Meetings That Get Results (The Brian Tracy Success Library)

My favorite expression is that “meetings are management in action.” They are a major opportunity for you to display managerial competence (or lack thereof) as well as to develop your communication skills, to influence and persuade others, and to advance the goals of the organization.

However, meetings are like advertising. It is estimated that 50 percent of the dollars spent on advertising are wasted, but nobody knows which 50 percent it is. It is also estimated that half of the time spent in meetings is wasted, but nobody knows how to eliminate the unnecessary half.

Successful executives are those who know how to run meetings well and perform effectively in a meeting environment. Peter Drucker said that “meetings are the primary tool of management.” Since a major part of your career will be spent in meetings, it is essential for your success that you learn how to get the very most out of meetings and how to ensure that the meetings in which you participate achieve the results desired

There is a rule that “the person who asks questions has control.” When you ask open-ended questions beginning with words such as how, when, who, and which, none of which can be answered with a simple yes or no, you give the employee an opportunity to open up and expand in that area.
One of the most powerful questions you can ask when your employee presents you with a problem or a dilemma is, “What do you think you should do?”

Dominating the discussion. A meeting is not a speech. If a leader is doing most of the talking, then the meeting is useless.

Your ability to lead a meeting is a critical part of your success in management. This skill is one of the marks of leadership that is most evident to people in your organization. As Peter Drucker wrote, “The key tools of the executive are the meeting, the presentation, and the report.” You must be excellent at all three.