Goals – the key to successful meetings
Goals – the key to successful meetings
I am sure you have experienced the meeting that drags on for ages and seems to get nowhere. An analysis of that meeting would probably reveal that the purpose or goal of the meeting was unclear. It is important that goals are absolutely clear. For example, a meeting called to discuss client service would seem to have a goal. But client service is a very general concept and the meeting could possibly lose focus in a broad discussion and produce few practical results. The best way to set a goal for a meeting is to make a statement starting with the words: “We want to emerge from this meeting …” – and then describe clearly, what it is that you want to have. In our example it could be; “We want to emerge from this meeting having identified specific shortcomings in customer service and with a clear, written plan addressing all those areas, which can be communicated to all employees.”
Now the work to be done in the meeting is clear. Problems in customer service need to be specifically identified (i.e. the problem is named and described exactly), and a plan which can be clearly understood by all employees needs to be written which addresses those problems. The implication in having this goal is that any discussion which is not either identifying a problem specifically (such as general moaning about customer service) or contributing to writing down a plan for addressing the problems, will not be allowed at the meeting. It also means that the meeting will produce a useful result.
If you have called a meeting, first clarify the exact goal of the meeting. It will ensure that the meeting produces a result and will cut out time wasting chatter that does not contribute to the meeting. The goal will give the meeting positive impetus and lessen the likelihood of unproductive negativism. The meeting will take less time and people are more likely to attend your meetings as they begin to realise that these meetings have a purpose, are productive and don’t waste time. It will also give you the satisfaction of being able to place a tick in the box which says: “task completed”.
Goals the key to successful meetings - To learn more about this author, visit Jonathan Payne's Website.
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Meetings are part of business life. Sometimes they are great, and sometimes they are endured as a necessary evil. Think about the better meetings you have been to. What makes a good meeting? There are many aspects to a good meeting and one of them brings us back to what we looked at last week – goals.
I am sure you have experienced the meeting that drags on for ages and seems to get nowhere. An analysis of that meeting would probably reveal that the purpose or goal of the meeting was unclear. It is important that goals are absolutely clear. For example, a meeting called to discuss client service would seem to have a goal. But client service is a very general concept and the meeting could possibly lose focus in a broad discussion and produce few practical results. The best way to set a goal for a meeting is to make a statement starting with the words: “We want to emerge from this meeting …” – and then describe clearly, what it is that you want to have. In our example it could be; “We want to emerge from this meeting having identified specific shortcomings in customer service and with a clear, written plan addressing all those areas, which can be communicated to all employees.”
Now the work to be done in the meeting is clear. Problems in customer service need to be specifically identified (i.e. the problem is named and described exactly), and a plan which can be clearly understood by all employees needs to be written which addresses those problems. The implication in having this goal is that any discussion which is not either identifying a problem specifically (such as general moaning about customer service) or contributing to writing down a plan for addressing the problems, will not be allowed at the meeting. It also means that the meeting will produce a useful result.
If you have called a meeting, first clarify the exact goal of the meeting. It will ensure that the meeting produces a result and will cut out time wasting chatter that does not contribute to the meeting. The goal will give the meeting positive impetus and lessen the likelihood of unproductive negativism. The meeting will take less time and people are more likely to attend your meetings as they begin to realise that these meetings have a purpose, are productive and don’t waste time. It will also give you the satisfaction of being able to place a tick in the box which says: “task completed”.
Goals the key to successful meetings - To learn more about this author, visit Jonathan Payne's Website.
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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