{"id":35195,"date":"2017-01-18T04:45:13","date_gmt":"2017-01-18T10:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=35195"},"modified":"2017-01-18T04:45:13","modified_gmt":"2017-01-18T10:45:13","slug":"no-terrible-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/no-terrible-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Ensure You Never Have Another Terrible Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ask leaders about the most efficient way to be inefficient, and I bet most will say \u201cbad meetings.\u201d But the hard truth is that meetings are not only inevitable, they\u2019re also essential. Why?<\/p>\n\n

If our teams are going to achieve major goals, we need to be able to plan, coordinate, and tackle problems together. The problem is that many meetings are the least productive<\/em> use of our time, right?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all seen it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d Rather Have a Root Canal<\/h3>\n

Meetings consume more work hours today than ever before. Leaders spent under four hours a week in meetings in 1960. A decade later it was twice that<\/a>. Today, leaders spend about half their week<\/a> in meetings.<\/p>\n

But what kills me is that a third of that time<\/a> is wasted on pointless, badly run meetings.<\/p>\n\n

All too often, meetings become ways to delay tough decisions and dodge responsibility. How many meetings have you attended where there was no clear agenda or objective? Where there were more tangents than you could follow? Where you were more confused when you left than when you arrived?<\/p>\n

In one survey<\/a>, almost half of respondents said they\u2019d rather endure something unpleasant like a root canal or a visit to the DMV than sit through another meeting.<\/p>\n

We can do better. Meetings don\u2019t have to be awful. But it's critical that we recognize one fact: We\u2019re not going to drift<\/em> into better meetings. We have to be intentional and learn how to conduct meetings for top results.<\/p>\n

Meetings that Get Results<\/h3>\n

\u201c[T]he problem isn\u2019t that meetings suck,\u201d says Cameron Herold in his book Meetings Suck<\/a><\/em>, \u201cit\u2019s that we suck at running them.\u201d According to Herold,<\/p>\n

\n your meetings hold the potential to drive alignment within the business; give direction; generate energy, focus, and creativity; and inspire your people to elevate the business to the next level.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And the truth is we\u2019ve all seen that, too. How many times have pivotal conversations and transformative insights come from meetings? Enough that we cannot just dismiss meetings or pretend we can get by without them.<\/p>\n

In fact, despite all the bad meetings we endure, one study<\/a> found 97 percent of workers credit meeting collaboration for accomplishing \u201ctheir best work.\u201d We don\u2019t need to abolish meetings. We just need to train our teams to get results with meetings.<\/p>\n

3 Pointers for Productive Meetings<\/h3>\n

As both an entrepreneur and CEO, I\u2019ve spent years refining an efficient system for running meetings. But if there\u2019s one go-to resource anyone can digest and use immediately, it\u2019s Herold\u2019s excellent book. It\u2019s only 150 pages and will have you running meetings like a champion right away.<\/p>\n

For this post I just want to pull out three pointers that can instantly transform your process. All three have to do with definition.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Define the meeting purpose.<\/strong> Staying on track is one of the hardest challenges<\/a> for running effective meetings. One of the reasons is the lack of an agenda.\n

    According to Herald, every agenda should contain three key components:<\/p>\n