The document provides guidance on conducting effective meetings. It discusses identifying clear meeting purposes, having an agenda and preparing materials in advance, facilitating discussions to keep them focused and engaging all attendees, and following up on action items and decisions made to ensure progress is tracked. Effective meetings are focused, productive, and extract the collective wisdom of the team, while inefficient meetings waste time and energy and often lead to poor decisions.

1. How to Conduct a Productive Meeting Leaders can either inspire people in meetings or drain their energy

2. Effective vs. Dysfunctional Meetings Purposes of Meetings Meeting Strategies History 3 2 1

3. Effective vs Dysfunctional Meetings Effective Meetings Dynamic Passionate Focused Engaged Productive Energizing Extract the collective wisdom of the team Differentiate ourselves from our competitors Low sneaker-to-meeting ratio Dysfunctional Meetings Waste time Waste energy Painful Unproductive Tedious Bad meetings almost always lead to bad decisions Results in mediocrity High sneaker-to-meeting ratio

4. 45 to 90 minutes Lightning Round Progress Review Real-time agenda 2 hrs per topic Analyze Debate Decide 1 to 2 days Holistic Long-term Step away from routine issues Different Meetings for Different Purposes (Lencioni, 2004) The Daily Check-In The Weekly Tactical The Monthly Strategic The Quarterly Off-site Review 5 minutes Stand up ACE status

5. Different Meetings for Different Purposes The Daily Check-In Five minutes Stand up ACE Status The Weekly Tactical Lasts forty-five to ninety minutes Lightning Round – sixty seconds per team member, two or three priorities for the week Progress Review – review progress of key metrics Real-Time Agenda – tactical issues required to ensure the success of short-term objectives (Lencioni, 2004)

6. Different Meetings for Different Purposes, cont. The Monthly Strategic Analyze, debate, and decide upon critical issues (but only a few) that will affect the business in fundamental ways Two hours per topic The Quarterly Off-Site Review Opportunity to step away from daily, weekly, issues Review the business in a more holistic, long-term manner One to two days in length (Lencioni, 2004)

7. Concept Meeting Strategies Facilitator Prepare Purpose Roadmap Time Mgmt Rules of Engmnt Discuss Decide Action

8. Meeting Strategies Purpose - have a reason for the meeting Facilitator – provide leadership and guidance Prepare– build knowledge base prior to meeting Roadmap – have a meeting agenda Time management – start and end meetings on time Rules of engagement – develop meeting norms Discuss & decide – encourage participation and make decisions Action – follow up on tasks assigned during the meeting

9. Purpose Have a reason for the meeting If the discussion involves only two participants don’t hold a meeting Make sure there are decisions, issues, or such items to be discussed that cannot be handled effectively outside of the meeting. Consider the hourly cost to your organization of the people attending your meeting. Calling a meeting is expensive, so it's important to ensure that every person attending and every minute of the meeting adds value. Don't invite people who won't participate but will simply report back to their boss or team (sending a copy of the minutes will be a more effective way of achieving this). Don't use meetings to tell people things that could be communicated just as effectively by email or memo.

10. Have a Facilitator Facilitate discussion and don’t preside The most effective facilitators bring lots of energy to the meeting, and a sense of humor At the outset, let people know what you hope to accomplish in the allotted time Use the first few minutes to jolt everyone in attending to the meeting. As a facilitator limit people’s speaking to the topic Guide the meeting so that there is a free flow of debate with no individual dominating and no extensive discussions between two people. A well-run meeting leaves all those who attend with a sense of empowerment and control over their lives, and establishes you as a leader.

11. Prepare Build knowledge base prior to meeting Provide new information to attendees prior to meeting. Attendees are expected to come prepared, having read what was sent out in advance.

12. Have an agenda Limit agenda items Deliver agenda in advance Roadmap “ If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll

13. Roadmap Have a meeting agenda Deliver the agenda in advance so participants have time to plan and prepare for the meeting. Limit the amount of items on the agenda

14. Time Management Start and end meetings on time Referring to the agenda as the reason to move on allows the facilitator to avoid hurt feelings. Don't recap what you've covered if someone comes in late: doing so sends the message that it is OK to be late for meetings, and it wastes everyone else's valuable time. To help stick to the stated finish time, arrange your agenda in order of importance so that if you have to omit or rush items at the end to make the finish time, you don't omit or skimp on important items. It is better to continue a meeting to another mutually agreeable time and place than to go on and on. Finish the meeting before the stated finish time if you have achieved everything you need to.

15. Rules of Engagement Don’t let the process get bogged down Keep the discussion on track by periodically summarizing where you are Keep minutes they provide a record of the meeting and a review document for use at the next meeting so that progress can be measured - this makes them a useful disciplining technique as individuals' performance and non-performance of agreed actions is given high visibility. Issue minutes within 24 hours of the end of the meeting - preferably on the same day to remind people in writing of what they are expected to do. Do not name call or cut each other’s ideas down. Focus on the situation not on the person. This is not a complaint session, but a problem solving session

16. Discuss & Decide Encourage participation and make decisions Explicitly invite everyone to participate If someone is not participating directly ask for their view on the subject. Thank each person orally for their input. Say something about what each person has said, done, or contributed.

17. Action Establish action items and assign responsibility. Set goals to be accomplished before the next meeting with accountability. Close the meeting by reviewing what was discussed and create a task list with responsible people and timelines. Include the task of following up with people who were unable to attend the meeting. Establish a parking lot list of items that were brought up and determined to be better handled at another time.

18. Thank You! “ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” Plato