will drift off-topic and interminably drag on. And then when you\u2019re done and everyone has
dispersed, you\u2019ll suddenly remember an important point you forgot to bring up, thus necessitating
another meeting.

what to expect and some time to start thinking about the issues and what they\u2019d like to contribute.
People can also make additions and objections to the agendabef ore the meeting instead ofat the
meeting. Make it clear in your message that if it\u2019s not on the agenda, it can\u2019t be discussed at the
meeting. Paste the agenda into the body of the email. People don\u2019t open attachments.

can\u2019t come, you\u2019ll basically spend the meeting trying to talk around them and saying, \u201cWell, we\u2019ll
have to wait to see what Mike has to say before we can start on that for sure.\u201d Decisions get
deferred, more meetings are necessitated, and you waste time afterwards bringing the MIA people
up to speed. Arrange a meeting for when you know key people can make it.

clear that only agenda items can be discussed during the meeting, there are always people who try
to break this rule and bring up their favorite pet issue. These people can get the meeting way off
track. If you know someone has an issue that doesn\u2019t really affect the group, talk to them one on
one before the meeting to preemptively resolve the problem and nip their meeting interruption in
the bud.

a circle, or lecture style. Lecture style, with everyone sitting side by side and facing the front, gives
the leader complete control, but doesn\u2019t allow for any collaboration. The circle lends itself to a
feeling of equality and plenty of group-think, but with no clear leader, the discussion can easily
devolve into a bunch of flapdoodle. The U-shape is the best compromise; it gives people a chance to
share and collaborate, but the person at the top of the U is recognized as the leader and can keep
things on track.