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We've all been involved with such meetings where the person running it is either insensitive to the needs of the attendees or the subject matter is painfully boring. It should come as no surprise that excessive or pointless meetings are probably the number one cause for decreased productivity in organizations, be it corporate or nonprofit (as Dilbert has pointed out to us time and again). Understand this, unless someone is looking for an excuse to duck a work assignment, nobody wants to attend an inconsequential meeting. Remarkably, there are a lot of people who don't understand the basics of running a productive meeting, hence the problem as exemplified by Martin's movie. There is nothing magical about conducting a good meeting. It just requires a little preparation, along with some leadership and structure during its execution. Here are some simple guidelines to follow: PREPARATION First, determine the necessity of the meeting itself. Do you really have something important to discuss or do you just want to simply "chew the fat." Meetings are nice but we should never forget they distract people from their work assignments. Therefore, we should only hold a meeting if it is going to benefit the attendees and assist them in their work effort. Let us not forget there are many other communication vehicles at our disposal: memos, e-mails, web pages (including blogs and discussion groups), posted notices, general broadcasts over a PA system, etc. If you are convinced of the necessity of the meeting, you will need to know three things: Your objective - Is the purpose of the meeting to communicate a particular message, develop a dialogue and reach consensus, educate/train people, or to offer a simple diversion for the attendees? People do not want to hear the boss pontificate on some trivial manner (a la Dilbert). Make sure you have a firm grasp of the purpose of the meeting and what you hope to accomplish. Ask yourself how the attendees will benefit from the meeting. Your audience - Be sure to understand the targeted audience, their interests, their work assignments, and their attention span. How the meeting should be conducted (this is critical). Should it be held on-site or off-site to minimize distractions? Who should lead the meeting? How should the meeting room be setup, such as required audio-video equipment, flipcharts/blackboards, computer equipment, podiums, and the setup of tables and chairs. A classroom setup is fine for lectures and presentations but not necessarily conducive if the participants are going to work in teams. For dialogs and strategy sessions, a roundtable or u-shaped layout is better. Even the chairs are important; everyone likes comfort but if you want to keep people's attention, there is nothing wrong with hard chairs that force the participants to sit-up and take notice during the meeting. Print up agendas in advance so everyone knows the meeting's purpose, the items to be discussed, the timetable, and what is needed for preparation. It is not uncommon to also advise the dress code for the meeting. If possible, send agendas and any other items in advance for the attendees to adequately prepare themselves for the meeting. This will save considerable time during the meeting. Post scheduled meetings to calendars and, whenever possible, send out reminders at least one day in advance. EXECUTION Having a strong and fair leader for the meeting is essential for its success. This may or may not be the main speaker. Nevertheless, the leader has to play the role of traffic cop so the meeting doesn't get sidetracked and stays on schedule. Knowing when to defer peripheral discussions to a later time or place (such as after the meeting) is important to keep everyone focused on the main mission of the meeting. Being the traffic cop often requires skills in tact and diplomacy so the meeting doesn't spin out of control. Here are some other items to consider: * Stick to the agenda. Start and end on time and maintain order. Got a gavel? Do not hesitate to use it judiciously. Maintain civility and decorum. Allow people to have their say but know when issues are getting out of hand or sidetracked. * Follow the old military principle of: "Tell them what you are going to tell them; Tell them, and then; Tell them what you've told them." Developing a punchlist of action items at the conclusion of the meeting can be very useful for certain situations. * Introductions are important so participants know the cast of characters involved and their interests. But do not waste an inordinate amount of time here. Also, name tags or name cards are useful to avoid the embarrassment of forgetting names and titles. * Make the meeting worthwhile. Keep it interesting and informative; Heck, make it fun if you can. Make it so the attendees feel that they are not wasting their time. * Again, know your audience - speak in terms your audience will understand. An eloquent vocabulary might be impressive, but it may also intimidate and confuse the attendees (beware of the "verbosity of bullshit" phenomenon). Also, read the body language of the attendees to see if they are paying attention. * I am not a big fan of histrionics. Many lecturers like people to get up, stretch, shake hands with everyone or hold a group hug. This can be downright embarrassing to people. Get to the point and move on. REVIEW All meetings should be reviewed, either formally or informally, to determine the success of the meeting. Informal reviews are used for short meetings to determine action items to be followed up on. Formal reviews should be considered for all lengthy meetings. Standard critique sheets should be used for attendees and the leader to evaluate the meeting. Prepare a summary and evaluate the meeting's success. More importantly, learn from the comments received. There is little point of going through the motions of a review if you have no intention of acting on it. CONCLUSION Mastering the execution of an effective meeting requires a little planning, a little organization, and a lot of management. Bottom-line, how do you know if your meeting was a success? People do not groan when you call the next one.
