Managers - meeting tips?

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

I have a strict policy of "No Agenda, No Meeting", after spending too many hours in unproductive meetings I now refuse to attend a meeting if an agenda is not provided prior to the meeting. I have even used this with our General Manager and it has resulted in fewer and better meetings.

Jim

 

[booker81]

I have WHAT in my yard? :

Didn't you say you were mild asperger's?? Or something like that??

You are perfect for IT stuff it is the integration to users that becomes a challenge. Can you come back on tomorrow? I want to ask some one else if she has a template...... This person designes IT programs for a fortune 500 and "translation" from IT to user is her specialty.

As for running meetngs? Agenda's are a must but so is a clear plan in your head about what the goal of the meeting is. What is going to be accomplished? What information needs to get to which people? Who has the information? Who needs it? What decisions need to be made by meetings end? State your goals call on the people who have the info to share it, call specifically on the people who need the info to ask questions and confirm they understand what they have heard. Give deadlines for further questions (as in you cannot wait a week and then say you have a major question about a project another group is working on when they have spent another week going down a path you are now saying is wrong.) Give deadlines for updates and progress reports. Or ask them to state them for themselves so everyone else knows when to expect the data.

When you are reporting to higher ups ask yourself - what do they need to know? What do they want to hear? How much of these actually match? Don't complain if you can't offer a solution. I tell employees don't B***** if you can't pitch a better idea.

Believe it or not word has a meeting agenda template.

Yup, Aspie is me

I'm absolutely going to make an agenda and I'll send it out before the meeting.

Thank you SO much everyone...this is exactly the stuff I needed to get a better idea on how to do a good job in these

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

OK here is what she said about translating.... since I am not sure exactly what you are doing. She said she works in "process flow design" and what she does is find out who the end users are then go through whatever system they are using. She asks them each three questions what do you like most about the system you are using (and gets specific details), what takes up the most of your time? and what item do you hate the most.

Then she gathers the info about how people sue the system basically. She said most problems are stupid, like data fields that should auto fill and don't because the designers did not realize that the majority of users went from point A to point B and should not have to refill data fields. Or that something that was not important to the designers was very important to the users and should be moved or highlighted in some way.

She said she is fond of what sfw said - she gets the computer system up on a screen and gathers info. She advised that if the end users group is relatively small that individual interviews went better than brainstorming as a group. She said the time was better spent one on one for better data and the ability to actually capture what they wanted. (She's also mild aspie and gets overwhelmed with too many people talking to her at once so the individual sessions are actually more efficient for her.) For larger groups she did progress meets with her showing process flow charts on the screen for all to see and comment on.

If you have more questions I will be glad to ask her, I am learning from her too!