In most meetings, team members will provide updates to their projects, talk about their challenges, express their opinions about what’s not working, and discuss options. People tend to assume that these discussions created progress and that the challenges will now be managed.

The essential ingredient that is often missing is a commitment to take the next step. With some rare exceptions, a meeting is only productive if it results in people taking action that they wouldn’t have otherwise taken.

Here’s an example of an ineffective interaction from a high-tech company:

"We’ve been down this road before. If we cut corners to get the product out the door more quickly, we’ll be dealing with product defects for months to come."

"Yes, you’re absolutely right, but marketing is demanding that the product is released in May."

"Marketing always wants us to do more faster, and we end up chasing our tail."

"Yes, we need to do it right the first time."

"Exactly."

"We really need to address this."

"Yes, I agree."

"OK, what's next on the agenda?" and the meeting moves on to the next topic.

So, in looking at the above conversation, what will change as a result of the conversation? What will actually be different? It may be important to express frustrations and opinions, and it may seem that something was resolved, but without clear next steps, it is unlikely that the conversation will produce change.

Action: To move your goals forward, ensure meetings produce clear next steps and get team members in action: who-is-doing-what-by-when.

A meeting will be successful if it helps everyone stay in action to reach the goal. To move projects forward, use meetings to establish specific next steps. You don’t need to know all the answers or solve all the problems in a meeting, all you need is to figure out the next step that will keep the project moving.

In meetings, at the end of each topic, just ask yourself, "What action are we taking out of this discussion that will move us towards our goals?" If the group starts to move away from the topic without clear next steps, speak up and ask the group to clarify who-is-doing-what-by-when. If you don’t, you’re probably contributing to another worthless meeting.

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©2006 Jason Gore & The Collaborative Way