"Unless someone is looking for an excuse to duck a work
assignment, nobody wants to attend an inconsequential meeting."
Keep the Faith! Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies. Copyright © 2010 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved. NEXT UP: "THE ASSHOLEMETER" - invaluable tool for detecting HSA's.
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As a businessman, one of my favorite movies is "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"
featuring Steve Martin as an advertising executive trying to return to Chicago
during the Thanksgiving holidays. The movie opens with Martin attending a
meeting in New York City where he is pitching an ad campaign to the President of
a large corporation, played by William Windom. The meeting is rather long
and boring as Windom quietly agonizes over the layout of Martin's proposed
ads. All of the meeting attendees sit quietly and patiently as they wait for
Windom to make a decision (which he never makes). As it is the holiday
season, they all have other things they want to do (in Martin's case, it is to
return home to Chicago). Ultimately, the meeting is a colossal waste of time
for all of the attendees.
FEEDBACK
A D.H. of San Antonio, Texas wrote... "I've found inspection from our Corperate office, and the meetings are the biggest waste of company time and money. Perhqaps they fulfill some requirement (technicality) of some law but if it's just policy, it's unproductive in every sense. Perhaps it's one of those, 'created jobs,' that serves no real purpose but the person in that position has to make busy work to justify their employment. Not sure. The rest have to spend inventive ways to work around, through, over, and under 'BAD' policy, just to get something done." An L.M. of Orlando, Florida wrote... "One of my colleagues, of Army background, puts it simply, 'Be bright, be brief, and be gone.' Personally, I sit through meetings every day held by unprepared managers. The time wasted is incredible. (It may not surprise you that these are government meetings) So here's the real question: how do you fix these behaviors in others that you have no authority over? The managers that hold routine and pointless meetings are generally ego-motivated (and passive aggressive). So how does one tell them to 'stop the pain' without losing a paycheck? Good article again." A C.A. of Buffalo, New York wrote... "I love meetings, especially those that look to the future and forward use of our technology. Unfortunately we have people who are dragging their feet so I hope to help out with the process. These tips are extremely helpful! Thanks." An S.S. of Everett, Idaho wrote...
"Loved that....shared it with my husband who has these marathon meetings at church
run by a guy who just wants to talk about his own job etc...
FLATTEN GOVERNMENT - March 8th A B.F. of New York City wrote... "The problem with a post like this is that the cradle-to-grave people who want Uncle Sam to spoon-feed them their Gerber's all their lives will tell you that you are a narrow-minded, ignorant, Right-Wing lunatic and the people who want a smaller, trimmed-back, far less intrusive government will merely agree with you. By the way, I agree with you." An A.S. of Palm Harbor, Florida wrote... "Ahhh,....quite right. Gee...enter the federal government, An exponential problem in comparison to the very systemic issue of which you speak.....Pinellas county. Democrats, what a sick bunch. I've always explained what makes a Democrat vs. a Republican. Picture a baby in in a crib, if it should, unfortunately, fall from the crib hitting it's head on the floor..voila a Democrat is born." An R.T. of Maryland wrote... "Tim, you see it at every level of government. There is a core set of government employees that actually work and keep their particular agency/department from being a complete failure. Then there are the rest. The ones who put in hours with thier eye on the benefit package and the retirement plan who do just enough to keep from getting fired. (Generally a two year process for many government agencies.) In the case of the restuarant you mentioned, the hold up is probably something as petty and ridiculous as a box on a form not being checked and nobody cares enough or has the motivation or initiative to do anything about it. TOO MANY HANDS!" An R.G. of Port Charlotte, Florida wrote... "This not an example of big government or intrusive. This is an example of BAD government. Which is way worse. For it makes no difference the size or intrusive if it does not do it's job." A J.D. of Tampa, Florida wrote... "Tim, it's always amazed me how it seems that government tries to get in the way of individual freedom and commerce, as if it was their raison d'etre. Perhaps the people running those divisions, or at least those involved in the process, feel it's their duty to prevent success in others. Oversight is one thing - being an impediment is