Stop the Meeting Madness!
Dec 18, 2019
Do you have too many internal meetings?
Do you leave most meetings thinking:
"Damn, that's an hour of my life I'll never get back."
Are your meetings mostly reporting out on what you did and what you'll do next?
You're not alone!
Nancy and I just spoke with hundreds of fundraisers at the CASE V conference in Chicago who are overwhelmed with too many unproductive meetings.
How can you stop the meeting madness?
Here are a few tips that aren't always easy, but can truly make change for you and your team:
- Before accepting ANY meeting, ask the organizer: AM I MISSION-CRITICAL?
Most meeting invites are habit: he always comes to these meetings, so I should invite him...Other meeting invites are, believe it or not, just a courtesy: if I don't invite him, he may feel left out. Don't let yourself fall into these traps! By asking if you're mission-critical to the meeting, you'll know why and how you can add value.
- Say no to 60 minutes. Hour-long meetings are another weird work habit. They look so tidy in that perfect little hour-long rectangle on our calendars. Yet, with a solid agenda and clear desired outcomes, so many decisions could be made in less than 30 minutes. Protect your time and everyone else's by setting shorter meetings.
- Stop weekly one-on-one meetings. I know. This is a tough one. Meetings can seem necessary for connection and staying up-to-date. But how often do those weekly meetings feel forced, unproductive and repetitive? For weekly reporting, use our Weekly 5:15. It's a simple weekly report your whole team can use to stay up-to-date, get help where you really need it and, best of all, free up your face-to-face meetings for brainstorming, problem-solving and creativity.
We want to hear from you!
Try this out and let us know how it goes?
Wishing you more productive, meaningful meetings and so much success,
Jenna & Nancy
