Nick Powills: Want Fewer Meetings? Let’s Have A Meeting About It.

I have heard it hundreds of times: “We have too many meetings!”This is not just a symptom of our company – it’s almost every company. And when the ‘too many meetings’ reminder comes up, there’s often a meeting to discuss it. Meetings aren’t bad, so long as they come with a purpose. In order to create efficiency in meetings, here’s what I would recommend:

Rather than starting with a meeting time, start with a meeting purpose. What do you want to accomplish out of the set meeting? I like to think in headlines. We are meeting because of [INSERT ANSWER]. We are meeting because we need to discuss issue X, plan strategy Y, solve problem Z. Meeting just to meet can be effective on occasion, particularly when it comes to human-to-human interaction, but when you set a purpose, you have a better chance of feeling great about the outcome.

Speaking of outcome, what happens when you leave every meeting with a deliverable? Mid-last year, we started including a to-do item with our weekly leadership meeting. This to-do had to be accomplished in the next week. By doing so, we each had a specific deliverable to put into action by the next week.

The first challenge we encountered with this was accountability. To-do list items would go on, but at the next meeting, they wouldn’t come off. Then, the expectation was set firmly: If you haven’t completed that task, leave the meeting.

The beauty of the to-do list item is that it is completely up to the person naming it. Thus, the items turned into things our team knew they could win at. And, as a group, we won at deliverables.

We have moved to a very simple agenda that resembles most of what Gino Wickman writes about in “Traction.” This agenda is easy to follow and continues to evolve as the weeks go on. Having an agenda will keep meetings focused and more on schedule, especially if you put time stamps on when to move to the next item.

A meeting without an agenda can go over time. And when you surpass the time allocated, it can put stress on the rest of the day. Agendas give you a fighting chance to keep things moving forward.

If you don’t bring value to a meeting, why come to a meeting? There have been plenty of meetings where I look around the room and see non-contributors. Sure, they could be more inclined to intake information than anything else, which is OK most of the time, but every meeting attendee should look to find a way to add value to the conversation being had. Let the room know you are there to move the bus forward. By bringing value, you increase the chance of making the meetings you attend more valuable. More valuable meetings rarely turn into frustration because you walk out feeling good.

To bring value, you can also be proactive. Don’t just regurgitate what happened in the last week – bring something new. Show that you are adding value – whether internal (team) or external (client). Make everyone attending see why they work with you.

This is something we will continue to work on.