Tuesday is coming and you dread it. Why? Because at 10am there will be a conference call... just like last week, the week before, and as far back as your dulled mind can remember. Why does this meeting happen? No one knows. What is its result? Absolutely nothing. Should it be cancelled.? That’s your year
ly birthday wish.
In an article in the NyTimes.com, I found some tips on avoiding unnecessary meetings that I think you’ll enjoy. The first thing we should do is...
Have an Objective - While this has been said before, it’s vital enough to repeat. What is the purpose of the conference call? What do we hope to accomplish and is a meeting the best way to do it?
Drop-ins Okay - Have you ever had to wait for thirty minutes until the meeting got to your part? Did you really have to be there beforehand? Sometimes it’s impossible to plan exactly when a speaker will be needed to speak, but if you plan correctly, it can be simple. If people are to speak in the last ten minutes of a conference call, let them join the meeting at a later time.
Follow-Up - In the article, they encourage us to have someone take notes, including action items for the decisions made. In a conference call, everything is recorded. While this is easier, more efficient, and far more reliable, we still need to have someone be responsible to review the recording and follow-up.
Everyone in the Room - If we have a meeting to decide things but our report has to go to another meeting for them to approve our decisions, then we’ve just had an unnecessary meeting. Get ALL of the involved parties into the same meeting. Present, get feedback, answer questions, and make the decision all in one go. This can be difficult to achieve with only face-to-face meetings, but with conference calls, it’s a simple thing to make it happen every time.
How do you avoid unnecessary meetings? If you
have any tips for us, leave a comment and tell us about them.
