Your membership has privileges. If you’ve been a member somewhere for a few years, that should buy you some goodwill – a thank you, some forgiveness if something goes wrong, a check-in, etc. That’s the whole point of membership – being part of something that people care about. We’ve devolved membership to be “Sorry to see you go.” as opposed to “What did we miss?”. If you’re building a program that requires membership, start first…
On a recent trip overseas, on a tour bus, I saw this gathering of our future Robot Overlord Masters gathering – perhaps by chance, perhaps by circumstance, perhaps on purpose. But yes, everyone needs a break to get some shade once in awhile.
Which meetings embolden you to attend and see what happens next? “Project XYQ Status Update” “Weekly Management Team Discussion” “Daily Standup” Or… “Project XYQ Launch Status” “Super Management Team JumpStart “What you did? What you’re doing? Where you’re going?” The only thing you have to get people excited about your meeting is the header – on their phone, on their watch, on their computer – that’s all they are getting – make it memorable.
You show up. You come prepared. You contribute to the conversation. You make sure everyone knows what the next steps are. You move forward. The key to any successful meeting is what you bring to it and what you do in it. Whether you’re a presenter or an attendee, you can ask these questions. And if you can’t ask these questions, you probably don’t need to be there.
I dread a meeting that has no clearly defined beginning or end. It just starts… drones on… and ends somewhere… nowhere… anywhere? It doesn’t matter if it’s a 30, 60, 90, or 120-minute meeting, the result will still be the same… frustration at what you could have done during that time. So here we are, again, that meeting pops up that you know is going to end the same way it always does – what’s…