Meetings are a part of running a business. Instead of complaining about the huge time suck that meetings have a tendency to be, we can fix them. Meetings, when run properly, benefit a company and the individuals involved. This is part two of the three part series on “Getting the Most Out of Meetings”.

Earlier this week we covered who should attend a meeting.

Today’s topic is: What Should Be Covered

What should be covered at a meeting depends largely on the goals. Having a meeting just for the sake of getting everyone in the room to talk about something is why most meetings are nothing by time sucks.

A meeting should have a purpose:

• Making a decision
• Planning a project
• Updating the team on a new initiative

Once the purpose of the meeting is defined, an agenda should be created. The only items on the agenda should be those essential to reaching the goal. Limit the agenda as much as possible.

Next, make sure everyone attending the meeting gets a copy of the agenda and a definition of the meeting’s purpose before the meeting. They should know not to stray off topic. If they do, the meeting leader needs to cut them off and steer you back on topic.

Run through the agenda, making sure everyone has their say. Come away with a decision, and action steps to be taken before the next meeting.

After the meeting send a recap using the initial agenda so that everyone is on the same page. The recap and the action steps will serve as the basis for the next meeting’s agenda.

Tomorrow we will cover how to run a meeting.