1 Million Pages

Have you been to a meeting lately that was ineffective and left you feeling like you just wasted time? Shirley Fine Lee, author of “R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard’s Approach”, offers a top ten list of reasons why many meetings go wrong.

“Many of us have been to meetings where things got out of control and/or our objectives for holding the meeting were not met,” Lee said. “We felt the time in those meetings was greatly wasted and wondered what went wrong. Some of us have even been the leaders at such meetings.”

Ten common mistakes that meeting leaders make and meeting attendees often accept without question during the meeting are:
1. The meeting leader does not understand the role of facilitator.
2. The recorder role is under appreciated.
3. The leader does not have a written agenda.
4. If they have an agenda, they allow random changes.
5. The agenda does not have times assigned to each topic.
6. Records of meeting are not visible during meeting.
7. Records of meeting are not distributed afterwards.
8. Actions are not recorded during meeting.
9. Actions are not assigned to people before meeting ends.
10. Deadlines are not assigned to actions.

Now let’s evaluate each of those mistakes according to Shirley Fine Lee’s book “R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard’s Approach”. R.A!R.A! is an acronym for Roles, Agenda, Records, and Actions, which are key elements to successful meetings according to the book.

1. The meeting leader does not understand the role of facilitator.
A facilitator is responsible for insuring that an agenda is set and meeting processes are agreed to by the meeting members and then adhered to throughout the meeting time. Just having scheduled meeting time and an agenda won’t insure accomplishing the meeting objective unless someone assumes the role of facilitator. If there is not a trained facilitator at the meeting, the meeting leader must understand and accept this role in order to have a successful meeting.

2. The recorder role is under appreciated.
The recorder is not only responsible for compiling the results of the meeting by taking meeting minutes, but also for publishing and distributing them in a timely manner to all meeting members in order for them to take appropriate actions. The recorder must not only capture decisions but data and discussion that lead to the decisions. Also, the recorder is often responsible for sending meeting reminders if a follow-up meeting is required.

3. The leader does not have a written agenda.
Some meeting leaders feel that their meetings are short or specialized and therefore do not require a formal agenda. However, they may discover that by not providing their proposed agenda at the beginning of the meeting, they quickly get off-track and lose control of the meeting.

4. If they have an agenda, they allow random changes.
Some meeting leaders understand the importance of starting with an agenda, but don’t always stick to it. In other words, they let others come into the meeting and change the agenda at any time by allowing them to talk out of turn or letting them change topics while discussing an agenda item. Although it may sometimes be better to change an agenda to cover urgent items, this should be done at the beginning of the meeting with the agreement of all present.

5. The agenda does not have times assigned to each topic.
It may not seem important to some meeting leaders to have times assigned to the topics on an agenda. However, they will find that having times assigned helps insure the meeting stays on track, that all the important topics get covered, and that the meeting starts and stops on time. The important and urgent items should always be the first items on the agenda and should have a few extra minutes of time allotted for discussion.

6. Records of meeting are not visible during meeting.
Besides an agenda, another way meeting leaders can keep their meeting on-track is to make sure all idea generation, decision-making, and other discussions get recorded in a way that is visible to all members while the meeting is going on. Having a visible record using marker boards or flip charts often keeps members from repeating themselves to make sure they are heard. It also helps to bring members back into focus on the current topic if someone begins to stray away from agreed upon subject.

7. Records of meeting are not distributed afterwards.
Many meeting leaders recognize the importance of taking meeting minutes to have a record of what went on. Yet, some of them do not think to make sure those minutes are distributed to attendees and other interested parties after the meeting has finished. Quickly distributing meeting records allows members of the group to correct mistakes they think were made in the records as well as serving as a reminder of decisions made or actions to complete.

8. Actions are not recorded during meeting.
Often meeting leaders may wonder why they are having all these meetings and yet nothing seems to be getting done. This usually means that the facilitator or recorder missed recording an important action that came out of a group discussion. One way to remedy this is to have a place where all actions are listed as they come up. Even if the facilitator or recorder misses the action during discussion, one of the meeting members will likely recommend it be added to the list.

