A TEAM MEETING has achieved its goals when the participants have identified business problems, come up with better ways of doing things, and agreed on a list of action points. Unfortunately, some meetings conclude with many critical issues unresolved.

MEETINGS ARE A part of corporate life. The way they are conducted usually reflects the prevailing corporate culture and says a great deal about the way an organisation is run.

EVERY TEAM MEETING on planning starts with the best of intentions. Whoever convenes the meeting is convinced that getting everyone together will be time well spent, to cover significant ground and spark new ideas.

IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO: an important client calls your company’s country manager to complain that a big order has not arrived on schedule. Further investigation shows this was apparently the result of certain staff failing to follow standard operating procedures.

ALL OF US have attended team meetings that turn out to be a waste of time and money. This often happens even when considerable effort has been made to organise things and fix an agenda.