Small Business Tips

July 23, 2007

Are Your Business Meetings Productive?

Filed under: advice, management — mallesh @ 12:00 pm

Calling a business meeting is the first thing we do when we want to solve different problems encountered or when we want to inform the team about something big. However, some entrepreneurs and business executives are guilty of abusing this very important business activity.

Every problem now requires a team meeting. But if you evaluate all your past meetings you will realize that most of them are worthless. It’s a waste of time and money. According to The Dictionary of Corporate Bullshit, meetings are defined as “Excellent forums for observing the subtle humiliation of various staff members and management intimidation techniques.”

Funny but very true and tragic. There are different ways to cure this rather recurring problem. In addition to Instigator Blog’s 7 ways to avoid pointless meetings, here are some more tips:

  1. Think of ten reasons why this meeting is not important. Alternately, challenge the importance of each agenda. If you can think of rebuttal in less than 2 minutes then call it off.
  2. Embrace Technology. Some issues can be easily solved via e-mail, phone calls, or personal visits to the people involved. No need to drag the whole team.
  3. Set up a Friday Stand up Meeting. If a meeting is needed set it on Friday, 4 PM, and without any chair at all. Since we all want to go home early during weekends and we’re not used to standing up for a long time, members will limit discussions on important topics and avoid any nonsense chitchats.

3 Responses to “Are Your Business Meetings Productive?”

  1. Leading by Listening | LogoDesignWorks Says:

    [...] small business owners, we are sometimes guilty of talking too much or dominating every business meeting. We might be carried away by our passion to delight our customers, or even frustration about our [...]

  2. Entrepreneur's Guide on Closing Sales | Logo Design Works Says:

    [...] the meeting by stating how your customers can benefit from your products or services. In some cases, an upfront [...]

  3. 3 Tips on Using Your Business Cards | Logo Design Works Says:

    [...] leave their business cards at their office or don’t carry one if they don’t have any meetings or conferences. Try to keep at least 10 cards within your reach because you never know when [...]

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