Running Successful Meetings

A Framework and strategies for running successful meetings.

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Mike Boucher, PMP, PE, CSM

March 13, 2013

Attendees of the presentation will take home◦ A framework for producing successful meetings◦ At least one or two specific techniques to apply

immediately to improve their own meetings

◦ Even If you don’t hold meetings yourself, you should still be able to take away one or two ideas for improving that weekly department or project meeting that you dread

Presentation Goal

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A successful meeting is a meeting in which meeting objectives are met, decisions are codified, and participants leave with the feeling that their time was well spent.

What is a Successful Meeting?

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Core Tenets of successful meetings Applying the tenets

◦ Preparing for the meeting◦ Running the meeting◦ After the meeting

Agenda

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Respect people’s time Manage expectations Write it down Be inclusive

Core Tenets

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Everyone in your meeting is very busy and has other commitments and priorities – be cognizant of that as you plan and run your meeting◦ Start the meeting on time◦ End the meeting on time – if you run out of time,

ask before you go over the allotted time◦ Don’t schedule the meeting for an hour if you can

cover the topics in 20 or 30 minutes◦ Avoid rat holes

“This is a really good point, but we don’t have time to go deeper today. Let’s table this and pick it up in a follow-up meeting”

Respect People’s Time

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The more that attendees understand the purpose and structure of the meeting, the easier it will be for them to engage and contribute to the meeting goal

Define purpose/goal of the meeting Provide context Provide agenda Review the agenda with attendees

Sometimes you find out that what you thought was the purpose of the meeting is not the right purpose – or the agenda is not the right agenda. Find this out at the beginning of the meeting so you can adjust the goal/agenda and get the meeting off to a good start

Manage Expectations

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Project/share your desktop during the meeting Take notes during the meeting Send the notes out after the meeting

Allowing people to see what you are writing◦ serves as a reality check of what people think they heard

“No, Mike, that’s not what I meant”◦ Writing something down reinforces the messages >

people can hear it and see it“That was a very complicated discussion the last few minutes. Can someone boil that down to 1 sentence for me for the notes?” > excellent way to gain or verify consensusOR“This is what I think I just heard – did I write it down correctly?”

Write it Down

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Be sensitive to the position and personality of each attendee and make an effort to engage them in the meeting > this will help achieve a stronger and lasting consensus

Junior or shy people may be hesitant to speak out, but often times their questions or feedback may raise practical issues that have been overlooked

Take a second to welcome new members or attendees “Linda – thanks for coming to our weekly QA standup

meeting. It’s nice to have you here.” “OK – we’ve covered our agenda. Before we close

the meeting, let’s go around the horn. Nancy, do you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions? Brent – how about you?, etc.”

Be Inclusive

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◦Preparing for the meeting Creating the meeting invitation Stubbing the notes

◦Running the meeting◦After the meeting

Applying the Tenets

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A successful meeting starts with a good invitation◦ Stated purpose◦ Stated agenda◦ Right people (mandatory & optional)◦ Context (if needed)

Supporting materials Brief history

◦ Minimum duration◦ Clear and easy connection instructions

(readable) Phone number in the subject line

Meeting Preparation – The Invitation

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Example Invitation

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Since you will be projecting your desktop/notes during the meeting, stub out the meeting notes before the meeting

Use the stub notes to drive the meeting

Trick: Use OneNote to create a nice looking meeting note stub.

The next 2 slides show an example of stub notes

Preparation - Stub the Notes

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Sample Stub Notes – the Top

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Sample Stub Notes – the Body

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Show your desktop Welcome each person – add them to

attendee list at the top Review / sanity-check the agenda Take notes during the meeting – using the

framework in your stub notes Watch for rat holes Watch the time! If a strong personality is doing most of the

talking, interject and bring in other attendees

Running the Meeting

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Don’t try to capture everything – just key stuff

Don’t get hung up on spelling – you can fix it later

Highlight action items and key points as you go along

Capture the result of complex discussions in 1 or 2 sentences

Strategies for Taking Notes During the Meeting

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Your attendees are very busy and have many responsibilities beyond what was discussed in your meeting

