
to bring to the meeting.
If possible, schedule meetings for mid morning
– a high-energy time.
Conduct a warm up session to get everyone
involved and engaged with each other.

Checklist Continued...
Provide individual and small group brainstorming structures to
meet the needs of all participants, and virtual members.
Plan how you will create a relaxed and fun environment.
Present all ideas to the group -- even ideas which don’t seem to
have much value can sometimes spark a great concept.
Plan how you will accommodate different individual thinking
and working styles.
Present all ideas to the group -- even ideas which don’t seem to
have much value can sometimes spark a great concept.

• Michael Sampson on
running a brainstorming
meeting in a virtual
environment
• Psychology Today on
individual versus group
brainstorming
• Forbes on why many
brainstorming sessions fail
• Adigo’s Resource Center
Resources
Plan how you will accommodate different
individual thinking and working styles.
Give participants time to develop their ideas
during the individual brainstorming phase.
Encourage lateral thinking.
Allow movement and active participation.
Keep alert for “bad habits” and “loud voices.”
Make it fun!

CLIENT UPDATE
MEETINGS

Client Update Meetings
During client update meetings, members of your organization
interface with clients and business partners to provide updates
on the status of ongoing projects and campaigns.
Typically held at regular intervals over the duration of the
project, these meetings often serve as the primary line of
communication between you and your clients. As such, they
must be carefully leveraged to ensure projects are progressing
to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.

Client Update Meeting Checklist
Hold an internal discussion with key project
personnel in advance of the meeting to identify
progress as well as challenges to progress.
Compare the actual status of the project against
anticipated/scheduled progress of the project.
Identify specific causes of any gap between actual
and expected progress.
Come up with possible solutions to those
challenges internally, in advance of the meeting.
Arrange an accurate, comprehensive means of
recording the entire discussion.
• Begin with a factual
presentation of project
progress and the identification
of challenges to anticipated or
scheduled progress
• Address any concerns you
have about project budget
and/or project scope
• Hold positive, proactive
discussions to resolve
challenges through
accommodation, compromise
and/or collaboration
• Conclude the meeting with a
recap of the discussion and a
clearly identified goal for the
next scheduled update
4
Key Points for
Meeting Leaders

Present progress to the client.
Disclose any alterations to project budget or
project scope.
Identify challenges/impediments to progress.
Hold a bilateral discussion to find solutions to those
challenges or impediments.
Recap the results of the bilateral discussion with
the client.
Identify a “going-forward strategy” so both
parties have an equal and clear understanding of
the next phase of the project and the next client
update meeting.
• The International
Quality & Productivity
Center’s Five
Approaches to
Resolving Conflict
• Basecamp, a popular
project management
software solution
can be used to better
manage client projects
• Adigo’s Resource Center
Resources

EXECUTIVE TEAM
MEETINGS

Executive Team
Meetings
At an executive team meeting, time is money. The cost of assembling
your executive team is very high -- after all, these are the best-paid
people in your company. It’s important that these meetings be brief and
to the point. Outside of any regularly scheduled executive team updates,
your top-ranking staff members should only be assembled if there’s an
extremely important item to discuss. Typically, executive team members
meet to discuss crucial items of strategy or significance related to the
company’s immediate or long-term future.

• Create a structured agenda
and do not deviate from it
• Be as brief and to the point as
possible at all times
• Make sure discussion and
interactivity is structured
• Do not force decisions if
you’re running out of time
or having trouble reaching a
consensus
• Keep an accurate record of all
discussion, and especially of
votes and decisions
Executive Team Meeting Checklist
Distribute important materials and a summary
of the meeting agenda for the executives to
review at least 48 hours before the meeting
Set a meeting time within regular business
hours for all participants whenever possible
Review the agenda with the secretary before
the meeting starts, and make any necessary
adjustments; communicate these adjustments
at the outset of the meeting
If possible, plan to hold the executive team
meeting during the morning hours
5
Key Points for Executive
Team Meeting Leaders

