Tools for Effective Meetings?

I had expected that having over 3,000 meetings under my belt would make the meetings I conduct “a snap” for getting the job done. Thirty years supporting different businesses and volunteer organizations in a variety of roles has provided a rich environment to develop my “meeting” skills. What I have learned is that conducting meetings is not always easy no matter how many you’ve attended or lead! Good planning is just one component of successful meetings.

So students, pull out your toolkit and let’s make sure it is filled with proven methods, techniques, and tools, that you can use whenever appropriate for the task at hand. This includes tools for effective meetings (I never leave my toolkit out of reach!) Meetings and teamwork are the first topics we’ll cover this semester.

An interesting on-line article posted June 6th, 2012 on the website www.fastcodesign.com presents an excerpt from the book “Insanely Simple: The Obsession that Drives Apple’s Success” by Ken Segall. Not only does this post provide a thought provoking view of meetings conducted by Steve Jobs at Apple, but the 100+ comments that follow in response beg for more class discussion. One item I use in my toolkit is the “meeting agenda”. But the meeting Mr. Segall described did not have an agenda. What gives? Meeting size, participant personalities, meeting purpose, meeting leader contribute to the meeting outcome? Weigh-in to the discussion! What tools would you use? (The full article is posted at the website http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669936/meetings-are-a-skill-you-can-master-and-steve-jobs-taught-me-how and enjoy!)

Sandy F.

Plenty of "tools" to use for this meeting but not what I'm looking for!