Conducting Powerful Meetings.docx

Conducting Powerful Meetings.docx

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ConductingPowerfulMeetings

ConductingPowerfulMeetings

REPORT

By

TonyAlessandra,

PhD

PhilHunsaker,

PhD

ISBN:

1933631163

AbouttheAuthor

TonyAlessandra,PhD,CSP,CPAE

BuildingCustomers,Relationships,andtheBottom-Line

Dr.TonyAlessandrahelpscompaniesbuildcustomers,relationships,andthebottom-line.Audienceslearnhowtooutmarket,outsell,andoutservicethecompetitionbyapplyingDr.Alessandra’smarketing,sales,service,andrelationship-buildingskills.

Tonyhasastreet-wise,college-smartperspectiveonbusiness,achievingsuccessasagraduateprofessorofmarketing,entrepreneur,author,andconsultant.HeearnedhisPhDinmarketingfromGeorgiaStateUniversityandwasinductedintotheSpeakersHallofFamein1985.

Dr.Alessandraistheco-founderofMentorU.com,anonlinee-learningcompanyprovidingtrainingandcoachingutilizingthelatestInternettechnologies.

Dr.Alessandraisawidelypublishedauthorwith14bookstranslatedinto14foreignlanguagesincludingThePlatinumRuleandTheArtofManagingPeople.Heisfeaturedinover50audio/videoprogramsandfilms,includingTheDynamicsofEffectiveListeningandNon-ManipulativeSelling.

TonyAlessandrareachespeople-fromtheBoardofDirectorstothefront-lineemployees.Hedeliverspracticalideasandprofitablebottom-lineresults“withalotofsnap”-sopeoplecangraspit,rememberit,anduseit.RecognizedbyMeetings&ConventionsMagazineas“oneofAmerica’smostelectrifyingspeakers,”Tony’spolishedstyle,powerfulmessage,andprovenabilityasaconsummatebusinessstrategistconsistentlyearnsravereviews.

SCENE1

Areyougoingtothestaffmeeting?

DoIhaveachoice?

Notmuch.Twolong,boringhours.

EveryFridayafternoon.Justlikeclockwork.

Oneofthesedayswe'llfigureoutwhy.

It'shiswayofmakingsurewedon'tleaveearly.

SCENE2

Timeforthenewproductdevelopmentmeeting.

Ok.I'manxioustoseewhatinformationwascollectedthispastweek.

TheagendasaysSmithfromNewMaterialsisgivingareport.Maybethere'sanewdevelopment.

I'vegotsomedatatosharethatmightgiveusalead.

Good,let'sgo.

Whichmeetingsceneismostfamiliartoyou?

Doyouapproachacorporatemeetingexpectingjustanotherannoyingwasteoftime?

Doyouwalkawayfromitwonderingwhyyouwastedyourtime?

Ifso,youknowfirsthandhowfrustratinginefficientmeetingsare.Mostmanagersspend25-30%oftheirtimeinmeetingsandstudiesshowthattheaveragecostofameetingrunsover$1,000.Sinceit'sraretohaveameeting-freeday,formostorganizations,thetotalcostofmeetingsquicklyaddsuptoamajorexpense.

Meetingsarecurrentlythemostexpensivecommunicationactivityinthecorporateworld--morecostlythanwordprocessing,computers,paperwork,ormultitudesofphonecalls.Considerthesalariesofthoseinattendance,preparationcosts,travelexpenses,andthepriceofmaterials,facilitiesandequipmentusedduringthemeeting.Evenifanorganizationconductedonlytwomeetingsaweek,thetotalannualcostforthosegatheringswouldrunwellover$104,000.

Perhapsevenmorecostlythanthelossoftimeandmoneyisthereducedmoralethathappenswhenpeopleareforcedtositthroughboring,poorlyplannedandconductedmeetings.Whenunproductivemeetingsoccurregularly,peoplewithdemandingschedulesbegintoavoidattending.Yet,thesearetheveryindividualswhoseparticipationmaybemostimportant.

Theprimaryreasonmeetingsdon'taccomplishtheirobjectivesislackofadvanceplanningandpreparation.Eventhoughexecutivesspendasignificantportionoftheirtimeinmeetings,studiesshowthat78%haveneverreceivedtrainingonhowtoplan,organizeandconductameeting.

Whenmeetingsarewellmanaged,theyareeffectiveandessentialtoolsforcommunicationwithintheorganization.Importantdecisionsaremade,ideasaregenerated,andinformationisshared.Meetingsareacriticalpartofteambuildingandasteamspiritgrows,thecompanybenefitsasthegroup'sabilitytoworktogetherandmakedecisionsgrows.

Therearesixbasicfunctionsthatmeetingsperformbetterthananyothercommunicationtechnique:

▪Shareknowledge--meetingsprovideaforumwhereindividualinformationandexperiencecanbepooled.Thegrouprevises,updatesandaddstowhatitknowscollectively.

▪Establishcommongoals--meetingshelpeverymemberoftheteamunderstandthegoalsandobjectivesofthegroupandhowhisindividualeffortswillaffectthoseobjectives.

▪Gaincommitment--meetingsgainconsensusondecisionsandfostercommitment.Anagreementandsenseofresponsibilitytoimplementandsupportthedecisionsiscreated.

▪Providegroupidentity--meetingsdefinetheteam.Thosepresentbelongtotheteam;thoseabsentdonot.Attendeesdevelopasenseofcollectiveidentity.

