"Proactive Meetings: How To Use These Magic Keys To Success"

By Randy Gilbert (c)2002

On a recent family vacation I discovered a powerful truism; "Not only do you need to have the keys to success, but you must know how to use them."

Here's what happened. Our condo uses electronic keycards, a great modern invention which allows for everyone to have a room key. The "love of my life" got to the door first and tried her key - no green light. "Why is it always my key that doesn't work?" she asked.

My son, who seems to have been born knowing how electronic things work, stepped up and said, "You have to know how to use them." He put her keycard back in the slot, waited a moment, pulled it out quickly and the green light came on. He waited another moment until there was a clicking sound, and then he opened the door.

What amazes me is that every type of key that has ever been invented seems to require some type of special trick to make it work. This is the way it works with the 'keys' to business success, you have to know how to use them.

This truism applies especially well to meetings. In all likelihood you already possess the resources and tools that are your keys. Now the following three proactive tips will teach you how to use them so the doors to success and abundance will open for you every time you hold a meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tip 1 - Prepare For The Meeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abraham Lincoln said, "If I were given 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend 6 of those hours sharpening the axe." He knew the value of preparation. He spent hours on his three minute Gettysburg Address and the words were so sharp that they still cut deep into our patriotic hearts.

Develop a clear purpose and agenda for the meeting. The purpose should be a concise written statement that summarizes the objective of the meeting. The agenda should be prepared similar to a good speech; say what you plan to accomplish, accomplish it, and then provide time to summarize what was accomplished.

Figure out the tasks that must be done in order to have a successful meeting and work them into your schedule. For example, checking the room ahead of time to make sure the size and arrangement is acceptable and the audiovisual equipment works is an important task.

Make sure the right people are invited and communicate the purpose and agenda to them in advance. You want everyone to know exactly what the meeting is for and what is expected of them. This will give them time to prepare themselves so they will be effective participants.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tip 2 - Proactively Facilitate the Meeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Begin the meeting on time. Even the people who show up late will respect you and will most likely show up on time for the next meeting. Be friendly and welcoming, use an attention-getter that gets people focused, and make sure everyone is up-to-date and ready to start. Then make sure the purpose is clear and get agreement on the agenda.

The middle part of the meeting will be different depending on whether it is a problem solving type of meeting or an information giving/getting meeting. Make sure ample time is allotted for discussion and clarification. If it's a sales meeting you will want to leave time to handle objections.

The ending should summarize the progress made and emphasize major agreements. Then it's vital to review who is responsible for the follow-on action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tip 3 - Treat People Like People, Not Machines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By definition, meetings involve people, and because they do, group dynamics play a vital role in the success of meetings. Facilitating the meeting so that everyone works together as a team to accomplish the task is a skill that can be learned.

The 'secret formula' that has worked well for me is helping people move through the stages of Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Each stage relates to a tier on the human hierarchy of needs. Therefore you have to satisfy the first three in order to get to the performing stage.

For example, the Forming stage requires basic physical needs such as comfort, alertness, and the ability to see and hear to be satisfied. The Storming stage requires that everyone know why they belong in the meeting and what their role is.

The Norming stage requires people to feel accepted as a part of the team and to know how their role is connected with everyone else. It's only when these three stages are satisfied that the group can begin Performing and accomplishing the objective of the meeting.

Poorly run meetings can turn people off. But, with these three proactive tips you can turn them on by making sure all of your meetings are effective. You have the magic keys to success and you know how to use them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Randy (Dr. Proactive) Gilbert, is a motivational speaker and author of "SUCCESS BOUND" - http://www.Success-Bound.com He is also a success coach who helps people double their wealth and happiness by discovering the Power of Proactive Thinking" http://www.DrProactive.com/proactive_thinking_secret/ Copyright 2002 Randy Gilbert. All rights reserved. Feel free to pass the above in its entirety to anyone you wish. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~