Meeting Best Practices

Under construction

A-energy vs B/C-energy * Meeting-strategies * What does a good agenda look like? * Email agreed action-points?

Synthesis of meeting workflow

  1. Send out invitation 1 week in advance
    1. Announce purpose/topic.
    2. List agenda topics as questions
    3. Attach reference material
  2. Have the meeting
    1. Announce purpose/topic.
    2. List agenda topics as questions
      1. IF(your meeting): Present (do 90% of talking)
      2. IF(not your meeting): Listen (do 10% of talking)
    3. Anything we need to change/add?
    4. Review last meeting’s +/Δ
    5. Take notes
    • Decisions
    • Action-points (What should be done, and who’s responsible?)
      • MoSCoW
    1. 5min to wrap up/summarize
      1. +: “What did we do well?”
      2. Δ: “What do we want to do differently?”
  3. Leave
  4. Send an email to one attendee.
    1. Summarize discussion and conclusion.
    2. Spell out work assignments, next meeting on the subject or to study an issue.
    3. Specify deadlines and accountable persons.
  5. Send copy (CC) to all.

Alfred Sloan Meeting + Follow-up:

  1. Announce purpose/topic.
  2. Listen. Ask clarifying questions. No notes.
  3. Summarize
  4. Leave
  5. Immediately write a memo
    1. Addressed to one attendee.
    2. Summarize discussion and conclusion.
    3. Spell out work assignments, next meeting on the subject or to study an issue.
    4. Specify deadlines and accountable persons.
    5. Send copy (CC) to all.

My own take

  • Write down what has been said/agreed upon to do
    • Only note decisions and actions
  • Align on list at end of meeting
  • Bring up the list first thing next meeting
  • Write an Agenda, and follow it;
    • List agenda topics as questions
    • Cookie-cutter:
      • Last weeks action-list
      • This week
        • What do I want help with?
      • Next weeks action-list
        • Email it

One-on-ones

  • If you like structured agendas, then the employee should set the agenda.
    • A good practice is to have the employee send you the agenda in advance.
    • This will give her a chance to cancel the meeting if nothing is pressing.
    • It also makes clear that it is her meeting and will take as much or as little time as she needs.
  • During the meeting, since it’s the employee’s meeting, the manager should do 10% of the talking and 90% of the listening.
    • Note that this is the opposite of most one-on-ones.

If you feel that you are floundering (as every student sometimes does), ask your advisor for extra meetings, send frequent email messages asking for pointers, or discuss your work with another trusted faculty member or student.

Negotiation

  • As low as possible: 65 –> 85 –> 95 –> 100
  • As high as possible: 155 -> 120 -> 105 -> 100
  • End on odd number