▪Teaminteraction--meetingsareoftentheonlyoccasionwherethegroupworksasateam.

▪Statusarena--meetingsgivegroupmembersachancetodeterminetheirrelativestatus.

Youmaynotachieveanyofthesefunctionsatanyonespecificmeetingbutifnoneofthesefunctionsareimportanttoyou,youmaywanttochooseadifferent,lessexpensive,communicationmethod.

ThiseReportwillshowyouhowtoplan,conductandfollow-uponmeetings.Meetingsdonothavetobeawasteoftime.Whenwellplannedandimplemented,theyofferenormousbenefits.

TablesofContents

ConductingPowerfulMeetings1

PreparingforanEffectiveMeeting7

DeterminethePurpose8

SetMeetingObjectives9

SelectParticipants10

PlantheAgenda11

ManagingtheEnergyCycle12

SettheTimeandPlace13

RoomArrangement14

FacilitiesChecklist15

DynamicMeetingLeadership16

Minutes18

EncourageParticipation19

EncourageProblem-Solving20

KeepDiscussionsonTrack21

EncourageaClashofIdeas24

ThePerilsofGroupthink25

ReachingaDecision26

EndingtheMeeting27

PostMeetingFollow-up28

TonyAlessandra’sAudioandVideoLearningResources29

TonyAlessandra’seLearning[*]Resources30

GuidelinesforEffectiveMeetings

Thefundamentalsofsuccessfulmeetingsarenotcomplicatedordifficulttofollow.Evenso,meetingsthataretediousandunproductiveareevidencethattheseguidelinesarebeingoverlooked.

Herearethebasicsforaproductivemeeting:

1.Need.Holdonlythosemeetingsforwhichthereisademonstratedneed.Weeklystatusupdatesrequireameetingonlywhenfiveormorepeopleneedtheinformation.Youcanspeaktothreeorfourpeopleindividuallyandsavealotoftime.Regularlyscheduledstaffmeetingsmaynotbenecessaryifyouhaveasmallstaffandhaveopportunityforfrequentinteraction.Meetingsareidealwhenyouneedtosolveproblemsthatarecomplexoraffectmanypeople,exchangetechnicalinformation,orexplainacomplexpolicy,procedureorsituation.

2.Purpose.Everymeetingmusthavespecific,statedobjectivesandabroadpurpose.Attendeesneedtoknowthemeetingtopicsbeforehand,inwriting,sothattheycancomeprepared.

3.Attendees.Inviteonlyattendeeswhocancontributeorwhohaveaseriousneedtoknow.Themorepeoplewhoattendameeting,thelongeritwilltaketoaccomplishyourobjectives.Theidealsizeforaworkingmeetingis5-7people.

4.Agenda.Agendasareanabsolutemustforeverymeeting.Whilehavinganagendaisthemostcriticalelementofeffectivemeetingmanagement,75%ofallmeetingshavenopre-plannedagenda.Ifpossible,distributetheagenda48to72hourspriortothesession.Useanagendaevenforlast-minutemeetings.Themeetingleadercanwriteanagendaonaflipchartorwhiteboardortheagendacanbedevelopedwiththeattendeesasthefirstactionofthegroup.

Agendasnotonlyhelptheattendeescomeprepared,theyforcethemeetingleadertoorganizehisthoughtsandpriorities.Agoodagendaaddressesissuesinorderofimportanceandallocatestimetoeachissue.

5.Chooseagoodmeetingplace.Theroomshouldofferproperventilation,comfort,accessibility,andthenecessaryequipment.Itshouldalsobefreefromdistractionsandinterruptions.

6.Startandendontime.Meetingsshouldbeginandendpunctually.Thissendsamessagetoparticipantsthattheirtimeisrespectedandthattheyareexpectedtorespectthemeetingtime.Youmightconsiderbeginningthemeetingwithanuncomplicatedactivity,sothatthosewhostillarrivelatecancatchup.Avoid"recapping"forlatecomers.

7.Sticktotheagenda.Althoughyouwanttoencourageparticipation,newissuesshouldbenotedandheldoverforalatermeeting.Ifyouletthemeetinggetsidetracked,youwillhavedifficultymeetingthegoalsandobjectivesestablished.Ifcriticalissuesarisewhichpreventresolutiononanagendaitem,theycanbenotedandthatitemcanberescheduledforalatermeeting.Ifanewitemissocriticalthatitneedsimmediateattention,polltheattendeesforanagreementtoaddressitatthecurrentmeeting.Theagendaisacontractwiththeattendees;itshouldnotbechangedwithouttheirconcurrence.

8.Encourageparticipation.Attendeesshouldfeelcomfortableenoughtoofferopinionsorsuggestionsopenly.

9.Maintainabalanced,controlleddiscussion.Supportmembersinexpressingtheiropinions,evenonvolatile,highlychargedissues,butdiscouragearguments.Donotletanyonepersondominatethemeeting.

10.Summarizeanddistributeminutes.Recapthedecisionsandanyactionsplannedasaresultofthemeetingtomakesurethateveryoneisinaccordontheproposedactiondetails:

whoistodowhatandwhen.Makesurethateachattendeereceiveswrittenminutesnolaterthantwodaysfollowingthemeeting.

Youcanhelpensureconsistentlyproductivemeetingsbyfollowingameeti