Four tips for better and fewer meetings

Are you tired of endless meetings? You’re not alone! Four tips for better and fewer meetings!

Meetings can be valuable, but they can be expensive! They drain your capacity and take time away from value-producing work, so it takes much longer to get things done.

What can you do to maximizes the “horsepower to the wheels” that move you and your organization forward?

• Triage your calendar. Some meetings are good, some are okay, and some feel necessary, but you wish you didn’t have to go. Start with these. Make them better, or maybe just decline the invite.
• Question low-priority initiatives. If no-one had time to do anything since the last meeting, the initiative is probably low-value or low-priority. What if you postponed or canceled the project to make room for higher value work?
• Decline unclear invitations. If there is no purpose or no agenda, don’t go. Often a meeting can be replaced with a clarifying call.
• Replace a status meeting with an information radiator. A Kanban board can represent the progress of long-term endeavors, like sales projects and change initiatives, and enables you to recognize when things are stuck. Even a simple traffic light board – if used honestly – can identify areas that need attention.

A quick stand-up lets people figure out what needs attention and who needs to talk to whom. Same effect as a meeting, especially for large projects, but lower cost.

By implementing these strategies, you can help your organization be more efficient and effective.

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