something else. My boss tried to build a new office for his small business on many occasions and was met with barricade after barricade of government lethargy, red tape, or outright resistance. Every time a local government tried to stop it, he'd say, 'okay, you win. You beat me. Net gain for you: zero.' Zero, as in, no construction, no progress, no land improvement, no money changing hands - no revenue for the government. It's as if the government just shoots itself in it's own foot, time and time again. My boss finally found a location where the government recognized the need for such development and welcomed him and even (dare I say it) HELPED him accomplish his goals. Perhaps all government institutions need a paradigm shift so they understand why they exist. And if there's no reason to exist - FLATTEN" A P.E. of Dunedin, Florida wrote... "I have witnessed this phenomenon a couple of time myself, one very close to me with the construction of a new restaurant building. The completed building sat empty for nearly TWO YEARS waiting for the proper permits required to open. Sadly, he has now gone out of business with this slow economy. It seems to me that the only explanation for such behavior by a local government is that the right palms did not get greased; yet another example of corrupted government power." An N.A. of Houston, Texas wrote... "Oh Tim, could I tell you the horror stories in the Houston area! We have a mom/pop civil engineering/surveying company that has to get permitting all the time. We have learned to expect the time wasted by our glorious local government entities. We warn all our clients to expect a 2-3 month delay. And most of our work is just designing additional fiber optic lines in existing residential areas. 'Flatten Government' hmmm, does using a fist count?" A J.S. of Palm Harbor, Florida wrote... "Your position of 'Bigger is not better' implies the opposite that 'smaller is always better'. Not so. Other than personal or political bias and supposition, you offer no substantial evidence that the County agencies are purposely dragging their feet in permitting the restaurant in question. Have you checked with anyone beside the would be restaurant owner as to exactly what is holding up the process or the reasons? It is often easier to jump to conclusion than dig for facts. One more point needs to be made. A business is not a 'constituent', a person is. That is the same faulty reasoning that gave us the recent Supreme Court ruling about business having all the same rights as an individual under the Constitution. A corporation is an legal entity to protect individuals from liability. Those same individuals already have all the rights granted by the Constitution so to give a corporation the same rights is to double their influence to two voices to one for all other citizens.. (There is great doubt that the corporation will voice the opinion of the majority of stock holders on any given issue except the prospect of making more money.) PS: I enjoy your writings if not all your positions and suppositions." A J.O. of Belleview, Florida wrote... "Tim, you have hit the nail on the head! It is my firm belief that for every government job there are three employees who know that unless they show up drunk or don't show up at all, it's almost impossible to fire them. The more people that a supervisor can hire under him, the more job security he has. The question is, how to stop it? In Marion County, the elected commissioners CANNOT go in the field and talk to department heads. We have a county manager/administrator and that is who they must talk to for any information they might want." A J.S. of Arizona wrote... "And all the time this is going on, the owner still has loan and lease payments, etc. coming due each month with no income. Been there...." A J.S. of Skidway Lake, Michigan wrote... "We have a local scandal along these lines. Our building inspector, who issues permits, collects fees and makes contractors re-do work that is not up to code, has been charged with performing work on side jobs without permits. Considering all the grief he's caused many a homeowner, including us, I don't think he will get any sympathy."
SOME MORE TEA ANYONE? - March 5th A D.T. of Raleigh, North Carolina wrote... "Agreed! The best part about the Tea Party movement is that it is not part and parcel of any political party, but a true movement to reform government and return it to the core aspects and principles outlined by the founders and provisioned in the Constitution. Do NOT consider the Tea Party similar to MoveOn.org - it is a grassroots effort across political party lines, whereas MoveOn was a PAC with a specific political agenda. It is dangerous territory for a political party to assume that a movement like the Tea Party is aligned with them. Likewise, it is equally, if not more, dangerous for an organization like the Tea Party to let a single political party commandeer it.
