The worst thing happened to me on Monday mornings. I hesitantly opened my inbox and there it was, staring back at me:
“Calendar Invite: 9:30 to 11:00am – Weekly Priorities Meeting”
Fuck. I knew what this meant. An hour and a half meeting to “talk”
about things we needed to focus on for the week. Sound like a good idea
right?
It was. Just not how it was done.
Not only was all my energy drained after that meeting, but I had very
little willpower to do work. What began as un update meeting turned
into a strategy session on how to tackle different situations people
were in. No bueno.
So how do you run short, efficient meetings that leave your crew ready to fight? Here are 5 ways to run meetings like a boss!!
1. Always have an agenda!
This should go without saying. You need a framework for your
discussion. Without one, meetings can easily turn into aimless social
gatherings rather than productive working sessions. You can also allot
time for each agenda item to effectively use the time you do have. Most
importantly, be respectful of everyone’s time…everyone has their own
shit to do too.
2. Decisions should never wait for a meeting
Sure decisions can be made at meetings, but waiting for a meeting to
make a decision can be deadly. The velocity of your company slows to
its meeting schedule. If something needs to get done that needs a
meeting, hold the meeting ASAP!!
3. Everyone should have concrete next steps or action items
Apple drives accountability at meetings by having a Directly
Responsible Individual (DRI) whose in charge of any given action or task
that needs to be done. With every task matched to a person, there will
be significantly less confusion about who is getting what done.
4. Invite only the people needed
Invite people only involved with the content of the meeting. The
marketing person doesn’t need to to be apart of a meeting on business
operations, unless specifically requested. Less people = less time.
5. Know when to have stand up meetings vs sit down meetings
Stand up meetings are great for quick communication-based meetings.
For example, at the beginning of each day, it’s good to have a quick 10
min stand up meeting that ONLY communicates what everyone is focused on
for that day. If an idea or suggestion comes up, it should be tables for
a later discussion. This remedies the “lack of communication” excuse
for problems.
Sit-down ‘solution’ based meetings are used to discuss specific
topics that need more thought. Even those these take longer, these
should have a specified end time and decision on how to proceed.
Source: http://www.thephatstartup.com/2014/09/10/5-ways-to-run-meetings-like-a-boss
