Staving Off The Professional Zombie Apocalypse!

Treat Your Meetings Like Micro-Projects!

Meetings are everywhere, and the majority of them are poorly run. Which means most of us dread them. They can be mind-numbing, producing scores of walking dead daily the world over. Don’t turn your project teams into office zombies. Be the PM you are! Exercise the PM super powers you have! Make a difference! Stave Off The Professional Zombie Apocalypse!

Here’s 9 ways you can through just a smidgen of forethought, effort, and discipline!

Today!

1. Set meeting times consciously!

I know it’s MS Outlook’s fault that you schedule two meeting back to back right, it’s the default. But think about it, it’s impossible to finish one meeting at 10 AM and start the next one at 10 AM when it’s on a different spider phone or monitor in a different room on a different floor in the opposite corner of the building. And those are just on-site challenges.

And, even if you could, you don’t have time to grab a cup of coffee or tea, or use the bathroom, or prepare your thoughts. If you start them at the top of the hour instead of at the 10 after mark, at least finish them at a quarter ‘til the hour. Give folks time between meetings!

And yes, I just heard your mental opposition here; I’m tackling time next!

1. Start them on time!

I have actually witnessed meeting organizers walking into their own meetings late! By several minutes. It may or may not be their fault though, see #1 above.

Set your meeting times and be at least 5 minutes early, if not 10. You can greet folks, set up projectors, get organized, distribute hand-outs, and post your agenda.

1. Stop them on time, which is at least 5 minutes early!

See #1! Have your timekeeper give you a 5 minute, 2 minute, and 1 minute out. 10 minutes out! That way you can begin summarizing at 10 minutes from meeting end, summarize thoroughly, and get everyone out early.

1. Assign Roles

At a minimum you’ll need a time keeper and a scribe. That way you can be free to moderate! Why? Because you have to ensure you meet the meeting’s objective(s), manage conflict (if it arises), and keep everyone on time so you can end early (see #3 above).

1. Create, Publish, and Post the Meeting’s Agenda. In advance.

As every project should have a plan, so should every meeting have an agenda. At a minimum it must include a meeting objective(s), a meeting purpose, items for examination, discussion, brainstorming, deciding on, etc., and time hacks (i.e. target times to start each item and estimated durations to address each item).

Once created, push it to all attendees a minimum of 24 hours in advance. Give them time to make notes, push back, add items, or update you so they don’t have to attend. Remember, if you and/or they can get work done outside the meeting, isn’t that what we’re after; productivity, decision-making, problem solving, or information exchange?

Finally, once in the room, post the agenda so it’s visible to all. It helps your scribe and time keeper document and control the meeting, helps the audience see progress, and makes the meeting objective. That way, if a robust discussion breaks out about something and it becomes clear to all we’ll need to have a separate meeting to resolve, we can. And nobody feels slighted.

In fact, they feel relieved! They’ll realize “This meeting will stay on topic, on track, and on time! Wow! These project managers do get it, and they do value their team members! I want to work on their projects (increased internal motivation) and attend their meetings (attentive and engaged)”. All this from one action.

1. Invite only essential personnel!

If we need a decision, bring only the SMEs and analysts necessary along with their decision-makers. Let’s introduce problem/situation/need, introduce succinct analysis and recommendations, and then document the brief Q&A discussions and decision outcomes. Done. In. Effective. Out. Early.

Or, bring only the SMEs you need to help solve the problem. Or only the parties interested in the information being exchanged. The purpose dictates audience. People will realize when you invite them, it’s for a reason. Other than to waste their time. They’re necessary, and they’ll be out early. See the pattern here? You demonstrate respect for their time, their input, and their ability to influence the situation; you value their presence. Your meetings look sooooo much different than the two they came from this morning and the three more they’ve got this afternoon.

1. Manage conflict!

Robust discussions about ideas and an environment free to challenge them to arrive at the best solution; awesome! Meetings where no one is in control and the extroverts dominate, the aggressors get the time, the naysayers poison the well, and distractions are allowed; not awesome at all! In fact, stop it immediately!

Use your PM ability to influence, negotiate, and manage conflict. The meeting stays on agenda and schedule and again, people feel respected.

1. Use names, and be inclusive

Remember you’ve only invited essential personnel to achieve a clearly defined goal by a clearly stated time (project!)? Great! You should know who’s in the meeting and why, use their names so their presence is acknowledged, and make sure to query the quiet ones and subtly restrain the boisterous, aggressive ones. Your meetings will be more productive and effective.

1. Publish meeting minutes

Once the meeting is adjourned, publish and distribute the meeting minutes timely. I delegate communications to a team member, usually a junior PM or project team member or an intern. They finalize the scribe’s notes, synthesize them with the agenda, let me review them, and then publish them within 24 hours after the meeting. It clarifies action, promotes accountability and responsibility, validates people’s time, and provides an opportunity to grow your project personnel and your organization’s project management capacity.

Summary.

As a project manager, you’re an expert. You know how to initiate, plan, execute, and communicate. You know how to influence, negotiate, manage conflict, and direct and manage people through healthy, active, concerted relationship management. Apply your super powers to your projects’ micro-projects, their meetings! It provides you thousands of opportunities to demonstrate your capabilities and professionalism, and to demonstrate respect and recognize your fellow human beings! You are the antidote for Staving Off The Professional Zombie Apocalypse!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please 'Like' and ‘Share’ this post liberally if you are a transitioning military Service Member or Veteran, military transition assistance professional, a Veteran Employment/Retraining Organization or Recruiter, or if you found it helpful. Additionally, please email any questions or inquiries you may have to me at eric@vets2pm.com. I'm here to help, and I thank you! Warmest regards, Eric.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eric Wright is a two-service, two-era Military Veteran; Co-Founder and CEO of Vets2PM; an experienced, credentialed project manager and mentor; and an entertaining instructor/public speaker on project management, PMI’s PMP and CAPM exams, and on project manager development. He helps Military Veterans become Project Managers through inspiration, training, preparation, and presentation to the PM hiring community.