MeetingsMayhem

Meetings, meetings, meetings.  They seem to be a necessity of organizational life, but they too often produce more harm than good, more stagnation than productivity.

Effectively conducting meetings that move the team productively forward feels somewhat akin to an occult art.  Yet, I know a few organizational leaders who manage to pull it off.  

Here are some of the meetings strategies they use:
> Meetings are scheduled well in advance, with clear start and stop times.
> No wall flowers allowed; everyone invited has some skin in the game.
> Agendas are succinct, communicated ahead of time, and tightly aligned to the organizational goals.
> All attendees are expected to participate, proportional to their closeness to the work (which means the loftiest title holders get the least air time).
> Dissociated ramblings and mind-numbing blather are NOT allowed.
> Decisions are made, with deliverables clearly articulated.

Meetings are typically the most expensive hours spent in an organization's life span.  Wisely managed ones are force multipliers; ineptly deployed ones are just the opposite.