Maybe it is because I am a senior in CSOM, but I have been thinking a lot about group meetings. For those of you who do not know, as you advance at this University many of your classes will be heavily based on group projects (at least in CSOM). There is even a class that I am taking this semester called Financial Policy that does not have a final examination. What it does have is a series of case studies. This might sound like a joke, but trust me, it's legit. For those loyal readers of TBL who are freshmen and sophomores, this column would be a good thing to keep in mind as you progress at this great institution.
If you think about any group meeting you've ever had, what stands out? The bad ones, right? Usually they are the ones when you feel like nothing got accomplished or they just seem to drag on. When was the last really good meeting you've been at? I can't remember myself. The one thing I always believe is that a good meeting is a well planned out one. Some people call meetings just to say that they met and did something. I believe that people's time is too valuable. Every meeting should have a clear objective.
One thing that really gets my goat is when people call a meeting and people attend who don't need to. I don't know if you've experienced this, but it's an insult to have to attend a meeting in which nothing being discussed is related to you. This is more of a caution to the planners of meetings. This might seem like this column is a rant today, but planning and executing meetings is a skill that we all need to have, regardless of what we do when we leave this great place. Whether you're working at the trading desk on Wall Street or sitting at your desk as a teacher of a fifth grade class, you need to know how to bring a group of people together and get stuff done.
Why do I feel that this topic is worthy of an appearance in my column? Well, being a card carrying member of Dorks Anonymous I was flipping through Business Week looking for some inspiration for this week's column, and I found a story in which a Business Week reporter interviewed a 92-year-old man who wrote a book entirely on how to run effective meetings. The man, Simon Ramo, claims to have been to over 40,000 meetings in his professional career. So apparently this topic is worth talking about if Business Week is covering it.
Ramo offers that the people who organize meetings should make sure they know the meeting attendees. Seems pretty obvious, huh? Amazing how little things like that are overlooked. Knowing meeting attendees, though, is a great thing. If you know where people are coming from, you'll be able to relate more of what the meeting is doing to them personally. It also avoids wasting time discussing points you would know if you did your homework. It is very much like sales in the end. It is read and react. I usually employ the rule of thumb of keeping meetings to an hour at the most. I have been a part of meetings that have gone two or more hours because people were fired up and into the discussion. Basically, if you're running a meeting, put yourself in the seat of your meeting attendees. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal of a meeting should be to accomplish something, not just plan follow-up meetings.
Have a great week all. Love life, and it will love you back.
Be the first to comment on this article!