You’ve jettsetted to a remote island to see your favorite artists perform during an exclusive music festival. The hefty ticket price grants you access to a luxury beachside tent furnished with a plump mattress and stylized decor. Beverages flow generously and the chef-prepared island cuisine punches tastebuds with flavor. Days are spent lounging beachside or sociably on chartered yachts. After dark, you and 8,000 others let the tunes reverberate through your eardrums during intimate live performances.
The expertly coordinated experience exceeds expectations. And the follow-up communications from event hosts seal the deal — you reserve next year’s ticket. You’re in. A brand loyalist.
Productive meetings are frequently the catalyst for such long-term brand successes. A smoothly run experience from start to finish that exceeds expectations will win over apprehensive customers and wary employees alike.
But what enables a productive meeting? “That’s easy. Preparation,” said Erik Carlson, chief financial officer and head of strategy at Notified. Notified helps events teams, public relations firms and investment advisors connect with their customers through cloud-based communications solutions, often supporting the execution of virtual events and earnings calls.
Whether leading team meetings to plan a music festival or a B2B webinar, preparation is vital. Built In NYC sat down with Carlson to learn about his approach to planning a productive meeting, advice on what to do if the discussion navigates off course and how to keep people accountable for action items once the meeting is over.
What advice can you offer on running a productive meeting?
All productive meetings follow the three P’s:
Purpose: What is the goal of the meeting? Decision-oriented approval meetings are different from brainstorming meetings. Define the goal first, then identify the right people and process to achieve the goal. Ensure participants understand their role in the meeting by documenting a clear purpose in your meeting objective and agenda.
People: Determine the attendees and their roles. Having the right people in the room is critical. If it’s an approval meeting, do you have the decision makers? If it’s a brainstorming session, are all relevant functional or departmental viewpoints represented?
Process: Your process for during the meeting is just as important as your process for after the meeting to ensure it’s productive. Have you created a timed agenda that allows for intentional discussion and outcomes? Have you allowed space during the meeting for naturally introverted participants to share feedback? Do you have a clear summary of takeaways, inclusive of next steps and owners?
Your process for during the meeting is just as important as your process for after the meeting to ensure it’s productive.”
When a meeting goes off course, what can a facilitator do to get things back on track?
Even with the best planning, the unexpected conflict or wrinkle can arise. Here are two common issues and advice on how leaders can overcome them:
Scope creep: How often do you find yourself in a meeting discussing a topic that had nothing to do with the meeting’s original intent? The job of the facilitator is to remind the group of what topic to focus on. If the diversion is not a quick detour, set up a separate discussion or table it for the end of the meeting.
Conflict: Debate and conflict in business are healthy, but it’s important to resolve them in a respectful manner. I’ve been a part of too many meetings in which two strong-willed participants take turns arguing key points. As a facilitator, recap the points of disagreement in an objective and fair manner and frame next steps to take to a decision owner.
What’s the best way to end a meeting?
Assign each action item and next step to a single owner. If everybody owns it, nobody owns it.
Even in situations when two participants raise their hands to partner on a next step or deliverable, be intentionally specific about who owns what milestone or deliverable and when it’s due. Too often, I’ve been in follow-up meetings in which the facilitator receives blank stares when they ask about the action items from the previous meeting. Each team member was certain the other had it covered — and they were both wrong. Avoid ambiguity by assigning a single owner and hold participants accountable to prior commitments and deliverables.
