The 6 Secrets to High Performance Meetings

Oh ...the dreaded business meeting—a breeding ground for yawning executives, note-jotting interns and lukewarm coffee. When did company meetings become so lackluster? Why have meetings turned from team pow-wows to snooze fests? And most importantly, will we ever get out of the rut of dealing with the mind-numbing, monotonous Powerpoint?

Imagine a business meeting that, for once, does exactly what it's supposed to do: everyone's productivity is boosted, there are more exchanges of ideas, the coffee is piping hot. Sound too good to be true?

Well, it's possible. We have 6 secrets that will make your meeting one that you can actually classify as "high performance" It's time to amp up those weekly meetings, entrepreneurs.

1. Ever heard of an agenda?
We know you like to fly by the seat of your pants—it's exciting and it's quite often "how you do business." And although this "take whatever comes at me" mentality may work for you in the startup world, it may not work so well during a high performance meeting. You need to prepare an agenda before the meeting begins and to stay on track throughout the meeting.

2. The importance of a table
Believe it or not, a meeting can go from a low quality snooze-fest to a high performance pow-wow with one simple addition: a table. When business meetings are conducted inside a professional-looking conference room as opposed to the kitchen, the boss's office, or around the water cooler), attendees will understand that you mean business and that it's time to get down to it.

3. Communication is key
High performance meetings happen when emails, Post-It notes, and phone calls simply don't do the trick. They allow a time and a place for everybody to come together and share thoughts, ideas, tasks and questions. High performance meetings can incorporate other means of communication other than just face-to-face. For example, video chat (by using Skype (LINK- www.skype.com) or the like), web conferencing, customized intranet, and mics can be used.

4. Get techno
In a world that thrives on technology, we believe that your meetings should, too. After all, if it's going to be high performance, it might as well be high tech too. Utilize SMART Boards, Powerpoints (as long your presentation kicks butt) and Wikis to enhance your business meetings and amp up participation.

5. Accountability
During the meeting, actions need to be delegated. Do not adjourn the meeting without setting important accountability standards. Assign different responsibilities to each person with estimated completion dates. Good ideas will only materialize into results when they are a part of an action plan.

6. Keep an eye (or two) on the clock
Entrepreneurs are busy people. High performance meetings do not need to take hours and hours out of the workday. Budget your time during meetings.

See? I told you so. It's not that difficult to put together a high performance meeting sans the snoring employees in the back. By implementing the right tools, attitude, and environment (ARTICLE- Increase Productivity, Paint Your Office!), your meeting can turn from a snooze-fest to a productive pow-wow in no time.