Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM, said that the starting point in making meetings more effective is to think carefully about the meeting in advance.
Determine what kind of meeting is being held and then structure the meeting in such a way that you maximize the time of the participants. Too many meetings are held spontaneously and ad hoc, with no real thought, particular preparation, purpose, or clear goal in mind.
There are five different types of meetings. Some of them overlap, but each meeting type has its own requirements.
The first is an information-sharing meeting. This is when you bring people together to review progress and to share information in a roundtable way. The participants’ role is to bring others up-to-date on their activities. A typical staff meeting is a good example.
This is a process-oriented meeting. It is not aimed at a specific target or goal but is part of an ongoing process and is a very important means of communication. Most executives polled estimate that information-sharing meetings are the second most important form of communication in an organization. (The most important form is the one-on-one meeting.)
The second type of meeting is for problem solving. These meetings are goal- and mission-oriented. The purpose of the meeting is to find a solution to a specific problem. These meetings take place frequently, usually ad hoc, and are put together quickly. Problem-solving meetings vary in length depending on the size and complexity of the problem to be solved.
The third type of meeting is an operational meeting when you bring together people from different departments. The purpose of this kind of meeting is to acquaint representatives of different departments of a company with “the big picture.”
The fourth type of meeting is the committee meeting. This is a regularly scheduled meeting with a standard format and agenda, and with the same group of people who come together to monitor and review progress, plan ongoing activities, and give and receive feedback.
A good example of the committee meeting is the quality circle or quality team meeting. This is where a committee of employees gets together on a regular basis to review past efforts, talk about what they can do to improve quality, and develop recommendations for management.
The fifth type of meeting is the teaching and training or seminar meeting. The purpose here is to instruct the participants in some new subject. An example would be when new equipment or technology is being introduced, or when you are initiating a new program.
Many meetings have elements of all five types. But to make a meeting effective, it must be clear to everyone which basic type of meeting is being held.