Assign a secretary to the meeting to keep an
accurate record of all discussions and important
votes or decisions
Schedule regular breaks if the meeting extends
beyond the 90-minute threshold
Conclude the meeting with a summary of the
important executive “takeaways,” particularly
if the meeting resulted in discussions or
decisions that force changes in company
directives or policies
Aim to wrap up the meeting 10 to 15 minutes
before the scheduled time
• Tips for running
effective meetings from
Executive Travel
• Meeting guidelines from
Harvard Business Review
• The dBono Group Six
Thinking Hats website
• Success Story: McDonald’s
Japan Six Thinking Hats
• See Adigo’s Resource
Center for more!
Resources

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
MEETINGS

Project Management
Meetings
Superstar leaders recognize Project Management Meetings as some of the
greatest opportunities available for collaboration and getting important
things done. Well-executed, these meetings help ensure the project’s
risks are known and addressed, schedule and costs are being controlled,
goals are being met, and potential new opportunities are recognized.

Project Management Meeting Checklist
Preparation:
• Plan your approach
• Choose your attendees
▷▷ Only people who are needed
▷▷ Remember decision-makers
▷▷ Consider participant schedules
and locations
• Communicate the agenda
▷▷ Be specific!
• The biggest challenge with
routine meetings is to keep them
meaningful.
• Use your Project Management
Meetings to bring the team closer.
• Facilitate success all the way
through the planning, conducting,
and wrap-up stages.
3
Key Points for Project
Management Meeting Leaders

Conducting the Meeting:
• Make sure the technology is in place and working
▷▷ Conduct sound checks for remote participants
• Introduce participants
• Lay out the ground rules
▷▷ Remote participants:
• Introduce themselves every time
• Use of mute
▷▷ Agreement to stay on focus
• Use a parking lot to save non-agenda items for
another time
• Be the leader
▷▷ Keep conversations on agenda topics
▷▷ Monitor group interactions

Wrapping it Up:
• Summarize the key points
and re-iterate action items
• Track and check in on
action items to ensure
progress is being made
• Analyze the meeting’s
positive and negative
aspects – what could be
done better next time?
• MindTools on running effective meetings
• cPrime on running effective meetings
• Fast Company’s The Seven Sins of
Deadly Meetings
• ProjectManager on a 7-step approach
for every project management meeting
• The Fast Track on 5 steps to leading
effective meetings
• Scarlett Consulting on best practices
for effective meetings
• Monster on best practices for hosting
virtual/teleconference meetings
• Harvard Business Review’s meeting tips
• See Adigo’s Resource Center for more!
Resources

STAFF MEETINGS

Staff Meetings
Regularly scheduled staff meetings allow personnel from different
areas of expertise to share their goals, progress, and challenges. Team
members and management can then see how these might influence other
aspects of the project and help resolve any issues.

With every staff meeting, avoid the two major
pitfalls by running through this checklist:
Does the meeting have purpose,
and is that purpose linked to the
company’s overall mission and goals?
Ask for inputs to the agenda, and be
as specific as possible with it.
Stick to the plan during the
meeting: Open, clarify, develop,
agree, and close.
• Staff meetings really do have purpose.
Tie the meeting to your overall
organizational mission and goals.
• Create a very specific agenda and
have a plan to get through the
meeting, but occasionally mix things
up when doing so is valuable.
• Your staff needs to trust that they’ll be
heard and treated with respect. Don’t
ignore the quieter voices or allow
negativity to flourish.
3
Key Points for Staff
Meeting Leaders

• Dr. Bob Levoy, How to Make Staff
Meetings More Effective
• Hrcouncil.ca, Workplaces that Work
• Free Management Library’s post Staff
Meetings: “All for One and One for All!”
• Harvard Business Review’s top three
challenges for effective meetings
• Harvard Business Review’s post “Hold
Conversations, Not Meetings”
• Facilitate’s post on engagement
• DDI’s Driving Workplace Performance
through High-Quality Conversations
• PsyBlog’s post on leadership
emergence
• See Adigo’s Resource Center for more!
Resources
Find ways to make it
interesting – new information
or new arrangements help.
Engage everyone, especially
the quieter or remote
participants.
Look for opportunities to pair
up team members on tasks.

