We all know the curse of too many meetings. It’s that event that causes you to hold your head in your hands as you realize that you no longer control your own schedule. Often, it can feel as if most meetings don’t hold much value.
But there’s a fallacy in believing all meetings are bad. A well-planned meeting, grounded in action, and scheduled with intelligence can be the best way to ensure that productivity is ensured.
A question that I ask in many meetings is “what is the desired outcome of this session.” Nothing ground-breaking there but still worth asking. If this question cannot be answered at the start of the meeting then there was:
- No planning was given to what was needed (no agenda)
- No action being called for or information specifically being shared
- Likely either too many of the wrong people or not enough of the right people present because the list wasn’t planned
If you can’t give the desired outcome, you can’t have a meeting. It’s that simple.