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How to Run Great Team Meetings

"Get the right people together in the one room...use the right process and...magic can happen.."

"Divide and conquer was the old boys rule...." Dave was almost in preaching mode as he leaned back on his office chair, clasping his hands behind his head in that smarmy position Jane just hated "Yep, he always made sure that people never spent too much time together in the one place talking at work..in case they were plotting against him..he used to say.."

"What..so you never had staff meetings? " Jane's face pulled one of her looks of dismay...As if Dave had just said he knew how to fly to Mars in a swimsuit. (You know the kind of weird statements that make your head turn 180 degrees in a split second...) That was how Jane felt right now..

Here she was talking once again with her fellow manager, good old Dave, about the value of getting teams of people together at work. And here was Dave, once again, trying to justify the old "divide and conquer" strategy of his mentor and past boss.."good old Harry. "

GOOD OLD HARRY

Harry didn't just love power, he bathed in it, rolled in it, lolled in it..he even used power as an after shave and a breath freshener. The only problem was, most of his staff said he "stunk.." Or at least his management style did.

Harry's views on the world were that he was right....right...right... And if anyone had a different view to his, they were not only wrong...they were dead wrong..And they were obviously out to get him..So he had to get them first...and fast...

"I can imagine how much creativity and passion people put into their work with old Harry at the helm" Jane, now mildly annoyed at Dave's attitude, (yet again) sarcastically replied.

"Harry wasnt interested in all that luvvy duvvy passion, love thy neighbour stuff. He just wanted results..." Dave proudly flexed back..

"It also happened that his staff turnover was almost 50% a year, he had more industrial unrest than Margaret Thatcher in a coal miners strike and the company lost more money than Christopher Skase and Alan Bond put together... The Board would have taken him out and shot him if they could. He was lucky not to be strung up at his retirement function. They gave him a gold plated set of handcuffs instead of a gold watch...So don't you sit back and waffle on about how great Old Harry was Dave.."

Dave was sunk as he just sat and stared back thinking "There's nothing worse than exaggerating the facts...But she is right...Harry almost sunk the lot of us.."

"Dave....read this. I think you'll find it interesting.." Jane said as she handed over a photocopied tattered page to him. She then turned on her heels and left Dave's office. He picked up the page.

GET YOUR PEOPLE TOGETHER

The headline read "Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..". Dave continued to read.

" If your company is serious about winning in the 90's here are 10 key tips to get where you want to go faster. Some of you will say "These tips are not new..." I say "I know...but its not about being new... its about it being new in your company...in other words...Do you practice them...?" Its like the person who can give great tips on golf at a dinner party but never goes out on the golf course to practice themselves. Knowing it and talking about it is only part of the solution. Doing it gets results.

TIP ONE: HAVE TEAM MEETINGS

Get your whole team together at least once a month. How can you have a team if you dont get together ? Just imagine if the Eagles never got together to talk about the game they just played or the one they were about to play. What if the backline only spoke to other backline players and the forwards only spoke to other forwards ? There would be no overall team strategy. Yet that's exactly the way 80 to 90% of businesses operate. Get the edge. Get your team together regularly. Same time, Same place - no exceptions.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP TWO: SET A MISSION

Create a mission for your company. Somebody said to me recently "I just hate all this mission, vision, game plan bulldust...Why can't people just get on with it..?" Because, in my opinion, people need purpose. People need a sense of togetherness. Striving to a common goal (other than to keep their job and collect a pay cheque)

The human spirit strives for higher goals and causes. Exceptional performance flows from exceptional causes. Why do you think Pakistan won the world Cup in cricket a few years ago ? They were the underdogs by far. Australia were hot favourites. My belief is because Imran Kahn and his team had a stronger mission. Imran Kahn had decided that should they win, he would donate the prize money to building a hospital for underprivileged children. They werent playing for themselves, they were playing for the children. That mission ignited the human spirit of his team. They surprised the world. You too can tap in on that power. If you choose to.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP THREE: SET KEY GOALS

