This post was republished to Mentor & Author at 10:34:06 AM 9/23/2015

Convert minutes to useful hours

Agenda
How readers of this post can take effective minutes of
meeting.

minutes of meeting

Sr. no. Minute responsibility due date

· Start any meeting with an agenda. Agenda

should address an issue or solve a problem.
· Refer any previous minute on the subject.
· Agenda will work only when people come
prepared. Attendees should bring relevant
documents to solve the problem.
· Delegate the drafting of minutes if you are
an active participant.
· Have a template. Then you just need to fill
in.
· Every point should make someone responsible
for an activity. Or mention it for
information.
· Every point should mention a due date. Time
is of the essence.
· Do not let people deviate from the agenda.
· Every point should be clear. An example. The
Electrical department will release load list
for review by 1 Sep 2015. Electrical
department thought it meant inter-discipline
 review. Others thought it meant client
review.
· Have an escape door. The contractor had
committed to releasing a document. But he
was dependent on the vendor. The contractor
did not include this in the mom. The
contractor should have written that they
will release the document “n” days after
vendor submittal.
· Participants have to sign minutes on the
same day. Once people leave the room they
may change their opinion. A signed document
carried more weight. There is another reason
for signing. A person can spend two to three
hours in following people for their
signatures.
· Once a scope dispute erupted. The
contractor’s team was sure that it was out
of scope work. The Contractor’s project
manager happened to visit the client alone.
The client had a small meeting and made the
project manager sign the minutes. The
contractor had no option but to perform the
work. Make sure that a minute point does not
lead to scope creep. If you are not sure
about a point, say we will come back later.
· Distribute the minutes to the right
audience.
· Check that the agenda is achieved.
· Follow up for the required action.

Signatures

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