Agenda Item 3

How to Be a Meeting Superhero … in 10 Minutes or Less

I'm not sure if you've been getting the underlying gist of what I've been saying—and if you haven't, then maybe I'm not being direct enough. Yet there's a simple fix to this whole meeting problem: Just don't have them!

That may seem like a dream world, or possibly an un-productive world based on your mind-set. My main point: When in doubt, find, use, and exhaust other possible modes of communication first before requesting the prime-time working hours of the greater population. Remember, poorly run meetings suck because they can suck time, energy, and creativity—and in the end, they can suck the profit out of your organization as well.

If you absolutely, positively, must, must, must have a meeting, Agenda Item 3 offers suggestions on how to conduct meetings that don't suck, that use creativity, that get you in and out of that dang conference room fast, by design.

Part 1, “New Meeting Styles,” deals with changing the way you meet. It's about meeting styles designed to put a spark back into your team, to reignite their creativity and participation.

Part 2, “Speed Meetings,” is my favorite. Hate to spend an hour in a meeting? Then don't. Spend 18 minutes instead and get the same amount done. How cool is that?

So buckle your seat belt and hold onto your shorts, because these ideas just might change your life forever … well, at least that part of your day that you so desperately want to change.