Ten Watch-outs on meetings

My ten year old asked me, “Appa, you keep mentioning about attending meetings all the time. What exactly happens in meetings”. It is when I was trying to answer him that I realised, there is a lot of things that happen in meetings, which ideally shouldn’t. Here is my “Ten watch outs” on what not to do. Meant to be a “lighter” take on meetings. But then, as they say, what’s sometimes said in a lighter vein also has some depth to it. 

1.     Be smart about who all you invite for the meeting. This is not a family function, where you should be gracious with the invite list. If you cant define a role of the invitee, he/she shouldn’t be in the meeting list. 

2.     Often in meetings, the same thing is said in twenty different ways. Class participation gets you marks in B school. The practice need not be extended to corporate meetings.

3.     RAG – Red, Amber, Green is a nice way to show status. Often we mix the three and show an amalgamation of colours. Sometimes the discussion is on what the right mix of the colours should be, rather than the actual content.

4.     Linked to above. Be honest and transparent with the status. Some of the status is what is called as a watermelon status. “Green” from outside but “red” inside.

5.     Per-read is not like an indicator you use just before you make a turn on the road. If it is not sent at least a day in advance, it is not a “per-read”, it is just a “read”

6.     Stick to the time limit and don’t make it painfully long. There is a reason why meeting notes is called, “minutes” and not “hours”

7.     Not all meetings need a “small talk”. If it a short, compact meeting duration, get faster to the point. The weather discussion can wait.

8.     While power point presentation is a popular tool to orchestrate a meeting, sometimes, ppts hide more than what they reveal. Watch out.

9.     If the discussion points are covered well before the planned time, you don’t have to continue just to fill in the time. I know I said, “Ten watch outs”, but nine seems good enough.

Would love to hear views from others!