9. Actions are not assigned to people before meeting ends.
Now that meeting leaders know it is important to record all the actions, the next logical step would be to make sure someone volunteers to complete the action or is assigned the action. It does not accomplish anything outside of the meeting if you know an action needs to be done unless someone is planning to complete the action. The meeting leader should use the last few minutes of each meeting to assign any open actions and prepare a tentative agenda for the next meeting.

10. Deadlines are not assigned to actions.
Although most people in business have heard of the 3W rule for actions not everyone follows it. The three W’s are: WHAT is the action, WHO will complete it, and WHEN will it be done by. Having a deadline encourages people to get things done in order to keep the project moving and not disappoint the group. The actions should be placed in the meeting records so everyone knows where to look for them to begin doing the work required.

Thus we have moved to solving the ten mistakes meeting leaders make using the R.A!R.A! concept. Although Roles, Agenda, Records, and Actions are the backbone of Shirley Fine Lee’s book “R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard’s Approach”, there is more in the book. The author also includes sections on preparing for meetings and how to handle disruptions in the meeting. The book includes various forms for planning, recording, and evaluating meetings as well.

Motivation and retention of employees are two of the biggest challenges facing Sales Managers today. The rapidly-changing workplace of today mandates that employees stay motivated. Sales forces that stay motivated help businesses survive due to increased overall productivity. Motivation is the basis for survival for an organization, yet it is usually ignored as a business topic. There is no clear-cut and well-defined approach to tackling the challenge of employee motivation. Most companies usually ignore it unless a problem crops up.

Different people are motivated to become happier employees in different ways. Money becomes a less effective motivator as salaries rise, and work that fascinates the employees becomes more important.

A psychologist from the USA, Abraham Maslow, first devised the term “trans-personal psychology” and was the first to use many humanistic methods of counseling. Maslow’s work led him to believe that many apparently obvious motivations for people’s behavior are less important than basic personal development.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs enlightens us on what motives people to seek out certain positions in life. The Hierarchy helps when it comes to sales Resource professionals determining how to best utilize the basic building blocks of human nature. There are five stages of the Hierarchy that explains an individuals needs and the order of importance.

Physiological needs which comprise Maslow’s first tier are all about human survival. And this pertains to man’s basic needs like, food water, shelter. These are considered the basics for it serves as the foundation of human’s motivation. He believes that people should meet these needs before dealing with the concerns of safety, love and so forth.

Furthermore, Maslow considers the four primary needs in his hierarchy “deficiency needs,” which eliminate the supply of motivation once each is fulfilled. On the other hand, the hierarchy’s final need - self-actualization - is a “being” or “growth” needs that influences behavior during the duration of a person’s life. Consequently, if a business continues to give its employees opportunities to meet the importance of this high-level need, the company can expect a well-motivated workforce.

There are two popular schools of thoughts behind the concept of self actualization. According to one school, we are always in pursuit of achieving self-actualization and the other school propounds that we do achieve the temporary self actualization but the moment we accomplish that we set another goal and start putting the effort to actualize that goal. Those who strive to realize their potential are looking for such opportunity and position from where their idea can take a concrete shape and blossom to prosper.

How many meetings have you been to where the meeting topics are abandoned while someone goes off on either an unrelated or vaguely related subject? In the world of meeting facilitation, this wasted time on unrelated subjects is often referred to as a rabbit trail because the group gets started hoping from subject to subject and doesn’t get the primary objectives of the meeting accomplished. This can be very frustrating for not only the meeting leader but for many of the attendees who came specifically for the original purpose of the meeting. For effective meetings, you need all your bunnies in a row at every meeting. So what can be done to stop the rabbit trails and bring the group’s focus back to the meeting objectives?

