I’ve got a staff meeting today. If you’re anything like me, you hate wasting time going to meetings and getting nothing resolved. To make sure something gets accomplished, I do some preparation ahead of time:
1. Make a list of questions or concerns I’d like to have addressed in the meeting. If I’m not facilitating it, I’ll often send a quick e-mail to the person who is so that he or she knows what I’d like to discuss.
2. If I’m facilitating the meeting, I will send an e-mail to the other participants asking for their list of questions or concerns and then I create an agenda.
3. Make a copy of the agenda for each person and make sure I have extra pens. You wouldn’t believe the number of people who come to meetings without at least having their PDA.
4. Start meetings with an uplifting quote, which isn’t necessary, but it is a nice touch.
5. Stay on track. If someone brings up an unrelated issue, I make a note of it and say I’ll schedule a meeting to address it.
Originally posted on April 6, 2006 @ 6:33 am