Meetings... Meetings... Meetings...

Here are some interesting facts from internet research on meetings:
Over 11 million formal meetings take place each day in the US alone
Employees globally spend an average of 5.6 hours per week in meetings
69% of participants feel that these meetings are unproductive and unnecessary 

Yet meetings held for the right reasons, can, and should be, the vehicle for communication, information, motivation, creativity, clarity, agreement, action planning, productivity (to name but a few) as well as the catalyst for real change and momentum for moving forward in any particular aspect of business strategy / objectives.
 
What are the problems with meetings?
 
Whilst there are many well-intended, well-focussed and highly effective meetings, how often have we heard about the “waste of time” or the “useless” meetings?
Our research and experience of working with clients point to the following as typical (but not exhaustive list) issues associated with ineffective meetings:
 
POOR PLANNING
Unclear or wrong reason for holding a meeting
No clear purpose or objectives agreed beforehand
The right people not invited to participate
Agenda ill-prepared and not communicated
Physical requirements and resources not identified and prepared
 
POOR EXECUTION
Roles and responsibilities not clarified and agreed
Agenda not adhered to and time mismanaged
Inactive or inappropriate participation
Poor leadership and / or facilitation
Meeting not recorded properly and ideas not captured
Appropriate discussion, consensus, agreement and outcomes not achieved
 
POOR FOLLOW-UP AND CLOSE-OUT
Lack of agreement on outcomes and actions
Meeting minutes and outcomes not effectively communicated
Proper action plan and post-meeting objectives not agreed or documented
Lack of ownership of actions and outcomes
Agreed actions not followed through within agreed time or requirements
  
Effective Meetings Tips
 
If we accept that the above list is a fair representation of the main issues that prevent meetings being as effective as they should be, we could “flip” these negative statements and convert them into positive opposite statements.

With thousands of MindGenius users throughout the world we have proven that mapping each of the above stages provides a highly effective methodology for providing absolute clarity and focus at each and every stage – from thinking through the “why” and “what”, to running the meeting, assigning actions, ownership and timescales, through to “finger-on-the-pulse” monitoring and managing actions and objectives through to completion.

MindGenius Ltd provide an extensive range of tailored training and consultancy solutions for individuals and teams. If you need to improve the way meetings are planned, executed and followed-up the MindGenius way, contact your Account Manager or email info@mindgenius.com and we can discuss your options.