What are the 7 key goals your company will need to achieve this year to make you more profitable and successful ? Get your team together. Ask this question. Write the answers down. Decide who will be responsible to make each of the goals happen, and by when will they be achieved. Setting goals is like focussing a telescopic sight on your target. You can not only see it more clearly, you are more likely to hit it.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP FOUR: THE POWER OF SYNERGY

Synergy is the power of Collective Brain Power. Its the magic of people working together with a common purpose in a spirit of harmony and togetherness. Its understanding that together we can do far more magic and good than any of us could accomplish alone. By getting people together in a supportive, harmonious environment then setting a common purpose, your team can do extra ordinary things. But first you must believe in this invisible power - the power of synergy. The power of the collective brain power.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP FIVE: AGREE TO RESOLVE ISSUES FAST

One of the key rules to creating synergy and teamwork is to have a rule. "If there is a problem, issue, difference of opinion or "hiccup" between any member of our team, no matter who they are, we agree it will be resolved at the earliest possible opportunity." So often in businesses, issues or differences are passed off as "no big deal" or "it doesnt really matter" yet at another level, we all know "it does really matter". Have the courage to deal with issues fast and your team will move ahead - fast.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP SIX: POINTS OF VIEW

Realise that not everyone in the team will hold your point of view. And, that a point of view is just a point of view, not the whole person. Have you ever disagreed with a persons point of view and then felt, "well if that's how they think..stuff 'em.." And you have a great desire to wipe them off your birthday party list...

"No matter how thin you slice the salami, there are always two points of view." so the saying goes.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP SEVEN: STAY IN THE HEAT

When it comes to dealing with issues and hearing two different points of view, be willing to stand in the heat. Be willing to experience your own and other peoples emotion. Points of view and emotion often go hand in hand. Paul Keating is no pussyfoot when it comes to expressing his point of view. Nor was Martin Luther King or JFK... If you're committed to your purpose, passion and emotion will need to be part of the recipe for success. The key here is to be prepared to continue dealing with the issue until you reach agreement with the other person what needs to change in the future. Get off trying to make the other person wrong. Talk about changes for the future. The past can only be learned from, not changed.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP EIGHT: ASK GOOD QUESTIONS

There are 6 Golden Questions you should ask in running a good team meeting. Each has its own purpose - to focus the discussion and get group agreement.

1. What do we want to achieve out of this meeting?
2. What is our timeframe for this meeting? How long are we here?
3. Is that discussion relevant to what we're discussing right now?
4. What is the decision we agree on?
5. Who is going to take responsibility for that action?
6. When will it be done by?

   Use these questions like a recipe for baking a

wonderful cake. But make sure you use them in the correct order. Question 3 without question 2 will make your life harder not easier. Try them in your next meeting.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP NINE: MAKE A DECISION TO ACT

In all meetings, particularly problem solving meetings, when an issue is resolved ask the question "So what action are we going to take about this..?" So often in meetings, the discussion goes on and on and on. The problem is analysed and re-analysed to near exhaustion and beyond. "What action are we going to take..?" refocusses peoples attention and helps speed up a resolution....Try it next time you feel near exhaustion about to set in...

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..

TIP TEN: SUMMARISE FOR SUCCESS

Finally at the end of the meeting, summarise the key points, decisions and actions to be taken. So often people forget what they agreed to do and then when they finally get the minutes of the meeting (two days before the next meeting..if the minutes actually exist..) they dont have time to get the job done..

For successful meetings, summarise....then check that everyone knows what they are supposed to do between now and the next meeting...

It all sounds such common sense doesn't it..? So get your team together and try it.. it pays..

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic.."

Dave put the paper down on his desk. His mind rolled back to the days when his old mentor had his hands on the wheel of the business "If only Harry had tried a bit more of this..I wonder where we'd be today...?"

With that, he picked up the phone and dialled. A voice answered at the other end. Dave replied.." Jane, can we get the team together for a meeting tomorrow morning..?"

He could almost hear Jane smile at the other end.

Get Your People Together....You can Do Magic..