Approach action items not as contract items that will be used to nail someone, but rather as simple reminders that help the person remember what they need to do > by writing a good action item, you are making their job easier

For each action item, strive to ◦ Identify a clear owner◦ Write the action as specifically as possible◦ Write the action in words that the owner agrees with (have them help

you write the action) > you want to make it as easy as possible for them to follow-up

Writing Action Items / Next Steps

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Good Ones◦ Mike – cancel task #12345 in Quality Center◦ Molly – Update spec #97235 to account for the

COB use case (target end of week)◦ Nancy – provide testing timelines to Mike by

tomorrow afternoon◦ Mike – schedule a follow-up meeting for the end of

next week Bad Ones

◦ Investigate the COB issue [who? What is the outcome?]◦ Molly – update the spec [for what?, which spec?, when?]

Example Action Items / Next Steps

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Finish the Notes◦ Create a meeting summary at the top of the notes

Capture what was accomplished or agreed to as well as what was not accomplished

Pull from the body, starting with the key points you highlighted in blue (clean up as needed)

◦ Collect the Next Steps and Action items at the top Assign an owner and a clear action > makes it easy

for people to remember what they need to doMost people will only read the summary and action items – so make them clear, concise, and complete!

Send the notes to all attendees Store the notes on the intranet

After the Meeting

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Sample Notes – Summary and Action Items

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Sample Notes – the Email

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Even if you are ‘just a meeting participant’, you can still coach the meeting organizer: ◦ At the beginning of the meeting: “Excuse me, but before

we start, would you mind going over the goals of the meeting? And what’s our agenda for today?”

◦ At the beginning of the meeting: “Are you going to send notes out afterwards?”

◦ During the meeting: “That was a great discussion the past 5 minutes, but I am not sure where we ended up. Can someone summarize that for me?”

◦ During the meeting: “Would you please add an entry in the notes for me to follow-up on that?”

“I Don’t Hold Any Meetings – how can I use this stuff?”

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For potentially difficult or highly charged meetings, it can help to tag team on the notes◦ You are running a meeting in which there are some very

difficult characters and you know you will have to be on your toes > ask someone before the meeting to take notes for you. “Hey Matt – would you be sure to make a note of that?”

◦ If you know the meeting is going to cover some complicated topics beyond what your PM knows, offer to take notes during the meeting, then send them to him/her to incorporate into the official notes.

Tag Teaming for Successful Meetings

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Framework and strategies for running a meeting in which objectives are met, decisions are codified, and participants leave satisfied

Core Tenets Respect people’s time Manage expectations Write it down Be inclusive

3 stages of a meeting Preparing for the meeting Running the meeting After the meeting

Couple of tricks Use OneNote to create a nice header Use color to highlight key points and action items in the notes Project/share your desktop during the meeting as you take notes

1 Slide Recap

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Thanks for listening – lets open it up for questions and discussion….

Questions & Discussion

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About the PresenterMike Boucher, PMP, PE, CSMProject & Program Management, SDLC, IT Development

Mike is a Development Project and Program Manager with diversified work experience in companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500. Mike has a passion to increase the quality and transparency of healthcare through the use of Information Technology. He has degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and a Graduate Certificate in Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Regulatory Affairs from the University of Georgia.  Mike is a Development Program Manager at NextGen Healthcare, a provider of EHR, financial, and HIE solutions for hospitals, health systems, physician practices, and other healthcare organizations. Prior to working at NextGen, Mike worked in the Wireless Telecom and Professional Audio industries. From 2010 – 2012, Mike served as volunteer Director of Technology on the Project Management Institute’s Healthcare Community of Practice, whose mission is to expand project management knowledge in the healthcare industry.  Mike is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the Project Management Institute, the Atlanta Software and Systems Process Improvement Network, Georgia BIO, and the Technology Association of Georgia.

Contact Mike at mikeboucher@yahoo.comFind Mike on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedsp/