By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
It is said that on an average day in the United States, there will be 17
million meetings. (It makes you wonder how anything ever gets done!) A
meeting is two or more people getting together to exchange information. What
could be simpler? Yet, it is one of the biggest institutional time wasters
that we suffer.
An informative exercise is to calculate the hourly cost of the meeting. A
person earning $50,000 per year represents an hourly salary cost to the
organization of $10 (without adding in benefits, overhead, and profit
potential). If ten people at this salary level meet for one hour, the cost
is $100 for the hour. Then look at what was accomplished. Was it worth $100?
Sometimes "yes". A lot of the times, "no".
I have created five steps that will help you to improve the productivity of
your meetings. Even if you are not responsible for running the meeting,
bring these suggestions to the person who is responsible.
- Ask, "Is it necessary?" We always hold the meeting because we have always
held the meeting. What would happen if it did not take place? What if we did
not meet quite so often? How about if we met once a month instead of every
week?
- Ask the question, "Am I necessary?" Now I do not mean this in the deep
philosophical sense, but, rather, "do I get anything out of the meeting?"
and "do I contribute anything to the meeting?" If the answers to those two
questions are both "no", try to avoid attending the meeting. Or, perhaps
just the first half of the meeting is relevant to you. In this case, see if
there is a way to get excused from the second half of the meeting.
- Prepare an agenda. Just as it is a good practice to prepare a daily "to
do list" to help us get focused each day, we ought to have a written agenda
for our meeting. Circulate it in advance to those who will be attending. Let
them know what is to be discussed. Give them a chance to prepare. Do not
hold meetings by "ambush".
- Set the times. Have a starting time and stick to it. Set time for each
item to be discussed so that one item does not dominate the entire meeting
leaving no time to discuss the other items. Have an ending time and stick to
it.
- Commit to action. Meetings ought to produce results. Resolve to a course
of action. We have discussed the issue, so now what? Assign responsibility
for the tasks to specific individuals with deadlines and hold them
accountable.
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore has been a full-time Professional Speaker for the last
20 years having made over 5,000 presentations to audiences from around the
Globe. He is available to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminars at
your location helping your people get more done in less time, with less
stress. Don's programs are entertaining, fast paced, and filed with
practical, common sense ideas. His seminars are typically rated as "the best
I have ever attended". For more information, contact Don via email at
ctsem@msn.com or call him at (203) 929-9902.
Would you like to receive free Timely Time Management Tips on a regular
basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day?
Sign up now for our free "TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS". Just go to:
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welcome you aboard!
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
60 Huntington St., P.O. Box 2126
Shelton, CT 06484
(800) 969-3773 (203) 929-9902 Fax: (203) 929-8151
ctsem@msn.com
http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in
your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please
email your request for "reprint" to
ctsem@msn.com
