When a meeting goes bad...

Not so long ago i said that my love for meetings has been rekindled.

Today, after a meeting at Milperra, my love has been crushed by UGL.

During the meeting i made a list of why it was so awful.

1) It didn't start on time. I'm not talking 5 minutes late either... try 40 minutes!
2) Repetition of what has been said in the past. This meeting was a cut and paste of the one we had 13 weeks ago, and the meeting prior to that and will be the same again in another three months time.
3) You leave uninspired (to match the feeling you have on arrival).
4) There are never any outcomes to the same old issues (although i will get a $3 a day pay rise!!!).
5) The EXACT SAME people raise the EXACT SAME issues each time. This only infuriates everyone else who has heard the spiel before. It would be easier if they just wrote it in an e-mail and saved us all the hassle of hearing them vent.
6) No investment in, or bonding with, the other people there. I arrived on time and spoke to no-one, nor recognised anyone.
7) The meeting wasn't worth the travel time. It took an hour and a half each way to get attend a two hour meeting. Never mention the half tank of petrol.
8) We heard a series of speaking-down-to lectures.
9) The only food provided was Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

So... What did i learn?

1) People's time is precious. Don't waste it. Start on time. There's no point in kicking off a meeting with people already cranky and looking at their watches.
2) Have an agenda which goes somewhere and has variety from the previous meeting.
3) Have some uplifting elements on the agenda.
4) Form a team who was a common goal and cares about the completion of this aim and the other team members.
5) Decide the worthiness of a meeting verses the inconvenience the meeting causes. If you need to travel far, make it worth the while. Every extra mile someone must travel, you should go in prep and execution.
6) Mix up the delivery of what is said. No-one likes being spoken to for two hours.
7) Provide food and drinks which will keep the team alert and willing to attend.