The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings

1. The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings Author: Eric Matson Presenter: Julianna Kuhn April 12, 2011

2. Overview • Overview • Purpose • The 7 Sins of Deadly Meetings & The 7 Salvations • Conclusion

3. Purpose • To promote efficiency in meetings for all businesses • Examples given for Silicon Valley companies

4. Sin # 1: Meetings aren’t taken seriously • Salvation Adopt the mindset : Meetings are real work. Make agendas!

5. Sin # 2: Meetings are too long • Salvation Try to keep meetings shorter than 90 minutes. Use computer based timing aides when necessary.

6. Sin # 3: People get off-topic • Salvation Stick to the agenda! Establish the leadership style from the start.

7. Sin # 4: Decisions are not converted to action • Salvation Convert meeting discussion into a common document and outline.

8. Sin # 5: People are not upfront and honest • Salvation Use the computer to create an anonymous comment box.

9. Sin # 6: Postponing critical decisions due to lack of info • Salvation Bring data, not just furniture, into the meeting room.

10. Sin # 7: Meetings never get better • Salvation Practice, take notes on what does and does work, and then hold people accountable.

11. Conclusion: The 7 deadly sins. Meetings… • Aren’t taken seriously • Are too long • Are off-topic • Are not converted to action

12. Conclusion: The 7 deadly sins. Meetings… • Do not promote honesty • Postpone decisions too often • Never improve

13. Conclusion: Most useful ideas for Students • Make agendas or list goals to accomplish before a meeting • Create a group document to track the discussion • Bring data and information to the meeting

14. Questions?