there is no other single investment of this magnitude that an organization makes that is treated in such a cavalier manner; where so few resources are allocated to assessing, evaluating, and working to improve meetings, both locally and enterprise-wide.

Over the following weeks, he trained me to recognize when I was unfocused or focused on the wrong things, which meant anything that didn’t move the top two or three clients one step closer to signing a purchase order. Our meetings were now no more than five minutes long. From this moment forward, resolve to keep those around you focused and avoid a

Project Sociology Keep meetings small by making it safe for unessential people not to attend. A published agenda, rigorously followed, is the easiest way to make non-attendance safe. Projects have need of ceremony. Use ceremony to focus attention on project goals and ideals: small meetings, zero defect work, etc. Take steps to protect people from a

structured agendas, then the employee should set the agenda. A good practice is to have the employee send you the agenda in advance.