KEEP your meetings SMART with Google
I’ve been to many meetings over a time spanning four decades and at various stages of the management tree - supervisory, managerial, strategic. I was encouraged, and expected, to make copious notes of all the decisions made. At most of these, official minutes or detailed notes would be taken and circulated; everyone delegated to do a specific task within a certain time frame and with precisely rigid outcomes.
….. But time moves on. Do you want some advice on how I do this now?
I go to a fair number of meetings, most of them informal gatherings. Coffee Means Business meetings are a good starting point for any new entrepreneur to go to - to mingle among a friendly crowd, enabling you to practise vocalising your business pitch in 3 minutes and gaining insight from peers.
I have never had a Coffee Means Business meeting that didn’t put me in a positive mood.
However, I don’t tend to take notes at these meetings - perhaps the odd business card here or there. The conversation tends to be light hearted, informative and social.
But move this forward to a structured meeting at a later date then my attitude changes.
Time is precious - I think we can all agree. Both the client and myself have things we could be doing if we hadn’t taken time out to meet up or talk to each other on a video conference. My role is to give as much advice as I can in as precise a way possible, aiming for achievable results.
The outcome of the meeting should have some identifiable goals which, between us, we delegate as tasks and both pledge to complete in a timely fashion.
…. But how can we do this that fits in with our modern lifestyle.
1) For any idea, plan or task, use the S.M.A.R.T mnemonic.
Make the task:
As you discuss an idea, concentrate on it until you have fully worked out if it is right for the business; can be achieved - and discussed how it could be put into action, and who is going to do the task.