Strategy
Meet Like You Mean It
Stop wasting time and start having better meetings. With more than 30 years of management experience, Randy Will of RG Will Solutions, LLC offers three tips for making your meetings more meaningful.
By Ren Bishop
Nov 2016
Determine an Objective
Every meeting should have a specific, stated purpose before it begins. That purpose should be communicated to all attendees before the meeting starts, Will says. “If no one knows what the meeting is for, that’s a real problem,” he says. “If you don’t have a stated objective, then don’t hold the meeting.”
Upgrade the Agenda
Writing out specific items that will be discussed is one way to improve a meeting, but giving time restrictions to each agenda item makes meetings exponentially more efficient. “People will talk only in the time they’re given,” Will says. “And every minute they’re not working, there’s opportunity cost.”
Don’t Delay Decisions
Making decisions during meetings encourages positive changes to be implemented rapidly. “Don’t prolong the pain,” he says. “Make a decision. If you keep putting off a decision, especially a hard one, the problem only perpetuates. Make a decision in a meeting, and if it’s the wrong one, pivot and make another decision. It’s simple.”
