Fourteen Tips for Running a Good Meeting.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.
This Wednesday: 14 tips for running a good meeting.

Nothing can drain the happiness from you faster than a long, unproductive meeting. You’re bored; you’re not getting anything done; emails are piling up while you sit, trapped.

On the other hand, a productive meeting is exhilarating. A long time ago, when I was working in Washington, D.C., I remember a friend who worked at the Department of Justice saying, “Jamie Gorelick runs a meeting so well, it brings tears to my eyes.”

Meetings come in all shapes and sizes, so not all of these strategies will be useful, but here are some things I try to remember when I’m in or running a meeting:

1. Very obvious: Start on time, and end on time. Once people see that meetings are starting late, the bad habit builds, because people see there’s no point in showing up promptly. Here's one solution for late starts: a friend worked at a law firm that started fining partners $100 if they were late to a meeting, which turned out to be very effective. If the meeting has to run long, say, “We’re not through with the seven points, so can everyone stay fifteen extra minutes to wrap up?” That way, people know that the end is in sight.

2. At the same time, remember that it’s helpful to spend a little time in chit-chat. For a long time, I didn’t believe this to be true, and I tried to be hyper-efficient, but now I realize that it’s important – and productive – for people to have a chance to relate on a personal level. People need to build friendships, they need a chance to show their personalities, they need to establish rapport. Meetings are very important for this process.

3. If some people hesitate to jump in, find a way to draw them out. Ability to grab the floor doesn’t necessarily correlate with capacity to contribute.

4. One of the most insightful things my father ever told me was, “If you’re willing to take the blame, people will give you the responsibility.” Meetings often involve blame-giving and blame-taking, and although it’s not pleasant to accept blame, it’s a necessary aspect of getting responsibility (if deserved, of course). Proving my father’s point, one of my best meeting experiences ever was a time when I took the blame – rightly – for something done by a team of people working with me. Doing this ended up dramatically increasing my organizational credibility on all sides.

5. Share the credit. Along with blame, a meeting is also a great place to give people credit for their ideas and accomplishments. Be quick to point out great work or to call for a round of applause for a colleague. For some reason, people often act as though credit is a zero-sum goody, and if they share credit, they’ll get less themselves. From what I’ve seen, sharing credit not only doesn’t diminish the number of gold stars you get, but adds to them – because people so admire the ability to give credit. (Gold star junkie that I am, I pay close attention in this area.)

6. Making people feel stupid isn’t productive, and it isn’t kind. A friend has a good suggestion: “Be cheerfully, impersonally decisive.”

7. Have an agenda and stick to it. If possible, circulate the agenda in advance, along with anything else that needs to be read to prepare for the meeting. Make sure people know if they should bring anything. Along the same lines…

8. Never go to a meeting if you don’t know why you’re supposed to be there! This seems obvious, but it’s a situation that arises surprisingly frequently.

9. Standing meetings should be kept as short as possible and very structured. Have rules for canceling the meeting when appropriate – if such-and-such doesn’t happen; if only a certain number of people can attend, etc.

10. Don't say things that will undermine or antagonize other people. Turns out they do in fact notice this, and they don't appreciate it. If you wonder if you're an offender, check yourself against this list.

11. Be very specific about what the “action items” are (to use the business-school term). Who is agreeing to do what, by when? Make sure someone is keeping track of what is supposed to happen as a consequence of the meeting, and at the meeting’s end, review these items so it’s crystal clear to everyone. Follow up by email.

12. If a meeting is long, schedule breaks when people can check their email and phones. Otherwise, they get very distracted by feeling they’ve been out of touch for too long (for some people, this takes about ten minutes), and they start sneakily emailing under the table. As if no one will notice. Which they do.

13. Meetings should stay tightly focused. If people want a chance to discuss side issues, theoretical problems, or philosophical questions that aren’t relevant to the purpose of the meeting, they should set up a separate meeting.

14. Here’s a radical solution: no chairs. In Bob Sutton’s terrific book, The No A**** Rule, (printed that way not out of prudery but to avoid spamblockers), he points to a study that showed that people in meetings where everyone stood took 34% less time to make an assigned decision, with decisions that were just as good as those made by groups who were sitting down.

What am I missing? What are some other strategies for improving meetings?

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Comments

[Seb F.]

