FNC Roundtable

Hey FNC Roundtablers:

We learned lots of things in our meeting on meetings, but I think the easiest way to really take advantage of what we talked about is to follow our “get out of jail free” steps. Start using them today. Remember that a meeting is what happens when any two people or more get together, whether in the hall, on the phone or around a big table with lots of hand outs.  So, we are meeting every day, and can take advantage of these Get Out of Jail Free steps every day.

• Publish an agenda in advance
  • does this have to be a pretty mega-page document? Of course not, don’t avoid the agenda just because you don’t have time to make it pretty
  • The agenda is your organizing document (yes, you, it organizes you first, then the meeting attendees next)
• Start on Time
  • I bet you are still not doing this.
  • Are you waiting for people? Do you have to wait for the “really important people”?–what about the rest of us, are we chopped liver, as they say?
  • What happens when you wait?
• Set some Ground rules
  • these are our “Miss Manners” rules that allow us to work together
  • ELECTRONICS on STUN!
  • Remember the “There are no stupid ideas” rule. That is an absolute must– as we learned in our negotiations class.
• Stick to Your Agenda
  • Now there is a concept.
  • What happens when you get off the agenda?
  • Repeat after me: THE URGENT ALWAYS TRUMPS THE IMPORTANT.

• Use a Parking Lot
  • Remember what the parking lot is.
  • That is where we park great ideas, or issues or problems so that they do not knock us off course, but we also do not forget them.
• Fix Responsibilities
  • This makes sure that everyone understands what their assignments are and when they are due
  • If you do not do this, what happens?
• Finish on Time
  • Holy smoke, you want us to start AND end on time?
  • Will people be grateful if you finish on time?
• Publish Minutes
  • Why do we do this?
  • Well, my memory is perfect but I am not so sure about yours
  • Do this quickly so people can use it as a guide before the next meeting
    
• Continuously Improve
  • There’s a concept.
  • If we can reduce the “I hate meetings” down to “I sorta hate meetings” or “I hate other meetings but not this one”, that is really good.
  • The point of this is that WE CAN CHANGE IF WE DECIDE TO.
• Use a Facilitator
  • This keeps order and keeps things moving.
  • That’s good, isn’t it.