Meeting minutes remind attendees of important highlights, action items and key decisions made during a meeting. They also serve as a great way to update those that cannot attend and help increase accountability within an organization.
It’s no secret that leaders have differing views on meetings. Some meet far too often, while others don’t believe in meeting at all. Frankly, it’s not about how often you’re meeting, but rather what those meetings are accomplishing.
We wanted to see what type of meetings work at successful businesses, so we asked Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner, David Cummings about how he creates a healthy meeting culture.
Image Source- Creative Loafing Atlanta
David has been an entrepreneur for over a decade. In 2001, David founded Hannon Hill, which was recognized as the 247th fastest growing company in the U.S. by Inc. magazine. In early 2007, David co-founded Pardot, which was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as the fastest growing technology company in 2010. Pardot was named to the Inc. 500 in 2012 and shortly thereafter Pardot was acquired by ExactTarget in one of the largest SaaS acquisitions ever of a bootstrapped company. Most recently, David founded the Atlanta Tech Village, which at 103,000 sq ft is the largest technology entrepreneur center in the Southeast.
At Less Meeting, we’re huge fans of getting things done. There are several action items tools Less Meeting integrates with and others that are useful for outside your meeting todos.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the best tools for tracking action items:
Companies that have a strong sense of purpose and great company culture have clearly defined expectations about how daily business should be conducted.
Whether it’s a daily status meeting or a powerpoint policy, successful companies make conscious decisions to implement an effective meeting process. Great companies simply don’t have time for poor meetings. Bad meetings hurt employee morale and waste valuable time, but yet few actually have a repeatable meeting model.
How do companies like Amazon, Apple & Google avoid terrible meetings? Read More
This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Elizabeth Harrin about some of the pain points project managers face and how to fix them.
Elizabeth Harrin, MA, FAPM, MBCS is Director of The Otobos Group, a project communications consultancy specialising in copywriting for project management firms. She is the author of Shortcuts to Success: Project Management in the Real World, Social Media for Project Managers and Customer-Centric Project Management. She also writes the award-winning blog, A Girl’s Guide to Project Management. You can find Elizabeth online at www.otobosgroup.com or on Twitter @pm4girls.
As a project manager, what is the biggest problem you face in meetings? Read More
The business world used to be a lot more “active” 100 years ago. You’d hop on a horse and buggy to meet with potential customers, walk up several flights of stairs to ask your boss a quick question and eat whatever was in walking distance to your office.
Today, you don’t even have to leave your desk to get most things done. You can control the temperature of the room with the tap of your finger (with nest), have an instant conversation with your coworker half way around the world (with iChat), and have delicious food delivered to your door step by making a simple phone call.
Technology makes our lives significantly easier, but it also tends to confine us to one area- the desk. Mobile phones and iPads give us more flexibility, but according to ScienceDaily, the average adult still spends 6 hours a day sitting at their desk. It’s no wonder we’re getting arthritis earlier, hunched backs sooner, and exercising less each day.
You can help combat the negatives of desk-convenience by taking regular breaks, doing simple stretches, and utilizing well-designed products.
Here are a few of our recommendations:
1) The Aeron Chair
If you’re going to be sitting for 6 hours a day, you might as well be comfortable. The Aeron chair was created by the master mind behind the famous Eames Lounger, Herman Miller. With over nine different adjustable positions, this chair can fit just about any body type comfortably. Designed to be ergonomically sound, these chairs significantly reduce body fatigue and enforce better posture .
The only downside is the price at $679, which may seem like a big upfront cost now, but your back will thank you in 20 years.
*Pro-tip: Search Craigslist to find them for half-off.
The consensus best standing desk is NextDesk’s Terra. The Terra is incredibly easy to adjust, very well built, and available in a wide variety of options. At just over $1600, this can be quite expensive, but luckily there are other cost effective options as well.
The Ergo Depot AD17 adjustable height desk is a third of the cost, has a very clean design, and is a great option for smaller spaces.
3) Exercise Ball Chair
The exercise ball chair is great for strengthening your core while typing. Be careful with how you are sitting, as they have a tendency to roll away a bit more easily than a typical office chair, but at $79, this is easily the most cost effective solution to getting some much needed “bounce” to your day (zing!).
What types of office furniture / techniques do you use to stay comfortable at work?
