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Category: Meetings

What bugs your boss about meetings

Starting or ending a meeting late ranks as the No. 1 complaint about company meetings, according to a survey by Accountemps. Top pet peeves about company meetings among senior man­agers:

Stop the stragglers; start the meeting

Years ago, Jon had set up an important team meeting for 10 a.m. At 9:45, he was setting up the room. By 9:50, he was ready to start. By 9:59, no one had arrived. “I had a decision to make,” he says. “What if I started the meeting on time—all by myself?” That’s exactly what he did. That’s why “Just start it” is now his No.1 rule for holding meetings that start on time.

Next on the meeting agenda: brain food

You may have seen Chef Jamie Oliver’s show “Food Revolution,” in which he transforms school menus. Now Oliver is doing the same thing for employees slogging through long off-site meetings. If you plan off-site meetings or conferences, boost the meeting’s ROI by rethinking food.

Some coffee with your stress?

You’re expecting an afternoon meeting to be stressful and charged with emotion. Should you provide coffee for your boss and the other meeting attendees? Or is all that caffeine likely to do more harm than good?

Before you call a meeting …

Prior to gathering anyone around the conference table, ask yourself or the meeting organizer this important question: “Why are we meeting?” The best meetings let groups do one of three things: brainstorm, solve a problem or make a decision. People need a more tangible goal than simply to “discuss” an issue or listen to progress reports.