THE SIX HATS APPROACH
TO EXECUTIVE
PROBLEM SOLVING

The “Six Hats” Approach to Executive
Problem Solving
An article published in the April, 2012 issue of Psychology Today
cited a study which found individual brainstorming was, on average,
far more productive than group brainstorming. The study built on
long-established research, which showed that individuals were able
to generate more than twice as many potential solutions to a given
problem when working on their own rather than as part of a group.

Well-known business consultant Edward de Bono offers a unique
model for brainstorming and collaboration meetings, known as
the “six hats” approach, commonly known as “Six Thinking Hats.”
Organizations such as Nestle, Oracle, LinkedIn and P&G have
successfully used Six Thinking Hats to solve a variety of business
problems. McDonald’s Japan for example had their executive
team use it to solve internal issues.

Less than a year after implementing Six Thinking Hats, staff
identified the following results:
• Meeting times have been cut by about 25%.
• The culture of the workplace has become more positive
by reducing the proportion of Black Hat Thinking.
• Open communication has been enhanced, due to every
staff member’s involvement in all types of thinking.

Essentially, deBono’s model divides up teams into six groups, each of which
wears a different-colored “hat:”
The blue hat is worn by the meeting leader, who supervises brainstorming
and collects the ideas being generated for individual presentation and
consideration
The white hat is worn by members who will apply fact- and data-based
analytical modes to the ideas under discussion
The red hat is worn by members who rely on intuition, hunches and
emotional responses
The green hat is worn by members who apply creativity and unconventional
thinking to generate alternatives
The yellow hat is worn by members responsible for highlighting the positives
and potential benefits of every idea under discussion
The black hat is worn by members responsible for playing “devil’s advocate,”
and considering the negatives and potential undesirable outcomes of every
idea under discussion

If you have been leading unfocused, unproductive brainstorming and collaboration
sessions, De Bono’s “six hats” approach holds the potential to dramatically improve
your outcomes.
PROCESS
CAUTIONS BENEFITS
FEELINGS CREATIVITY
FACTS
Blue:
Idea collector, leader
White:
Data driven inputs
Red:
Feelings and
intuitions
Green:
Outside the box
thinkers
Black:
Opposing viewpoints
Yellow:
Focused on the positives

ULTIMATE LIBRARY OF
LEADERSHIP GUIDES

The Ultimate Library of Leadership Guides
for Conducting Highly Productive Meetings
These checklists are taken from a full set of leadership
guides to help you lead more productive meetings. Each
guide gives expert tips and strategies for conducting
more effective meetings.
Whether the meetings you lead are in-person, virtual or
a hybrid of both, the insights gained from these guides
will make you a more confident and empowered leader.
They will also enable you to spark greater collaboration and participation among
meeting members leading to more satisfying and productive outcomes.
GET YOUR FREE LIBRARY OF LEADERSHIP GUIDES TODAY!

Library of Leadership Guides - Contents
Each type of meeting you lead presents individual challenges that require unique
techniques. There isn't a one-size-fits-all when it comes to leading effective meetings.
That’s why we created this library to address the following 5 types of meetings:
1. Brainstorming and Collaboration Meetings
2. Client Update Meetings
3. Executive Team Meetings
4. Project Management Meetings
5. Staff Meetings
For your convenience, each guide is published as an individual ebook. That way, you
can easily grab the guide you need for the meeting you’re preparing to lead.

About Adigo
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ideas worldwide. We provide audio, web and video conferencing for businesses
that need reliable, scalable collaboration tools.
We optimize configurations for each account so conference calls can start faster,
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(888) 552-3446 | adigo.com | Follow @TalkAdigo

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