Master Your Game: Designing an Effective Meeting Agenda
Master Your Game: Designing an Effective Meeting Agenda
Meetings can be a waste of time and energy if no one is prepared and participants are forced to make decisions without adequate information. Last month, we discussed meeting management styles. This month, we discuss the effective agenda.
Use The Agenda As A Strategic Tool
" Most people think the Agenda is the most important part of a meeting. WRONG! The agenda is simply a tool to get you to your destination . . "
Dike Drummond in Cut Your Meeting Time in Half
published at www.superteams.com
To prepare an agenda, here are some quick quidelines*:
Communicate your objective for the meeting. The purpose of the meeting must be clear and communicated to participants before the event so that people have time to prepare.
Clarify the desired outcome for each topic. If the outcome is not defined, people will make their own assumptions about what they are being asked to accomplish. As shown in this diagram, designing the agenda begins with a list of all potential topics and ends with the outcome. Some potential outcomes include identifying what information needs to be gathered, identifying the criteria for making a decision, deciding on next steps, or making a final decision.
Break down discussions if needed. Narrow objectives can be accomplished in a single meeting while more significant goals take more time. Therefore, if the topic under discussion is significant, the discussion may need to be broken down into several steps to allow for thoughtful solutions.
Someone must lead. The person in charge presents the agenda at the meeting and explains the objectives for each topic item. (See last month's newsletter for the difference between facilitating and chairing meetings.)
Manage the agenda. Because plenty of work can be accomplished between meetings, the agenda does not need to be over crowded in an attempt to get everything done.
Take advantage of time between meetings to:
Seek input from other parties
Research
Move the thinking forward
Remember that a well-designed agenda produces specific, actionable outcomes. Use it wisely and improve your meeting effectiveness.
Next month, I will talk about the Meeting Process Design.
Wishing you effective meetings,
Jacque Small
*Adapted from a Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner, Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duane Berger
Master Your Game Designing an Effective Meeting Agenda - To learn more about this author, visit Jacque Small's Website.
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An agenda planning session should occur prior to every meeting. Just as an architect wouldn't dream of showing up at a construction site without a well-thought out design, facilitators need to create their own blueprints for each session.
Meetings can be a waste of time and energy if no one is prepared and participants are forced to make decisions without adequate information. Last month, we discussed meeting management styles. This month, we discuss the effective agenda.
Use The Agenda As A Strategic Tool
" Most people think the Agenda is the most important part of a meeting. WRONG! The agenda is simply a tool to get you to your destination . . "
Dike Drummond in Cut Your Meeting Time in Half
published at www.superteams.com
To prepare an agenda, here are some quick quidelines*:
Communicate your objective for the meeting. The purpose of the meeting must be clear and communicated to participants before the event so that people have time to prepare.
Clarify the desired outcome for each topic. If the outcome is not defined, people will make their own assumptions about what they are being asked to accomplish. As shown in this diagram, designing the agenda begins with a list of all potential topics and ends with the outcome. Some potential outcomes include identifying what information needs to be gathered, identifying the criteria for making a decision, deciding on next steps, or making a final decision.
Break down discussions if needed. Narrow objectives can be accomplished in a single meeting while more significant goals take more time. Therefore, if the topic under discussion is significant, the discussion may need to be broken down into several steps to allow for thoughtful solutions.
Someone must lead. The person in charge presents the agenda at the meeting and explains the objectives for each topic item. (See last month's newsletter for the difference between facilitating and chairing meetings.)
Manage the agenda. Because plenty of work can be accomplished between meetings, the agenda does not need to be over crowded in an attempt to get everything done.
Take advantage of time between meetings to:
Seek input from other parties
Research
Move the thinking forward
Remember that a well-designed agenda produces specific, actionable outcomes. Use it wisely and improve your meeting effectiveness.
Next month, I will talk about the Meeting Process Design.
Wishing you effective meetings,
Jacque Small
*Adapted from a Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner, Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duane Berger
Master Your Game Designing an Effective Meeting Agenda - To learn more about this author, visit Jacque Small's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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