Meetings

"If you want something done, ask a busy person"

-Benjamin Franklin

This quote, from one of America's Founding Fathers, highlights that busy people are able to get more done in a day, because they don't waste time. While I believe this to be true, I've also known a number of people who are busy all day yet accomplish very little. Could meetings be the cause?

WHY: The foundation of a productive meeting starts with a good reason to have one.

The SMB Ops Show lists a series reasons to have meetings below:

Good:

• Complex discussions that require different perspectives

• People development & training

• Alignment

Bad:

• Assigning & receiving tasks

Are you busy passing tasks in meetings all day?

TYPE: The effectivity of a meeting will be greatly influenced by the Type of meeting it is

A complete meeting Type must include date, time, location, agenda, attendees, and cadence. Manage the type tightly, or prepare for the type to manage you!

Do the Type of meetings you attend create the impact you need?

Don't underestimate people working together to solve problems! Not every engagement needs to be structured. Listen to this, and more, on River Valley's Talking Church Podcast about meetings

BEYOND THE MEETING:

Staff meetings, and what the team thinks about them, is the culture of your team. Make every minute matter!

TIP: Select the meeting Type carefully

You've got a good reason for a meeting, an agenda, date, time, and location set. What Type to choose?

SELECT:

• Daily w/ Group: Good for alignment of those working together on a common task (keep them short!)

• Weekly w/ Group: Good for problem solving

• Periodic 1:1: Good for people development and preventing problems before they begin

ANALYZE:

• Add: If you are buried in ad-hoc discussions & emails, covering variations on the same topics, schedule a meeting and train the organization to solve it!

• Eliminate: If you are buried in meetings and the team is always aligned and taking action before the meeting beings, eliminate a meeting and let everyone work!

Lead | Produce | Pursue

Joe House