Reality Based Management

We spend a lot of time in the business environment communicating, but most of it seems ineffective. I think there are a couple of keys for effective communication in meetings:

v Identify the target audience and make sure they are engaged in the meeting
Ø Whose mind do we want to change? If they aren’t present or aren’t listening you are wasting your time.

v At the beginning of the meeting establish the key things you want to accomplish
Ø Do you just want to convey information, or do you hope to get a decision made
Ø Do the participants agree with your proposed goals

v Propose boundaries for the discussion up front
Ø Many meetings wander over a wide range of topics.Often you can anticipate time wasting topics and ask the group at the beginning of the meeting to declare them out-of-bounds for that specific meeting. The time wasters will likely come up anyway, but now you have the group’s permission to cut these diversions short.
Ø Don’t try to set a topic off-limits if your audience thinks it is important for the discussion at hand.

v Think about how you might achieve your goals before the meeting—establish a strategy. For a decision making meeting:
Ø Does your target audience prefer to hear all the facts before they make a decision, or do they just want a recommendation with some back up material?
Ø Should you mention counter arguments to the approach you favor, or should you just present your proposal as favorably as possible?

v Manage your time—not enough data usually isn’t the problem
Ø Many meetings don’t achieve their goals because they run out of time. Structure your agenda so that you realistically have enough time to ask for the decision (if that is your goal) and provide time for the decision makers to ask questions and work through the issues.

v Take notes and document decisions (ask someone else if you can’t do it)
Ø Writing down and reviewing a decision during a meeting is a great way to validate a decision and minimize the drift that will go on after the meeting. Undocumented decisions quickly revert to debate topics for those not thrilled with the decision.
Ø Don’t filter the notes to only include the stuff you like. You will gain respect if you carefully capture opposing ideas as well as your own.