November 2024 Newsletter

Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid in Your 2025 Meetings

by Tim Fulton

When my youngest son was in elementary school, he was asked by his teacher what his dad did for a living, and his response was, “he goes to a lot of meetings.” It was actually a very accurate answer.

This past year, I have facilitated almost 100 different meetings with groups of five to 25 people. From one-hour meetings to multi-day retreats. On-site and off-site meetings. Way too many Zoom events. Good meetings and not-so-good meetings.

One practice I have at the end of each meeting is to do a brief plus/delta. What went well in the meeting and what would we do differently? I try to be brutally honest with myself in this quick evaluation. My intent is to get better with each meeting. Based on my extensive meeting and follow-up assessment experience, I’ve assembled the following common mistakes we all make in planning and facilitating business meetings. Judge for yourself.

#1. No meeting agenda. Every meeting must have an agenda. It should be shared with the meeting participants either prior to the meeting or, at the very latest, at the beginning of the meeting. Why is this so important? Two reasons.

First, it forces the meeting leader to determine the intended outcome(s) of the meeting and the meeting structure.

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FEATURED PODCAST

This month, we're featuring one of Tim's favorite episodes from the Small Business Matters Podcast vault. one of Tim Fulton's favorite episodes.

Accountability expert Eric Coryell stopped by to chat with Tim and Taylor about leading and building accountability teams, the hiring process, the five steps in building an accountable team, and the importance of shared fate.

About Our Guest

Eric CoryelI helps organizations identify their strategic position, move accountability down into the organization, and, most of all, create accountable teams that deliver results. To support these efforts, he also helps individuals and teams establish meaningful metrics, problem-solve, deal with their real issues by having difficult conversations, and become accountable to each other.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Eric honed his team development skills throughout his career, during which he served in various leadership roles from purchasing manager to CEO. Twelve years ago, Eric founded Core Connections, LLC dedicated to helping organizations become more agile, customer-responsive, and efficient by creating accountable teams. In addition to a popular Vistage speaker, Eric is also a lifelong Wisconsin Badgers fan.

LISTEN TO PODCAST >

MASTERMIND GROUP

Hosted by former Vistage Chair and SBM President Tim Fulton, the SBM MasterMind Group enables small business executives to work virtually with growth-minded peers to hone their leadership skills and prioritize their most important weekly action items. The MasterMind Group offers each member the following:

• A weekly one-hour virtual group meeting
• Quarterly one-to-one individual coaching sessions
• An annual group retreat
• Ready access to a growth-minded peer group

All for the small investment of $295/month!

Mastermind group member Mary Ritz shares her experience...

To learn more or to join the SBM Mastermind Group,

contact tim@smallbusinessmattersonline.com

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DID YOU KNOW?

Hurricanes cause damage. But even when insured, the blow can mean that businesses cannot reopen and go under. Numbers vary—the Small Business Administration says that a quarter of businesses never reopen after a disaster, but FEMA puts the figure at 43% of small businesses that close for good.