There are two simple tools that may be used to refocus the group before a rabbit trail goes too far. One is to have a written agenda with timeframes and get everyone’s agreement to that agenda at the beginning of the meeting. Once everyone has agreed to the agenda, you proceed with the meeting following the agenda. Then if anyone tries to bring up a new topic, you can use the technique of pointing to the agenda and politely asking “At the beginning of the meeting, we had agreed to follow this agenda. I don’t understand how what you just said fits with these topics. Can you explain how it relates to me?” Give the individual a minute to either explain how it relates or agree that it does not relate to the agenda item. If they agree it does not relate then you can return to your original agenda item. If it does relate, then ask the group if they want to spend more time in discussing the related item or if they want to make a note to continue the discussion in this area at another time. The group will then make a decision which may be used to revise the current agenda or plan part of an agenda in a future meeting.

Using the agenda is the best technique for stopping short rabbit trails that interrupt following the agreed upon meeting agenda. However, there are times during a long discussion item in meetings that make it harder to see possible rabbit trails. In this case, having a large written record of what the group has accomplished thus far in the discussion can help keep the group focused and can be used to bring interest back if the group seems to be going another direction. When what may be a rabbit trail seems to occur, point to the visible record and ask something like “Currently we are talking about the XYZ topic, I don’t understand how what you just said relates to our topic. Can you explain how what you said relates to this topic?” Give the individual a minute to either explain how it relates or agree that it does not relate to the current topic. If they agree it does not relate then you ask if it should be placed on an issues board or parking lot for discussion at another meeting. After the new topic idea is recorded or rejected, you can point to the current topic record, let the group know how much time they have left on this topic, and then continue your discussion process. If the new topic idea does relate, then make a note of the individual’s comments in the record, ask the group if they want to spend more time in discussing the relation, or if they feel that noting it in the record is enough for now. The group will then make a decision which can be used to continue discussion in the direction needed to accomplish the current meeting objectives.

Using these two simple tools and techniques should greatly reduce rabbit trails in meetings. The techniques will take practice and persistence, but after a while the group will get to where even individually they will recognize when they may be starting a rabbit trail. Then the individuals may stop themselves before they get started or the others in the meeting may notice the rabbit trail before it goes too far and ask the practiced questions. As you learn to reduce rabbit trails, your meetings will become more productive and you will see your meeting objectives accomplished.

I have been hearing and reading a lot about becoming a leader and MLM is not about the products or the company, but about you. People will join a program because of you.

I agree. However, not everyone is equiped to be a leader, at this present time. It doesn’t mean they can’t be, as we can do anything we decide to do. It just means there has to be certain changes before we can reach leader status.

one of the things I have learned is that whether we acknowledge it or not–we are all responsible for our own lives, our successes, and our failures. Once we realize this truth, we can stop playing the blame game and take control of our life.

It really is quite simple, but not always easy. I do know that this is my life and I have the right, as we all do, to choose what I desire to accomplish. All we have to do is accept full responsibility for our own choices and actions. If we accepted responsiblity for our not succeeding, instead of blaming someone or something else, that gives us tremendous power. All we have to do is make whatever changes necessary to become a winner. As long as we are blaming someone or something else, we are victims. As victims, we are stuck not being able to change anything.

However, once we accept full responsibility, the power is in our hands to make whatever changes are necessary to achieve our desires. Whenever there is a problem, there is always an answer. There really is no such thing as failure. For everything we try that doesn’t work, we are brought that much closer to something that will. Do you know how many times Thomas Edison found ways that didn’t work before he found the way that did? Leaders don’t quit–they find solutions. Does this make sense?

Maybe an example will help. Let’s say I purchased Magnetic Sponsoring and I am not getting the results I am expecting. So if I blame the system for my failure, I have become a victim. Oh, poor me. I have spent money on something that is not working and I am upset. This is your typical victim attitude. I have spent my money and I expect everything to work for me and if it doesn’t, I have been ripped off.

On the other hand, if I accept and recognize my own power,I know the responsibility to get results falls in my hands. I recognize that I have gotten tremendous value for my money and I will do whatever it takes to learn how to promote this system. I have purchased a system that works, so if I don’t have the knowledge it takes to make it work for me, I will find a way to get that knowledge. Whatever it takes. That is the difference between someone who is a victim and someone who takes full responsibility for themselves.

