Increasing Meeting Productivity

Much angst exists about corporate and volunteer meetings.  Many regularly recurring meetings need to be reexamined for purpose, content, impact and ongoing relevance. 

A rudimentary primer for enhancing meeting productivity might include requiring participants to adhere to the following requirements:

• pre-meeting review of materials
• engaging brain, eyes and ears
• sharing relevant knowledge and experience
• generating productive ideas
• full engagement/undivided attention (electronic devices pocketed/pursed)
• positive/productive/helpful attitude

Proximity Matters

We just moved into our corporate headquarters on Monday, and we've already begun to realize productivity improvements.  As I'd indicated in an earlier post, our temporary office space persisted for 2 years.  Rather than depending upon email, phone calls and inter-office mail to many of our colleagues, we can now easily meet face-to-face. We no longer have to factor travel time into many internal appointments. After "corporate camping out", we are so grateful for storage space, opportunities to host more than one multiple party meeting and a quiet environment that is conducive to enhanced productivity. 

Waiting

I'm not good at waiting - I get impatient at stoplights.  Because I honor appointment times, I expect others to do the same.  Yesterday I spent the day waiting for a promised notification for an important online activation, which never occurred; and for a locksmith who arrived 5 hours late. 

Think about the increase in productivity and decrease in stress that results when we all timely follow through with our commitments. 

Electronic Leashes

Our electronic leashes (mobile devices), can provide 24x7x365 access if we allow it.  Used appropriately, this anywhere, anytime connectivity provides peace of mind and increased productivity.  Checking in, making requests, providing direction, giving and receiving timely responses, sharing information, accessing data and getting directions are some of the functions my Blackberry has enhanced as I'm scurrying from place to place.

Physical leashes provide safety and security for pets.  Electronic leashes do the same for us.

Yes or No?

We generally love to say and hear "yes" and we don't usually enjoy saying or hearing "no".  Both timely answers are important.  Indecision saps productivity by keeping everyone involved in a holding pattern. Answers allow closure.  We can move forward with implemention or next steps when the answer is positive.  And when the answer is negative, we can move to another option or opportunity. Timely answers provide one of the easiest productivity improvements available.

Only 51 More Weeks

What's in a week? Each week represents nearly 2% of the year.  The first week of 2010 was fast-paced and productive.  What a great way to set the tone for the remaining 51 weeks of the year!

When Am I Off?

Many of us rely on the robust tools in Microsoft Outlook to schedule our appointments.

I can't imagine the incredible number of lost hours of productivity from countless people individually searching for and entering holidays on our calendars. There is an opportunity to designate country-specific holidays using "Tools" "Options" "Calendar Options" "Add Holidays".

Happy Holidays! Enjoy your time away!