Get More Done: Using Meeting Agenda's for Faster Meetings

Do you get stuck in meetings that take too long, don't get to the point and don't stimulate the appropriate actions?

I've been in loads of those too. When I told my boss (in a job I had a long time ago) that I wouldn't attend any more meetings if there wasn't an agenda I was told that I was 'a troublemaker'. How I laugh looking back!

Clear meeting agendas can shorten the length of meetings

A clear agenda allows everyone to
prepare properly and shorten meetings.

Having an agenda for a meeting implies a degree of preparation by the organiser.

Circulation of an agenda prior to a meeting allows for appropriate preparation by the attendees.

Swift sharing of information based on an agenda, preparation in advance and having a clear focus of what the meeting is designed to achieve can make meetings speed up (and be a whole lot more effective).

If you have a regular meeting then 'standard' agendas can work really well, as long as the meetings are punchy and people prepare properly for them.

If you can get your meetings out of the way quicker then your team has more time undertake the actions that come out from the meeting.

Shorter meetings, more results.

What do you think?

Giles Johnston
Author, Consultant and Chartered Engineer

Comments

The Kaizen Checklist is here!

Do you want to get better results from your Kaizen programme? Improve your business results quickly with my downloadable kit (including guidebook, workbook and templates) for only $39. Are you looking for a sustainable way to identify and implement improvements across your business? Practical improvement strategies The Kaizen Checklist is a downloadable kit that you can use with your management team to develop a system that suits your business and allow you to quickly implement Kaizen effectively at your place of work. This works great if you use it as the centre piece of your own internal workshop. The kit includes a 40 page guidebook, a workbook, four appendices and three templates. All parts of this kit are designed to get you up and running as fast as possible. If you are unfamiliar with Kaizen, let me stress that this is a simple improvement philosophy that is so much more than just ‘a Japanese word for continuous improvement’. I’ll cover what it...

How to get started with continuous improvement

We all know that continuous improvement is a strategy that is essential for business. It involves constantly seeking ways to improve processes, products, or services in order to achieve better results and outcomes. However, for many people, the thought of starting on the path of continuous improvement can be daunting. The fear of doing it incorrectly or not knowing where to start can be overwhelming. The key to successful continuous improvement is to start small and gradually build upon your successes. Here are some tips to help you get started if you are unsure of how to begin: 1. Identify areas for improvement: The first step in continuous improvement is to identify the areas that need improvement. This can be done by looking at the processes, products, or services that are not performing as well as they could be. It is important to involve all stakeholders in this process to gain a comprehensive understanding of the areas that need attention. 2. Set specifi...

Nail the number one improvement project

Over the past few weeks I have intervened in my client's continuous improvement programmes . I did this for one good reason: They weren't getting results. They caught the improvement bug, like so many organisations do. They got caught in the trap of wanting to change everything now! As I said, this happens to most of us from time to time. You start with some small improvements and you then identify more improvements you could get your teeth into. The next thing you know, you are trying to run ten improvement projects as well as deliver your day job. I know from bitter experience that this usually leads to having lots of loose ends rather than tangible increases in performance. So, what can you do about this? I know that with careful experimenting and resource management, you could find your sweet spot and figure out how many projects you can handle at once. Or, you can take the quick route and pare back your list until you have one priority. The one project that will give you t...

The Smartspeed Performance Improvement Blog