Is this meeting necessary?

We all have the experience: Sitting in a meeting, wondering when it will end, and too polite to just up and leave. Meanwhile, we’re screaming inside, “Get me out of here!” Of course, this never happens in your organization. But if this experience is so common, why does it still happen?

I contend it’s because no one has given the leader — or the participants — the right tools! They’ve never learned meeting management. Meeting management includes purpose, participants, agendas, timing, follow-up…a lot of topics.

But before working on meeting management, the first step is determining if this meeting is even necessary. Think about it — figure out the hourly rate of all the participants, and add them up. If the meeting doesn’t move the organization forward, then that’s how much you’ve wasted.

So why meet?

There are 3 main reasons for holding a meeting:

• Inform
• Discuss
• Decide

That’s Inform the people — a somewhat controversial reason for meeting; Discuss an issue — sometimes done to death; and Make a Decision — sometimes done without adequate preparation.

There’s more on this subject (540 words, to be exact) at Thoughtful Philanthropist, in a continuing series of blogs on the topic.  Or, if you’re interested in a hands-on workshop on meeting management, Susan Sherk, and I will be presenting Cheating the Meeting Reaper at the 47th annual international conference of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, April 2010. Join us!

And may all your meetings be productive!