When we have meetings, something’s supposed to happen as a result.
But so many of them are just meandering discussions that trigger no actions, decisions… or anything, really.
So here are two ways to ensure your meetings always cause actions…
#1 Agree actions after each agenda item
Nice and simple. At the end of agenda item #1, before doing item #2, ask “what are our actions for agenda item #1?”
For each action, make sure you know WHO is doing WHAT, by WHEN.
Do this after each agenda item.
#2 Do all the actions at the end
Or, when the meeting has 10-15 minutes to go, say:
- I’m conscious of time
- So let’s quickly agree our actions before we go
- My understanding is we’ve just agreed X and Y. Do you all agree? (Yes)
- So our actions are… (and then agree them for each item – again, get the WHO, WHAT, WHEN)
Method #1 is great – you capture actions as you go. But #2 also works well, because as long as you leave 10-15 minutes to do it, the meeting has a clear, action-focused end.
As you know, I’m very keen on actions. Which is why every tip ends with…
Action Point
Ensure your final agenda item for every meeting is “Actions Arising”. And then use one of these techniques to make sure actions do arise!
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