Today we have a host of high-tech aids to assist us in communicating. Companies use satellite transmissions to talk to all their offices at once on television. More and more businesses are using FAX, TELEX, Internet, pagers, and the telephone. People make calls from their cars on their cellular phones and then carry the phones with them to job sites, into restaurants and even to the athletic field so they can stay in touch with the office while their child plays little league.

There is a benefit and a cost to all this sophistication. It is important to carefully weigh both the benefit and the cost as you plan how you will employ all the available tools. Be sure you measure the time cost as well as the capital expenditures and monthly payments. Beware of the person who uses the phone for hours of personal calls. Don't allow the ease of calling on the car phone excuse punctuality and personal follow up. These various elements all need to be measured to insure their proper use. You have to determine if the employee is a cost versus an investment.

Face to Face
As we all know, the most intense and highest quality way to communicate is face to face, eyeball to eyeball with another person. This direct contact situation allows you to fully observe all the nuances of a person's body language, tone of voice and expression. It gives you the maximum opportunity to be a good listener. Additionally, it gives the other person all the same benefits. The personal touch.

A large part of the cost of this type of interface is the time and effort it takes to arrange the appointment as well as the time for transportation and actual time you spend together. Quality has its price. Use your commitment book to paint a picture of your day. (Your commitment book is your day planner or computer scheduler, for example.) In the schedule section you will be able to condense and group appointments by location. Time spent planning will return big dividends.

Have a specific goal or purpose for the appointment written in your commitment book in advance. As you anticipate this planned time together and ideas cross your mind, add the items to your agenda by writing them in that block of space in your commitment book. Refer to these items during your appointment. At the conclusion of the appointment, use your commitment book to record the next time you will meet and/or what follow up action needs to be done. This can often eliminate the need to play telephone tag the next time you want to get together.

Write your planned phone calls in your commitment book. Phone appointments obviously are by far the best way to enhance productivity (on everyone's part). Record the results of conversations. This will help in follow up, it can be important for legal reasons and it is good for IRS audits. Make "phone" appointments to call back at specific times. This is especially helpful if you are calling other time zones. Finally, respect the time and effort of a person who has come to see you. It is rude to force people to wait while you converse on the phone or take non-critical calls during scheduled appointments. Simply put, adhere to The Platinum Rule (see Tony Alessandra’s book, The Platinum Rule), which says do unto others as they would like.

Meetings
Most meetings have the goal of giving or receiving some type of information. A meeting is used rather than reports or memos because it is essential to have personal interaction of the individuals present to accomplish the goal of the meeting. This is very expensive when you consider the adage: "Time is Money".

Focus is a critical Leadership principle. Distractions lead to diluted results. With fewer people being asked to do more, it is so important that each person’s efforts be properly focused. They should be focused in a direction that supports and complements the organization’s overall vision of the future.

Meeting Check List
Here is a checklist for you to use to determine if you should have a meeting and then some ideas on how to make the meeting more productive.

1. How much will the meeting cost? Multiply the hourly worth of each person by the length of the meeting. Don't forget to include transportation time.
   
2. Can you get or give the information some other way: phone, memo, reports, or by using charts?
   
3. Why is the group dynamic so important to reach your goal?
   
4. What is your goal or expected outcome/result for the meeting?

• If you still believe a meeting is necessary, try it this way:

1. Send out a written note that states the purpose or goal of the meeting. Include when it will start, who will attend and when it will end.
   
2. Use an agenda that clearly states each topic to be covered with a specified time frame for each and who will be responsible for each topic.
   
3. At the meeting, place the most important items first and request comments from the junior or shy people first.
   
4. Design questions and seek answers that provide suggestions as well as information and opinion. Usually it is the suggestions that supply the seeds of future success. Encourage brainstorming when needed and where there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ (good/bad) ideas.
   
5. Assign someone to take notes during the meeting and assign To Dos as they come up. This will help you with your meeting summary after the meeting and assist with accuracy.
   
6. Send out a meeting summary/review after the meeting. State who attended, who was late, and who was absent. Review items discussed and decisions reached. If action was agreed on record and highlight who will do what by when. List the date, time and place of the next meeting and next step goal(s).

Remember this --- the chair person is the servant of the group. He/she gets pleasure from achieving the goals of the meeting as opposed to hearing himself/herself talk.

Team buy-in will create synergy and enhance effectiveness.

Copyright © 1999 by David G. Rohlander. All rights reserved.