The Leading Edge - Fall 2008 - (Page 10)

operational continued from page 13 Glass walls good Some conference rooms have all glass walls so everyone can see what’s happening. Even if glass isn’t in the future for your conference room, keep the doors open whenever possible during meetings. It may sound disruptive, but people will hear the buzz and often are less likely to wonder what’s being said behind closed doors, Herold notes. bullet points. It also lets attendees know when their topic will be discussed so if someone is only involved in the last part of the meeting, there’s no reason to sit through all the other topics. 3. Schedule a meeting for half the time. Too many people block off an hour for a meeting. Herold advises meeting organizers to schedule 50 percent of the time they thought was needed. “You will get it done in less time,” he says. Hardy also says meeting planners should have “rules of engagement.” “Blackberries off, phones off and laptops closed—no exceptions,” he says. “If you were meeting with the president you would turn your phone off, right? Give everyone that same respect.” But do schedule breaks so attendees can fiddle with their electronic gadgets, he says. “WhEThEr or noT MEETInGS ArE WorTh ThE TIME DEPEnDS on ThE qUALITY of ThE MEETInG STrUCTUrE AnD fACILITATIon” Guest lists “Only invite those integral to the contribution of the discussion,” Hardy says. “Don’t drag innocent bystanders through these slog fests. Only key contributors to the dialogue need suffer through the full fun fare. “Everyone else can get the 10-minute summary update.” Marvin Weisbord, co-director of the Future Search Network and co-author of Don’t Just Do Something: Stand There!, says people find meetings frustrating when the key people are not present, thus “guaranteeing that the decision cannot be made or the problem solved or the plan finalized without more meetings.” Perhaps the single most important invite to the list (which might be the inviter himself or herself) is a leader who can “get the whole system in the room for a given purpose. “By this we mean people who have among them authority to act, resources (time, money, special talents or knowledge), expertise, exclusive information, meaning those affected by the solutions or decisions whether they have power or not. A few years ago, a meeting sponsored by Weekly meetings Supervisors who schedule weekly meetings with each of their direct reports will find fewer e-mails and greater efficiency, Herold says. Instead of emailing each other whenever a thought pops up, each person keeps a list to go over at the meeting—he estimates 50 percent of the list won’t even need to be discussed. 10 VOLUME 9 n ISSUE 1 n faLL 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leading Edge - Fall 2008

The Leading Edge - Fall 2008 Contents Sculpt Your Business to Survive and Thrive Protect Intellectual Property Outside the United States Complaints about Meetings? The Leading Edge Alliance Top 10 Misconceptions of Doing Business in Belgium In a Nutshell: Q&A

The Leading Edge - Fall 2008

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