Quite frankly, as a Tea Party supporter and political independent, I tell BOTH the Democratic party as well as the
Republican party 'watch out' - you continue to violate the boundaries established in the constitution, you no longer represent
'We The People' but instead protect 'We The Elected', and we're not taking it anymore - you are BOTH guilty."
A P.W. of Folsom, California wrote... "The Tea Party is made up of people from both parties. Both Parties should learn from the Tea Party: Low Taxes, Limited Government, Personal Liberty." An N.J. of Phoenix, Arizona wrote... "You're right on the money, it is a 'lobby' group (that doens't buy off votes) not a political party. Independents, libertarians, disgruntled Democrats and Republicans, some moderate, some far right! And what drives them all is the motivation of disgust with what is going on in Washington and the need for 'change' some of the absurd rules influencing Washington, such as term limits, kickbacks from lobbyists, campaign reform, compensation, etc. Great Post!" A B.F. of New York City wrote...
"'.....they're not laughing anymore...(the media).'
A P.G. of New Jersey wrote... "Or they could de-evolve into a strong/weak third party. We'll see. So far I have heard little more than outrage from the Tea party; no answers, just a lot of objections. Power is about focus, I don't see that." An R.F. of New Jersey wrote... "'When the Tea Party movement surfaced in 2009, most of the media dismissed it as nothing more than a collection of crackpots.' That's true. They did. At the time, they pretty much were. But as the party has grown it has become more diverse. Sometimes it's the crackpots that get movements going. 'after elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, they're not laughing anymore' I can't talk as to Virginia or Massachusetts, but I live in New Jersey and have all my life. The election of a Republican governor had very very little if anything to do with the TP's. 'What the politicians and media failed to grasp is the general outrage of the country with politicians as represented by the Tea Party, a body of people consisting of both political parties who are basically saying, 'None of the above.'' The TP may have some members that claim allegiance to the left, but as a liberal I can tell you that the TP does not represent my interests. I'm not talking about all the rhetoric about the Constitution and Patriotism. That's all fine and good. I'm talking about what I believe their agenda supports. I believe TPers support many of the same philosophical positions taken by conservatives and Republicans. They do not believe, for example, in the redistribution of wealth. Which I support whole heartedly. What I share with the TPers is the belief that corporations have far too much influence in our politics and that they hold our Republican and Democratic politicians hostage to their perverted anti-American agenda." An M.M. of Long Beach, California wrote... "My favorite component of the Tea Party is that it is Democrats and Republicans together saying enough!" A J.S. of Tampa, Florida wrote... "Some good observations, Tim! I'll indeed have some more of that tea!" An R.K. of Clearwater, Florida wrote... "Tim, you are correct about the needed direction of the Tea Party. I have been associated, a part of the 'movement' of 'enough is enough' since the very beginning. I go to the meetings, I wave my 'Gadstden' flag on street corner rallys. I've had enough of the Washington Two Step and am fed up with paying for it. It is truly a grassroots effort of just plain folks of like minds. Your comment: 'I think the media is missing the point here. I don't see this as evolving into anything other than what it is already, a powerful lobby that is run by the people as opposed to a corporate body. They can be much more effective in this capacity, whereby they can maintain their virtue and act as a government watchdog.' We are not interested in starting our own party. Our goals are set to 'change' the minds of those in Washington and of as many other Americans as we can, that the road we have been put on IS GOING TO CHANGE!!! For all of the reasons you stated that is terribly wrong with Congress, we will not rest until it is reversed and our country, our Constitution and our Republic is restored! I could go on, and on, but will end by reasserting that as the saying goes: 'No fury like a woman scorned!' To the new American that has reawakened saying: 'No fury like an awakend American!' We're on the move and it doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat, if they don't abide with the Constitution, do not stop the spending and the corruption DOES NOT STOP . . . we'll do whatever we can to remove you, and keep doing so until we find the representative that will!" A J.S. of Skidway Lake, Michigan wrote... "I think the Who said it best: 'We're not gonna take it!' TP folks are, indeed, fed up with irresponsible, self-serving government policies and politicians. It is truly a grassroots effort, made up of patriotic Americans who value freedom and despise government corruption. There are bad apples in both the Republican and Democratic barrels and the corruption is spreading. We've all read about the efforts to 'Clean the house and the Senate' by voting out the corrupt, wasteful politicians. We need representatives who truly represent us, not the special interest groups."
