There are 3 basic principles for most (if not all) meetings that I schedule as a business owner and Managing Director (another name for CEO). All my meetings, to be effective meetings, should:
- be held weekly.
- have a group agenda.
- be kept to an hour.
Reasons for these three principles for effective meetings are as follows:
- Weekly meeting: Weekly meetings fit into the work rhythm. Monthly meetings are easily forgotten.
- Group agenda: This gives the team a voice to bring up points for discussion. Additional agenda points are added as important, not urgent, matters come up throughout the week
- Brief meeting: Focus broad. Your job, as an executive manager, is not (usually) to get into the nitty gritty details, but rather to focus on leadership development, reporting, strategy, prioritization, and improving processes (or defining processes where they don’t exist).
Effective Meetings Outlines
Generally, I have five types of meetings on a weekly basis. There is a strategic day of the week that I have each meeting, as well as certain goals I want to accomplish during that designated time.
| Meeting | Day of Week | Attendees | Agenda |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Development Meeting | Monday
Managing the Sales Pipeline defines your future. Review priorities for the week. |
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| One-on-Ones | Tuesday
Meet one on one with the frontline people in your organization. Coach, mentor, and inspire them! |
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| Operations “Managers” Meeting | Wednesday
There will be plenty to discuss in the middle of the work week. This is usually the height of project challenges. |
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| Human Resource Meeting | Thursday
If you’re going to give someone strong feedback or need to terminate employment you’ll be doing it on Friday, so prepare a day ahead. |
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| Admin/ Finance Meeting | Friday
This is a good day to summarize where the company is financially; at the end of the week. |
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By the end of each meeting, team members should anticipate the next meeting with a purpose, feel valued in the company and have some clarity for managing their priorities. When I follow these principles, I see a tremendous improvement in workflow for me and my team. Give it a try. Email me with any further questions at solutions@ithands.com.
IT Hands provides quality, custom web development services to web companies and ad agencies. Our globally-dispersed team is a tight-knit community focused on delivering excellent results using agile processes. In over 15 years, more than 350 clients have been thrilled by the competency, trustworthy consultation, increased capacity and cost effectiveness we bring to every project.
