This is a guest post by Microsoft's extremely multi-talented Recruiter Jim Stroud , as part of the recruiting blog swap.
Oh gawd!!! Not another meeting…
How many meetings have you had this year, this month, or this week? Now how many of these meeting really mattered? I dare say that balanced against all of the resumes on your desk, calls you need to make, requisitions to fill and (insert whatever else here), most of them were either unnecessary or could have been resolved with an email or (most likely) a very short get-together. At least, as far as you are concerned, yes? Well, after sitting in on 14,352 meetings in my ten-year career (more or less), I have a few tips designed to make any mandatory meeting bearable and (dare I say it) more productive.
TIMING
I would like to make it mandatory that meetings do not last any longer than 1-hour, but I know that such is a fool’s paradise. However, I think that it is not too much to wish for all meetings to top off at a 2-hour maximum. After that, I begin to feel my will to live slowly ebbing away.
DIVISION OF TIME
Hopefully, this is not overly ambitious, but howzabout cutting up the meeting into thirds? The first third of the meeting is for handling the easy stuff, things most can agree on (or rubber stamp) and thereby give that warm feeling (or illusion) that this meeting is going well and time is flying by. The second third is for presenting the more difficult stuff that will (most likely) be debated and argued and further bantered about. The final third of the meeting is for discussing the points brought up in the second third of the meeting, making decisions and brown-nosing the boss.
PRE-REQUISITES TO THE MEETING
Prior to scheduling any meeting, please, please pretty please… answer the following questions to yourself.
- Can this be handled via email or quick instant messaging chat? If so, no meeting…
- Did you just have a meeting to discuss something similar? If so, you should have brought it up then. No meeting…
- Do you have all the pertinent information ready for discussion? If not, go get it, but for now, no meeting…
- Is there a decision-making procedure in place, or are we there to listen to ourselves rant? If nothing is to be decided, no meeting…
If this sounds like I am anti-meeting, that is because I am. I know that as far as business goes, meetings are a necessary evil. (Okay, maybe evil is too harsh a word.) I have a peeve about wasting time, especially when I have to waste time in a pack and/or I have other things to do (and when do I not?). If you share my peeve, maybe you’ll appreciate this post.
Posted with pleasure by:
Jim Stroud
Recruiter-Sourcer-Blogger
BLOG: http://blogcharm.com/jimstroud
WEB: http://www.jimstroud.com
Search jobs online at Job Central.
Jim, sorry the meeting ran a little long yesterday, but I thought my questions were pertinent! At least we kept the total under 2 hours :)
I do like your format by thirds -- let's suggest to Shally for next time!
Posted by: Glenn Gutmacher | Saturday, August 05, 2006 at 01:20 AM