Q: Our meetings have been called “Corporate Sominex”. How can I make our meetings more
Meetings have become the bane of business. How many of you have gone to a meeting and
left asking yourself: “What was the point of that? Why was I invited? Will any actions take place
as a result of this meeting?” Sometimes just getting people to meetings is a trick in itself. One
company I worked with forced late arrivers to sign a song: incentivize promptness through
embarrassment. Back in the 90s the amount and quality of food offered to employees at
Microsoft determined how many people showed up for a meeting: Incentivize attendance
So what is the cost to business when meetings are ineffective? Results from a recent national
survey stated 69% of all meetings are considered unproductive. Factor in the average middle
class income and the average number of meetings we sit in on each day, the cost to business
for unproductive meetings is $44 per employee per day. That means a company with 200
employees could be losing $2.3 million annually in unproductive meetings. Wow!
Office politics, laziness and avoiding accountability are why we have ineffective, boring
meetings. Well-run effective meetings inspire engagement, drive decisions and produce
accountability for results. Here are sound ideas for how to make your meetings engaging and
effective: (for more resources on effective meetings visit: www.missionfaciliators.com/meetings.)
• Establish doable goals. This will determine the meeting focus, agenda and who should
• Make sure you need a meeting. Since 65% of all meetings are not called for making
decisions, can you accomplish your goals through email, SharePoint or other
• Determine who must attend and what you want their involvement to be: Brainstorming,
helping make a decision or providing feedback to an issue or initiative?
• Distribute reading materials 48 hours prior to the meeting. Attach a standard agenda
that clarifies the reason for the meeting, desired outcome, who’s attending and why.
• Establish and follow meeting code of conduct.
• Review the anticipated outcomes and agenda.
• Facilitator keeps discussion on track.
• Avoid PowerPoint presentations. They distract more then they engage.
• Involve each participant in the discussion by calling out quieter individuals and limiting
air time for those who easily dominate the conversation.
• Determine next step actions by clarifying who “owns” the actions and when they are to
• Publish action item list within 24 hours.
• “Owners” of action items schedule time in their calendar to complete their items.
Since 80% of time in meetings is devoted to less than 20% of a company’s long-term value we
have a huge opportunity that doesn’t cost a dime. Without having to lay people off or cut
expenses, companies can see real improvement in productivity by making meetings more
Sign up for the free webinar: Corporate Sominex: How to Make Boring Meetings Effective and
Engaging by visiting www.missionfacilitators.com
SUGAR OR STRESS (SOS): WHICH IS By Brian G.M. Durie, MD on March 1, 2012 4:26 PM| Sometimes it takes very bad news to get people to make necessary changes in their lives. Someone diagnosed with lung cancer might finally give up the 2-pack-a-day habit they've had since high school. Someone who experiences a heart attack might finally cut some fats from their diet and increase their So wha
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