I would personnaly add : get a "Master of time" that will help you to respect the timed agenda you prepared before your meeting.
It definitely helped me a lot in my meetings : it is hard to manage the agenda, take the dedicated notes, make people participate in debates, ... and respect schedules !
Sometimes it helps not to be alone ;-)

[Denise]

I definitely agree with the points you made there. The company I work for often starts meetings and events pretty late. They invite people to a small meeting without actually telling them why they have to be there. My last day is this July 15. I would have wanted to stick around to see them make a change but I don't see that happening any time soon. So I won't bother. Plus, I've caught the late bug. I no longer go to work on time because no one starts working till it's 9 am.

[Alex @ Happiness in this World]

This is an outstanding list. I might only add something like: be willing and able to appropriately redirect off-topic conversations. There often seems to be someone who loves the sound of his or her own voice who needs to be gently interrupted. "Agenda hijackers" often can't help themselves but can kill a good meeting cold. It's the leader's responsibility to reign them in to keep the meeting on track.

[Gretchen Rubin]

I love the idea of a "Master of Time." Then someone would really take charge of making sure that time was being used effectively -- both literally, by starting and ending on time, and figuratively -- those "agenda hijackers"!

[Seb F.]

@Grentchen Rubin : thx. I read this notion of "Master of Time" in Value Analysis methodology books. It is a really effective way to manage meetings.
Nevertheless, your 14 tips (though I did not try the 14th yet !) are also very useful and I shall refer to your list from time to time !

[jeannie]

I've found that, rather than having an agenda circulated in advance, which sort of forces my will onto the direction of the discussion, just announcing (and sticking to) a single problem to solve or having a specific topic to discuss allows for the attendees to have more investment in the issue at hand. There is still a need to wrangle time and maintain focus, but it's an effective and organic approach.

[Katie]

I was just in a productive meeting yesterday - which was great compared to our usual dragged-out ones (it's a standing meeting). The difference is significant. Thanks for these tips!

[Patrick]

If you have a gentle sense of humor, I think it really helps to use it to move things along. It doesn't help in moments of crisis (layoff discussions, e.g.) but most of the world's meetings are not on difficult topics. I think making people smile makes them more willing to participate next time.

[Meream]

I'd want tips on how to draw people out. Specific methods and all that. :D

[barbara]

Very good list. I'd just add one thought. If you call a meeting that, for example, lasts an hour and is attended by ten people, note that you are eating up ten hours of work on the part of the attendees. Consider this when calling a meeting.
Barbara

[robertahill]

Humour absolutely! As for agenda - list time allotments and not actual time. Have Master of Time point out 5 minutes before time is up. If important - negotiate extension but also decide what will be dropped or shortened. This can be done quickly when people are engaged in the process. I have also found that adding 20% to what you think will take for an agenda item also works and you won't pile on too many items. If you are lucky to complete it in less time - finish the meeting early.

[Stacey]

Going along with an advanced agenda, it's also helpful if people raise questions before the meeting so the person presenting an item is caught off guard & decisions postponed because of more research needed. We did this with a yahoo group and it worked very well.

[KnowledgeStar]

I'd take a lesson from the President. He has a basket outside the oval office and before important meetings with him you LEAVE your Blackberry, iPod, whatever smart cellphone you use, in the basket. Meetings are a chance for the Groupmind to work and there nothing more distracting than texting during the time your mind is supposed to be thinking with the group.

[XmanEDS]

Scope of meeting: …. (render decisions on, and assign action items about…)
Goal of the meeting is to …
Out of scope items: (exclusions):

Stakeholders / required attendees:
Required attendees; Optional attendees:

Desired date / time-frame:
Expected duration of meeting:

Location: is the location in-person, or is it remote?
Remote attendance: is there a dial-in number for phone? A URL for a web site? Must any software be installed before you can attend the meeting? Please have each attendee test their software before the start of the meeting to be sure that it works.

Agenda: (list items here)

Action Items to be assigned (if already known)

Decisions that must be made:

Explicit success criteria: this meeting is a success when we have produced:

Expected outcome:

Background / history: what has happened previously?

Preparation or homework required by attendees:
(some preparation only by some attendees? Some preparation that is for all attendees?)

Will there be any presentations?
Handouts:
Are there any resources to be posted to web/internet/intranet? Before the meeting? After the meeting?

Logistical support:
Will there be any food and/or drinks?
Does the meeting require a projector? Does the meeting require a computer? Internet access in the meeting room? Internet access for one computer, or required for all attendees?

[Krys]

Great post! I wrote a post about this exact same topic last October, citing an article by the American Management Association.

http://krysslovacek.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/meeting-well/

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[Dennis Tan]

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