(Alpharetta, GA) November 4, 2009

-The following is an article from "Living Your Leadership Legacy."
A newsletter published by Competitive Solutions, Inc.

Stop Wasting Time in Business Meetings!
Do your meetings last twice as long as necessary? Do you leave a meeting with nothing accomplished? Was this week's meeting a repeat of last week's?

Meetings should be used to drive the business instead of being something that we do "in addition" to the business. With a structured agenda and clear expectations your meetings can be transformed!

Successful and effective meetings should always include the following:
• They have a structured agenda that allows participants to come prepared
• They are focused on specific outcomes
• Appropriate people attend, if they can not they must send representatives or deligates
• Attendees are prepared and follow established rules of conduct to maintain the focus
• Actions and information are recorded, utilized and tracked

In order to have a successful meeting, there are key elements that need to be a part of every meeting.

• The Agenda is an outline listing what will take place during the meeting. Every meeting.
• The Meeting Roles:
- The Meeting Participants are responsible for taking part, contributing information, and following up on actions.
- The Facilitator helps keep everyone focused and directs the meeting.
- The Action Taker keeps a written record of the meeting and all the resulting actions
• The Time Limit should meet the needs of the business and the participants. Teams may require regular, shorter meetings to accomplish the stated purpose or outcome.
• The Rules of Conduct ensures participants know what kind of behavior is expected of them. Participants and the facilitator are responsible for enforcing the rules.
• The Action Register is a tool used to track actions assigned at the meeting. This tool drives accountability by recording actions, denotes the person responsible for those actions and the date they will have their action completed.