WHY WE RESIST PLANNING - March 3rd A C.R. of Palm Harbor, Florida wrote... "I'd like to add another addendum Tim (perhaps a future column idea for you?) and that is how the generation below me (late teens-20's) CANNOT plan - period. I've finally come to the conclusion after trying to mentor, supervise, train, or just work with this generation that it has stemmed from the, 'I want my child to have better than me.' mentality which taught them the dreaded rule of 'you can do anything' without the very important ending 'if you WORK HARD.' Parents have done absolutely everything for this generation and ensured that they all got a ribbon, even if they didn't win. It's taught what we call in nursing 'learned helplessness' where everyone does it for them so why should they ever develop the skills to do these things for themselves. There seems to be an entire generation that feels everything should be done for them, catered to them, and work around them because 'they can do anything' and the sad thing is, they cannot understand how this isn't the workplace norm. Perhaps once they all grow up and take over for us it will become the norm. Good grief... can you imagine?! However, I could go on and write my whole own column about this topic but I think I've voiced my point." A D.T. of Raleigh, North Carolina wrote... "Detailed planning, like testing, is often held in low regard by clients, with great lip service paid. In a consulting engagement, planning should comprise about 25% of the project, with testing comprising 50% - ideally. It usually ends up being about 5% and 20% respectively. In both cases, 'deep thinking and problem solving' in advance, incorporated into the project plan, is not involved, but overruns are tolerated while we wrestle with the exact issues we could have identified through such exercises. Is it tied to an over-inflated sense of worth for our time? If we're not actively producing something (a deliverable) then we're not offering value to the organization? Statistics, experience, and even common sense dictate that we need to plan (nobody plans to fail, but may fail to plan), but the focus is on the exciting part where the project is 'built.' Planning involves a lot of communications, clarification, and wargaming - if all we do is spit out documentation we're not really planning anything, just filling out templates and boiler plate. While documentation of a system or process is important, they, in and of themselves, are not a plan." A J.G. of Mumbai, India wrote... "Excellent Article. It's very true. These days people ignore the essence of proper planning. Edward Deming's PDCA- Plan-Do-Check-Act is very essential to keep Planning as a primary process." A J.S. of Skidway Lake, Michigan wrote... "I've always been a planner. I live by the calendar and my lists. Not all of my plans go smoothly, but I try to have a back up plan that will kick in when my preferred method goes awry. When I fail, it's not due to lack of planning."
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Tim Bryce Find me in Facebook Find me in LinkedIn Find me on Twitter |
Follow the writings of Palm Harbor resident Tim Bryce, a writer and management consultant who writes commentaries about the times we live in and management concepts. His writings are well known on the Internet and are humorous, educational, and at times controversial. You won't always agree with him, but Tim will definitely get you thinking. Tim is the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA), an international management consulting firm located in Palm Harbor. A seasoned writer, Tim's works have appeared in management and computing publications all over the world. His book, "The IRM Revolution: Blueprint for the 21st Century" made the Top 10 list of management books in Japan. His recent eBook, "THE BRYCE IS RIGHT! Empowering Managers in today's Corporate Culture," has also received critical acclaim. Tim's blogs and podcasts are read and listened to by thousands. For Tim's professional bio, click HERE.
"The Blog description is so right. You might not always agree with Tim but he always
makes you stop and think,
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This web page contains links to the various writings of Tim Bryce which can be divided into two sections: Bryce's Columns and Bryce's Management Papers. Whereas the Columns are editorial in nature, the Management Papers offer sound advice on general management related issues. All papers are available for republication, but only with the expressed written consent of the author. Copyright notation of the author (as found on the specific paper) and any pertinent trademark or service mark must be observed. When reproducing an article, please add: Article reprinted with permission of the author. Please forward the author a copy of the publication when it is produced, either by e-mail or, if printed, by mail.
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