New summary available for 20 Minute Manager: Running Meetings

April 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Leaders in any arena are concerned with the practices and skills that will help their teams succeed. Universally, one of the tools that ensures a team’s success is an effective meeting. Whether they are meant to brainstorm, make decisions, or inform, meetings can accomplish a variety of tasks in a relatively short time. The trouble arises when meetings are called without a clear vision or without the proper preparation. 20 Minute Manager: Running Meetings details how to call, prepare, run, and follow up an effective meeting.

Key concepts of the book include:

*Preparation is key. If the leader is not prepared and well versed in the agenda items, the meeting will quickly lose focus and be unproductive.

*Determining a purpose is the most crucial aspect of preparation. Only with a purpose in mind can the leader determine whether the meeting is necessary. The purpose also directs the importance of the agenda items.

*Agenda items should be grouped in a way that gives the meeting a logical flow. Items can be grouped by topic, complexity, or subject matter as long as the meeting progression makes sense and one conversation will feed into another.

*Keeping time in a meeting will help keep the conversation moving. It will also prevent attendees from feeling like their time is being wasted. An effective leader will assign a time limit to each agenda item before the meeting starts so everyone has a clear idea of the time frame.

*Assigning roles to individuals, such as timekeeper, facilitator, scribe, or expert, is a way to keep participants involved, engaged, and responsible. If members have duties to complete, they will be less likely to attempt to multitask during the meeting.

*Extending personal invitations can be effective. Sending invitations may be easier with calendar applications, but great leaders understand that sometimes it is important to ask a person face-to-face to join the meeting.

*Meetings can serve a multitude of purposes. However, most can be classified as either decision-making meetings, brainstorming meetings, or general informational meetings. Each type requires a different number of participants.

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