I recently saw several studies on meeting productivity. While it was interesting, it wasn’t surprising. Meetings have parameters as to what makes them work. If you go outside of that, then you’re wasting your time. 

Meetings are important to make your people aware of what is going on and what actions need to be taken next. Unfortunately, not having productive meetings seems to be a common problem. These are the things that I’ve discovered that keep meetings productive and some third-party validation as to why they’re effective. 

On-the-Dot Rule 

A study by the Journal of Organizational Behavior logged the starting time of 700 meetings. Out of those 700, only three of them began on time. It was also found that the average start time was seven minutes late. This brings me to what you have to enforce to master meeting productivity. 

First, the number one rule for any meeting is that it has to start on time. NO EXCEPTIONS. This isn’t just about being a strict leader or the fact it’s rude to start meetings late. It’s about the productivity of your meetings. 

That same study showed that meeting if the meeting began on time it affected how people perceived how productive the meeting was and its actual value. If you have trouble starting your meetings on time, you may be better off not having them at all. 

Have a Balanced Meeting Schedule 

Don’t just have meetings to have meetings. That in and of itself isn’t productive. However, a report in the National Library of Medicine indicated that too few meetings pointed to individuals in organizations experiencing a 15% drop in IQ over time. 

How do you solve this? My companies have meetings for only two reasons: to raise morale or strategy to raise statistics.

“A meeting that doesn’t fulfill either of these objectives doesn’t need to happen.”

– Grant Cardone

This reminds me of when I had my offices in Los Angeles. We had expanded, so we added a conference room for the employees to use. Every time I came into the office, I saw people “meeting” in that conference room instead of producing income. I told my COO to get rid of the conference room. The stats immediately improved. 

The keys to mastering meeting productivity are simple. Start them on time and only have them for the right reasons. It’s easy to get busy scheduling to discuss what you’re going to do. What you really need to do is take more action than have more meetings. 

Make your next meeting count. 

Be Great,

Grant Cardone  

H/T: Inc.com

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