I are discussing business here, but this applies to every area of our lives. If we are having problems in a relationship, we need to look at ourselves not our partner. If we are having problems with a neighbor, we need to look at our part in the problem. The great news is, when we come from this space, we have the power to change whatever we want. The ball is in our court. Simple, but not always easy. (Unless you have had a lot of practice and enjoy learning and growing. ) I personally find it exciting to have new opportunities to learn and grow. Gained knowledge is “potential power”. I say potential power, because until we put our knowledge into action nothing is accomplished.

If we are making our problems someone elses fault, we have become a victim and we are doomed to fail. Victims don’t win and victims are not leaders. We are so much more powerful then we realize. we can have whatever we want in our lives. So if we want to be a leader, we have to take responsibility for ourselves and be willing to invest in ourselves. The world is like a blank canvas and we can paint anything we want on it. So start creating what it is you desire and have fun doing it.

Before I became a hair stylist, I had to spend my time, energy and money in educating myself. Our online businesses are no different. I can guarantee you that everyone who is a success today has believed in themselves, taken responsibility for themselves and invested in themselves. If anyone wants to be a leader it is necessary to think and act with persistance, integrity and responsibility. Being the best you can be in any given moment is rewarding and fun. Leaders love challenges and they enjoy life.

The pen has incredible power. History has shown that it has the ability to take people to the highest of levels. It also has been used to completely destroy individuals. There is an old saying that claims ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’. Regardless of the validity of this statement, it is universally agreed that putting things in writing is extremely helpful.

People often complain about having too much to do. They seem to operate in a continual state of overwhelm. This causes them to move at a frenzied pace, going from one activity to another. Resting is something they have a difficult time doing since there is always so much more to be done. Their entire lives are spent handling the ‘crisis of the moment’. Unfortunately, the more that these people accomplish, the further behind they get. It is a vicious cycle that steals joy and fulfillment.

Certain individuals suffer from the inability to prioritize. They spend a great amount of time getting things done, yet rarely make any difference. Their tendency is to focus on the activities that have a smaller impact. This is similar to the ‘crisis’ focus previously mentioned. This person will handle whatever arises regardless of what else needs to be done. The major activities are forgotten until they become urgent. Again, a frenzied situation results.

Getting in the habit of writing everything down helps you overcome these challenges. People who are in a state of overwhelm choose to be that way. How we feel is a choice that we make. Unfortunately, for those who are overwhelmed with all that they need to do, it usually is not based in reality. It only seems that there is an astronomical amount to do. An easy way to overcome this is to write down everything that needs to be done. The list can be as long as it needs to be while making sure everything is included. Most realize that they do not have as much to do as they initially thought, Once this is understood, it is much easier to remain free of the feeling of overwhelm.

Putting the activities requiring attention in writing also aids in the prioritizing. Once everything is down on paper, one can begin to plan. Those tasks that have the most impact will be obvious. So, too,will those that do not have much of an effect. Our days are more productive when we are able to tend to important items first. Most find that they cannot do everything on their list in a given day. By concentrating on those with the greatest impact, we are able to move our lives forward at a quicker pace. It is more important to pay the mortgage than to fold the dirty socks. Exercising will do more for us than watching the movie we recorded last night. Spending time with our loved ones has a greater payoff than cleaning the attic. It something must be left incomplete, make sure it is something that is not so critical.

Operating from a list in writing increases productivity substantially. It is especially true when coupled with one of our techniques called the ‘mini-blitz’. This strategy involves taking 3-5 items off your master list and setting aside a time to handle them. These activities can be done quickly yet have enough importance to create negative consequences if left unattended. All the items are handled in the order they are listed. This technique can usually be done in under 15 minutes. It is a terrific way to complete those smaller activities that we need to attend to.

Increasing productivity while reducing the feeling of overwhelm is the main benefit of writing things down. People trust us because we do not forget to do things that we promised. Our careers are more successful when we develop the reputation as someone ‘who gets things done’. This simple act consistently improves the quality of our lives.