Meetings 2 What's the meeting about?

Once you decide to have a meeting, you'll need to set an agenda, allocate time, and create calendar invites. 

Introduction
  • Read the following definition of an agenda with your teacher. What is the main point?  

A meeting agenda helps you and your colleagues prepare for a meeting and guide yourselves through the items you need to discuss. Time spent in planning an agenda will likely save time for all meeting participants by providing a clear set of topics, objectives, and time frames. 

  • Do you set an agenda for meetings? Why or why not? 
Warm Up

Look at the following Eisenhower Matrix and the tasks below. Which category would you place each task? 

  • Organize a team meeting.
  • Check your email for meeting invites.
  • Have a feedback session with an underperforming team member.
  • Show up to a professional development meeting.
  • Mentor a junior staffer.
  • Lead a daily stand-up meeting. 
Language

The following are the words we often use in meetings. Match the following words to the phrases: 
 

Terms Definitions
Agenda a. The schedule for discussing and completing tasks
Objectives b. People who are involved or affected by the meeting
Stakeholders c. A list of topics to be discussed in a meeting
Action Items d. Tasks that need to be completed
Deliverables e. Expected results from the consultant’s work
Timeline f. The goals of the meeting
Follow-up g. Future actions after the meeting

Use the phrases to complete the sentences in a meeting context: 

Phrase Purpose
Before we meet with the client, I'd like to set an agenda to make sure we’re all aligned. a. Agreeing on what will be done after the meeting
Let's outline the key points we need to cover so we stay on track during the call. b. Starting with quick/easy tasks to build momentum
We should focus on discussing the updated project timeline to make sure everyone is on the same page. c. Making a plan for the meeting
One important topic is the client's feedback from the last review session. d. Emphasizing a specific subject
We need to allocate time for Q&A at the end of the meeting. e. Managing time and planning discussion
Let's deal with the low-hanging fruit first, like updating the project plan and sending out the new deck. f. Listing discussion topics

To keep morale up, let’s focus on the small wins, like getting the new client portal up and running.

g. Identifying easy wins
Let's confirm action items at the end of the meeting. h. Focusing on the main discussion topic
Practice

The Marketing and Operations teams of a consulting firm has a new client, who is The Dairy Farmers of Canada. They were hired to look into new avenues of revenue. Marketing wants to expand product lines and work with more partners (cheese companies, alcohol companies, yogurt companies, whey, protein, etc.). Operations team, on the other hand, strongly disagrees due to fragmented resources (quality control, distribution, government regulations, new/longer supply chains). The Dairy Farmers of Canada wants recognition with their label on multiple products and more visibility in the market. Marketing and Operations disagree on the scale and timing of product expansion. The client requires a response in a week. Decide whether the meeting is a brainstorming, informing, problem-solving, reviewing, team-building or decision-making meeting. Using the phrases you learned in the Language section, write a meeting invite with your teacher.

Now you have a deeper understanding of the importance of a good agenda and clear objectives. What is something new you learned from this lesson?

For example, the art of a good agenda is ensuring you cover what you said you would cover, but also have some flexibility for addressing any new business or issues that crop up.

In our next lesson we will look at the importance of people and personnel. How getting the right people in the room or on a video call is vital to ensure buy-in and productivity.

Think of the meetings you are involved in. Do they normally consist of a small, medium or big group of people? What are the pros and cons of different-sized meetings?