Meetings

So, I've got this idea for a company.  A service company that I think will help us get back on track.

But first, here's the kinda like (because I am not sure I want to share my company idea if it means I don't get to make money from it).

Having a meeting without an agenda, minutes, tasks, and a time aspect is kinda like going to the grocery store without a list.  It's fine, the store has all sorts of options and you can spend hours in there and come out with enough things to make dinner, clean the house and clothe the family.  But if you really needed to pick something up, odds are about 1 in 4 that you are able to successfully defeat the design of the modern grocery store, retrieve the two of three essentials, and exit with the rest of your money intact.

Breaking this one down:
The Agenda gives you a specific, targeted purpose for the meeting and allows people to come prepared.  Do you expect to spend $20 or $50 at the store for the items on your list?  Or is it a major day at the market (design or development meeting) with a $250 budget?

Timelines prevent extra items from creeping into the agenda.  That bag of Oreos is on sale for just $2.50 today, and I think the cookie jar is low.  Nevermind the diet, that is a deal!  (The agenda also helps the person running the meeting say "no", or guide the meeting back on topic.  Like the list helps when the children (or, in my case I, as the husband) see the Oreos and start in with the whining.)

Minutes show what you have accomplished.  Checking things off the list as you go along and reviewing the receipt at the end of the trip.  Who among us hasn't been to the grocery store to get food and been reminded in the moment by the child that some school essential was needed for gym, or a project, or music,...  Of course the store you are in MIGHT sell the athletic cup or the particular type of poster board, but it wasn't a planned item.  Minutes help capture the side items that need addressed.

Tasks. Here's a tough one.  In the grocery list analogy, there is little in the way of comparison to tasks.  The trip was a task, the collection was a task.  However, you've just spent at least 15 minutes (more like an hour and fifteen minutes) wondering and grazing.  Something should have occurred to you during that time, so you probably texted or called someone to let them know.  So tasks are tough to relate.

However, tasks are essential to the team.  There needs to be Someone that is assigned to do Something, or the meeting is more of a social event.  And, if your meetings are like mine: typically held with a group of the highest paid people in the building, that's a pretty expensive water-cooler gabfest.

So, treat your meetings like a well organized trip the the store.  You know you probably don't want to go there anyway, so make sure you get what you need (and what you want) and get on with life.

more next time,
-gs

(and nope, I've decided to keep my company idea.  You might be able to tease it out of the topics above.)