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November 29, 2002

Making meetings work effectively

CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Have you ever been bored in a staff meeting? Have you ever left a meeting feeling like your time was wasted and nothing was accomplished? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you should check out Eli Mina's The Business Meetings Sourcebook: A Practical Guide to Better Meetings and Shared Decision Making.

At 653 pages, the sourcebook is just that – a source. Even its author doesn't expect people to read it cover to cover in one sitting. In an interview with the Bulletin, Mina said he hopes that people will refer to the book when they need to, either looking for the answers to a specific probem or opening to a page and getting a couple of ideas. He has facilitated this process by making The Business Meetings Sourcebook user friendly, with a detailed table of contents that makes finding what you need very easy.

The topics examined include how to make collective decisions, preparing a workplan, selecting a team, establishing the team's ethics and culture and building relationships with stakeholders. Then there's making the meetings themselves work – from planning one to holding one to wrapping it up. Lastly, there are post-meeting activities and follow-up actions that need to be taken. The book is full of practical advice; concrete examples of problems and definite steps to resolve them.

Such practicality is reflected in Mina's Web site, which contains contains tons of easy-to-understand, useful information. For example, to deal with the potential boredom problem, Mina offers eight ideas to add variety to your meetings:

1. Have different people plan and chair different meetings.

2. Hold meetings at different locations each time.

3. Change room setup and get people to sit in different places every time.

4. Change the normal agenda sequence and see if it works.

5. When it comes to complex or controversial issues, try unusual discussion activities to get people thinking "outside the box." For example, get people to articulate the merits of views they oppose.

6. Take time to celebrate successes and recognize special efforts.

7. Have a few light-hearted stories (short and appropriate) and tell one of them when the group has reached a major milestone.

8. Have unexpected refreshments and meals, to surprise everyone and keep them interested.

Based in Vancouver, Mina has been a professional consultant, meeting facilitator, mentor and coach since 1984. He is the author of three books on meetings and shared decision-making, and he regularly leads educational courses. In December, there is a two-day course called Building Better Boards and Councils on Dec. 5 and 6 (two full days). Held at the Coast Vancouver Airport Hotel on Southwest Marine Drive, people can also register for only one day: Building the Foundation for Shared Decision-Making on Dec. 5, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., or Meetings and Rules of Order on Dec. 6, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. On Dec. 4, there is another learning opportunity: Minute-Taking Standards and Related Issues, 9 a.m.-noon.

If you live outside the Lower Mainland and would like to organize a workshop in your community, send Mina an e-mail at [email protected] or phone 604-730-0377. He also offers what he calls Meeting Mentoring Retainer Packages, whereby a client would have regular consultations on meetings, agenda design, rules of order and dealing with governance dysfunctions.

For more information, to order The Business Meetings Sourcebook, to register for a workshop or to subscribe to Mina's newsletter, visit www.elimina.com.

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