Magic Moment Meetings - 6 key points that matter for success

Do you know the requirements for successful meetings?

• Everyone who needs to be there is there - on time, of course.
• The atmosphere is positive and appreciative.
• An agenda is well prepared: "what? who? what for? where? how long?
• The organization is good and contributes to sustainable development.
• All main topics are recorded in the short protocol (important for the outcome and impact).
• The results and impacts in relation to the organization's objectives are documented.

When the prerequisites are right, "magic moment meetings" occur because everything runs smoothly, and the work keeps flowing. Using an impact analysis, we can measure the success of meetings.

When I present the impact analysis in my seminars and workshops, everyone nods. When I then ask if everyone is constantly acting on it, only a few are carefully planning their meetings. This is understandable, because good meetings are hard work in the preparation phase (success factors and criteria, see QuickGuide).

Countless studies report on the time lost at or during meetings. Some take a nap, others plan their next vacation via smartphone or chat, etc. Think about how many meetings you've been to in the last few weeks that were really relevant to you?

What do we mean by relevance?
Relevant, and therefore essential for my work, is a meeting when I participate to

... make an active contribution, to collaborate or to put something forward themselves in order to achieve changes or decisions.

…  transmit or receive information, e.g. about certain topics that are relevant to my further work for me and my team,

… promote social interaction, understanding, networking and team building.

Case study. I remember a few years ago, when I was still quite inexperienced in project management, I was constantly invited to a one-hour Weekly Update. Of all the items on the agenda, about 10% were really significant for me. For all other items, I had nothing to contribute, and the information was not even remotely relevant to my field of work. My request to invite me only to certain meetings failed because of the project manager's demand to keep all project members informed all the time. Or maybe the effort to make the update meeting more flexible was too much for him. It is so easy to send out a recurring invitation and just invite everyone in the environment. Better to have more than not enough. In short, after subtracting all the vacations and holidays or other cancellations, the meeting took place 45 times a year. Basically, I sat around for 40 hours. 40 hours? That's an entire work week's worth of time and money lost to work-related content.
Only after further discussion were we able to come to an agreement. Then I only participated in the topics that were relevant to me. In my opinion, it is important to be more careful with our working time or with the working hours that our employer. That is our responsibility.

Advice. Check your recurring meetings: What meetings do you sit in with no significant value added? Maybe you need the information or the resolutions, but not the discussion.  Then it would be enough for you to receive the minutes. This will save you time. If you only have one or two agenda items at a time that you actively contribute to, then arrange with the meeting chair to come or dial into the meeting for the appropriate time period.
If you're a meeting leader, examine your meetings. Recurring meetings in particular tend to be monotonous. Without proper preparation, they become tedious meetings. Is the attendee list still correct, does everyone need to be there the whole time? If it's just information sharing, would a written update suffice and a meeting be scheduled only when needed?

Conclusion. There is no universal rule. Each meeting depends on different parameters, such as the group of participants, the content, the objectives, the duration, and how it fits into the overall rhythm. It is necessary to introduce a "Governance of Sustainable Business Events "*.

It is worthwhile to determine OKR or KPI** for sustainable meetings and events and to develop a "return on sustainable events" (RoSE) from this.

It is not the number of meetings that is important, nor the number of pages of minutes. The use of resources (time, personnel) should drive management processes that then lead to sustainable results*** and ultimately contribute to the company's goals. This should be measured. Perhaps it would even be worth a premium to organize meetings according to the minimax principle: Minimum number of meetings with maximum success. Instead of "recurring meetings", the "meeting on demand" principle is recommended.

Do you already use a guide for sustainable business meetings and events?

If you want to learn more about how to organize sustainable business meetings and events, we recommend the book Quick Guide, which was released in January 2021. Furthermore, advice or further training can support you in your work.

• *    In our understanding, meetings are always events, see ISO 20121:2012.
• **     OKR = Objectives & Key Results ¦ KPI = Key Performance Indicator
• *** We understand sustainability in two senses. An event can be remembered positively by the participants  and with the sustainable

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About the author. After completing her studies in Basel and Oldenburg, Elisabeth Brommer-Kern worked for global teams in Germany and Switzerland in the fields of administration, organisation and knowledge management and is now a part-time freelance consultant and lecturer. Contact with Prof. Dr Ulrich Holzbaur at Aalen University, Germany arose through a project on the topic of sustainable event management. The idea to write the Quick guide to sustainable business meetings and events emerged from the virtual discussion. Springer-Verlag published the book in January 2022.

Contact: ebk@sjpdevelopment.ch/www.sjpdevelopment.ch