My 7 Tips for a Successful Meeting

Business meetings are often a subject of pressure, fears and insecurities. What does success look like? What do we want to accomplish? What is the goal of the meeting? These are the questions I ask myself prior to every meeting, and to achieve desired success, first and foremost, I make sure of following things:

1. Prepare an agenda. Always have an agenda, as it helps to focus the meeting on one thing, rather than unproductively jumping from one topic to another. Add all important questions and specific topics that need to be discussed. This way, the meeting doesn't turn into a talk about everything and nothing. When specific topics are aligned, better results are achieved.

2. Right people in the room. It is very important to have the right people in the room for the meeting. By the right people, I mean people whose responsibilities are directly related to the topic(s) of the meeting; and whose work performance directly affects achieving positive results for the business or organization.

3. Summary.  At the meeting's end, it is very helpful to summarize. A lot of time was spent discussing and brainstorming, and to create a strategy for improvement, reviewing discussion points and topics is extremely important... these results are what transmit into an action plan for the company.

4. Action Plan. I advise not to forget this step! At the end of every meeting, put the important points that landed on your conclusions list in writing, and be sure to follow up! This sets the stage for expectation and a determination to complete the task and move forward. It also assures that all attendees are not only on the same page, but know exactly what needs to be done.

5. DRI - Directly responsible individual.   Make sure to assign specific tasks from the action plan to a specific person, and set a timeline for the task to be achieved. I find it very helpful and important for the improvement of any business. Assigning a DRI assures that work is spread evenly rather than overwhelming everyone with a long “to do list”.

6. Alignment. The meeting is successful when all points were discussed, solutions and an action plan were put in place, and all actions align with the overall corporate strategy. Alignment is critical, since the goal of every meeting is to achieve the strategic plan for success.

7. Execution. How does a successful meeting end? All present parties should exit a meeting knowing exactly what needs to be done, when and how. This helps motivate the team to take necessary actions for proper execution, and ultimately, puts a company on the right path for growth and expansion.

All said and done, if you're organized and prepared for any meeting, the most important part of the job is done!