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A survey respondent told me, *Meetings are my big timewaster. I haveliterally spent entire days in meetings. I not only get nothing done at mydesk but also inherit additional work. I suppose if I could wish for onething it would fewer meetings. Hey, I can dream, can*t I?*

Yes! Let's dream a little. Wouldn*t it be nice to have a pass that says,*Get Out of a Meeting Free*? Here are some ideas for making your meetingsmore productive:

Consider the timing. If you*re someone with the ability to call a meetingduring a certain time, seriously consider the best time to hold it.Corporate America has trained most people to be *morning people.* Ournatural energy cycles cause us to be *up* or have *prime* time first thingin the morning. Unfortunately, many people insist on holding meetings atthat time. Some kinds of meetings are good during prime time, like thoseinvolving brainstorming, problem solving, or strategic thinking. Routinestaff meetings, project updates, or information-only meetings should be heldduring lulls in productivity. Similarly, a brainstorming session on Fridayafternoon at three o*clock will probably not yield the best results.

Establish a code of conduct for your department or organization. Withouta set of *rules* or *protocols* for holding meetings, people do their ownthing, creating unpredictability between different meetings. I justfacilitated a training session with a corporate division with 75 people.Together, we created the following Code of Conduct, which will govern theirfuture meetings:

1. Meetings are only allowed 9-4 Monday through Thursday and 9-1 on Friday.

2. An agenda, along with any pre-work, is required 72 hours in advance ofthe meeting, clearly outlining the objective of the meeting. If a purposecan*t be defined, cancel the meeting. Outline the time requirement for eachitem on the agenda and the responsible person.

3. If meeting is not within these guidelines, each attendee has ability toquestion the meeting.

4. Be sensitive to time constraints and deadlines of other departments.Match the importance and complexity of the issue to the length of themeeting.

5. Meetings should only be 50 minutes (rather than one hour) or end tenminutes before the top of the hour, so attendees can make the next meetingthat begins at the top of the hour.

6. Meetings will start and stop on time, unless all in attendance agree toextend the time. Try to finish early if possible; don*t stretch the meeting.Attendees may get up and leave at the stated end time. You can ask theprevious group to leave if you have the conference room reserved.

7. Use the meeting for items requiring dialogue, decisions, or team buildingonly, not informational items.

8. If the meeting is canceled or the room has changed, the leader isresponsible for calling all attendees to notify them of the change. If youcan*t attend, you must notify the leader.

9. Put people in later time zones at the beginning of the agenda. Or if anattendee's presence is only required for small portion of the meeting, letthat person speak first, and then leave.

10. Ensure that all invitees really need to be there.

11. You may send a delegate in your place, if the person is capable ofmaking decisions and can sign off or take away an action item. Let theleader know you*re sending someone.

12. Come prepared and read advance materials. Bring your own copies of anydocuments. If you will not be adequately prepared, notify the leader.

13. If the leader or key decision maker no-shows, attendees may leave after10 minutes.

14. Use a timekeeper (appointed by the leader) to keep the meeting on targetand follow the agenda. Don*t limit meaningful conversation.

15. Eliminate any discussion that involves only two people.

16. Appoint a scribe for the meeting. When something comes up that's not onthe agenda, the scribe records it on an easel pad labeled *parking lot.* Thescribe also creates *one minute* minutes during the meeting (a list of whois responsible for/what/by when).

17. Don*t stop meetings to bring latecomers up to date, except in the caseof emergency.

18. During the meeting, respond to emergency *911* pages only. If you musttake a call, step out of the meeting room.

Get your group together and facilitate (or have someone else facilitate)a discussion and create a similar code of conduct. Reportedly, these ruleshave greatly reduced miscommunications and improved meeting productivity!

Lastly, try to reduce the time you spend in unimportant meetings. Can yousend an alternate? Can you call the meeting chair and ask to report first,and then explain that you have another meeting on its heels and you need todepart in a timely manner? Can someone tape record the meeting for you tolisten to in your car?

Here's to the meeting revolution---where minutes aren*t taken and hours aren*t wasted!

Make it a productive day!