Meetings have become an inevitable part of doing business for almost every department owner. There are meetings with clients, meetings with employees and meetings with peers or associates. Almost everyone has suffered through too many meetings that take up too much time and accomplish too little. In fact, you may find that you yourself have now become numb to the fact that your meetings aren't as good as they could be. And everywhere you look, it seems as if somebody has another idea about how to fix your meetings, and make them more focused, more productive, and ? dare I say it? More fun! So what can you do about it? Relax and keep reading, because you're about to find the information that can help you maintain the status quo ? a list of tips and ideas for meeting planning ? the wrong way!
1. Schedule your meetings at bad times - (for example, how about setting up a ?must attend? meeting late on Friday afternoon?).
2. Make sure your meetings all start late and run overtime - (and whenever possible, scheduling meetings when someone is up against a deadline, or on a tight schedule).
3. Maintain a consistent lack of focus on what topics will be covered ? (don't use an agenda).
4. Ensure there is a poor level of rapport in the group ? (people don't talk to each other, or they complain, or engage in other unsuitable behavior).
5. Don't arrive at a decision - (find new ways to keep covering the same ground, or continue asking for input rather than creating a plan of action.)
6. Choose a poor location and environment for your meetings - (for example, trying to fit 15 people into a closet-sized room that doesn't have windows or a proper ventilation system.)
7. Schedule meetings to go over routine topics - (instead of sending a memo or email.)
8. Don't talk to your group, or make your meetings interactive - (talking ?at? them, lecturing or going off on wild tangents.)
9. Never asking for feedback from participants, or allowing others to present ideas or get involved.
There you have it! Just follow those nine simple tips, and you're guaranteed to instill fear, loathing and boredom into even the most intrepid of meeting participants! You will be known as the manager who knows how NOT to manage meetings.
