Spend a few minutes looking at your diary, how many of the meetings you’ve been to recently have rambled along aimlessly, ultimately achieving very little? How many of these meetings have been impromptu and ‘urgent’ but ultimately end up in a confusing mess? Look up the word gas in a dictionary and you see a word that encompasses the negative properties of meetings.
Gas: a substance possessing perfect molecular mobility and the property of indefinite expansion, anaesthetic, flatulence, somebody or something entertaining, nonsense, to talk idly
If you look at the word solid you’ll see a word which encapsulates what you’d like from a meeting
Solid: Three-dimensional, not hollow, unadulterated, of strong construction, does not lose its shape, uninterrupted, nourishing, unanimous, reliable
How do we move from nebulous, gaseous meetings to something more solid?
Like a solid, a meeting has three dimensions, the purpose, the agenda and the participants.
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The Purpose (not hollow) - A meeting without a purpose is just a social event. The purpose of a meeting should be defined beforehand and result in a clearly defined output. ie approve a budget, allocate resources to a project etc
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The Agenda (unadulterated) - the agenda is what ensures that a meeting achieves its purpose and does not roam randomly. It should be clear in defining the outcomes required, the resources needed to achieve this and the steps to be taken. The agenda and any required resources should be distributed early so that participants can prepare adequately. Once defined, the agenda should be the only thing that drives the meeting, there should be no deviations, no additions and above all NO SUPRISES.
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The Participants (of strong construction) - Invite participants not attendees. Court cases needs witnesses, movies need an audience but meetings need neither. No courtesy invites, you’re either useful or you’re not invited. If someone is needed for part of the meeting then schedule them to enter and LEAVE, this should apply to both junior and senior participants.
Appoint a chairperson (does not lose its shape, uninterrupted, nourishing, unanimous, reliable). In sport the referee is responsible for timekeeping and ensuring that the rules are upheld, meetings need this too. It is the chairperson’s responsibility to ensure that the meeting stays on track and delivers its required output. In textbooks the chairperson can be anyone at the meeting but as matter of practicality it is usually best to appoint the most senior person involved to chair the meeting. The chair needs to convey authority to all of those involved and it is unlikely that a junior will either ask or tell the managing director to stop speaking or to get back to the point of the meeting. With a few simple rules the chair can ensure that the meeting is profitable and efficient.
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Grandstanding should be stopped immediately. Meetings are about results not about giving a performance.
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The meeting agenda is the only agenda. Anyone trying to use the meeting to bring forward their own agenda needs to be politely but firmly brought into line.
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Ensure that everyone is participating. As important as preventing individuals from dominating, is to ensure that that the ‘quiet man’ in the room is heard.
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No back tracking for the disorganised. Late comers and those who haven’t prepared for the meeting should not be allowed to slow the meeting or cause continual interruptions.
Reporting should be restricted to facts. Items can be done, on-target, exposed or missed. Long rambling narratives on why things are / aren’t working and finger pointing should be stopped. At best they add little value and at worst cause ill feeling.
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Done or On-target – praise can be offered but no further discussion is required, unless some relevant learning point has arisen.
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Exposed – risk and issues should be explained and if appropriate, remedial action proposed.
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Missed – outline causes, define impact and outline remedial action.
Presentations should follow the 10-20-30 rule. No longer than 10 minutes, no more than 20 slides and nothing less than 30 point text ie headlines only. Surprises and ‘the big reveal’ are great for stage magicians but they serve little purpose in business. Summaries should be presented prior to the meeting so that participants have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the content. Questions should be directly related to the presentation. Too many questions might indicate that the presentation hasn’t succeeded in delivering. If this is the case it may be worth rescheduling a revised version for a later date so that no further time is waste and the presenter has time to address the issues raised.
Leave your toys at the door. This is not the last day of school so all gadgets should be left outside or put beyond use. Phone calls and e-mails are not only distracting for the recipient but will also disrupt the flow of the meeting for others.
Only take refreshments during scheduled breaks. Coffee and snacks on-tap encourage people to wander around, leading to disruption. The same rule applies to breakfast, lunch or dinner meetings. Try to separate eating and working. In that way you can enjoy your food and concentrate on your work, rather than concentrating on the food and ignoring your work.
Decisions should be binding. This means that the chair must clearly state what has been agreed and ensure that those present understand. There should be no room for ‘but I didn’t think you meant X’ type recriminations after the meeting. This can be as simple as saying “is everyone clear on what we have agreed” or if necessary ask everyone to sign indicating their understanding and acceptance
Leave the meeting with agreed actions & dates not minutes. Even if the meeting does not lead to a final result, participants should still leave the meeting with actions & dates for the follow-up.
Imposing a rigid set of rules is difficult in most organisations but without some form of structure and discipline meetings will almost inevitably become gaseous.
photo by me