Your Turn: Applying Your Skills at Lyft

Mississippi Valley State University

Managerial Communications

BA 601

Fall 2019

Andre Smith
Dear Priyanka,

With approximately 50 new staffers potentially attending this meeting it is important that we

determine the purpose of the meeting. To do, so objectives should be clearly defined in terms of

an expected end result. Once we have a clear-cut objective set, choosing the participants should

be the next step. Although this is a team meeting, every team does will not need to attend.

Invitations to the meeting should be centered around the purpose of the meeting with

teams/team-members necessary for making decisions or with pertinent information being invited.

Once attendees have been selected the meeting should be scheduled in a central location on a day

feasible for everyone. An agenda is needed to keep the meeting focused on topics that are

relevant to the objectives. On the agenda, topics are ordered by their level of priority with the

most time allotted to topics of highest importance. Every anticipated attendee should get a copy

of the agenda prior to the meeting. It is important that the meeting begins and ends on time. To

start, the leader should explain the purpose/objective of the meeting and establish ground rules.

The agenda should be followed as printed and the leader should move the meeting along if

unrelated issues arise that draws the focus away from the topics listed and prolongs time. It is

important to keep participants engaged, creating an environment conducive for creativity and the

sharing of ideas. If conflict arises, the leader should confront it and summarize the

suggestions/recommendations made by the participants then modify or suggest alternatives to

reach a consensus. Finally, the meeting should end with a summary of the

decisions/recommendations from the meeting. Afterwards, minutes from the meeting should be

promptly distributed to each of the attendees.

To bring levity to the meeting, our meeting location should mimic the environment of corporate

headquarters where the environment does not feel so “corporate”. The meeting space should be

open and fun with couches instead of the typical meeting room tables and chairs. This will allow

them to embrace the core values of the company: being themselves, creating fearlessly, and

making it happen. One way to help everyone get comfortable would be to open with a game to

create a light mood. We could have a scavenger hunt where attendees are given a list of things to

“hunt”. Items on the list would be things that they may have on them (i.e a stick of gum, a credit

card, a memo pad). Because they will work in groups, I believe this will help to break barriers

and form unity within the groups and as a whole. The team who produces the most items on the

list wins. Prizes could include $5 gift cards to a local restaurant or maybe even a half workday.
 References

Guffey, M.E., & Loewy, D. (2014) Busness Communication: Process & Product. Cengage

Learning. 9th edition, 2, 42-79.