Lessons Learned - Class 6: Effective Meetings (1/28/10)

I have both been a "victim" of a bad meeting, as well as likely helped perpetuate more than a few. It's a difficult task, to have a good meeting. Sure, we have guidelines and plenty of notes and information on what to accomplish and what should be accomplished, but there are many times when an issue is more than can be contained by the guidelines.

Now, what we learned in class is not without merit. The more quantitative measures (limit who attends, designate achievable topics, pre-communicate what expectations are) are the easiest to enact and go a long way to limiting more complex issues later. It's also important to remind the entire meeting that it is everyone's responsibility to maintain expectations, and not just the meeting's head.