Meetings: why they fail.

• Author: Wiens, Linda
• Position: Special Report: Corporate Gifts & Event Planning - Brief Article

Here are some possible causes of unproductive meetings. Rate each on a 10-point scale for how much it interferes with your meeting quality: 0 = no problem, 10 = big problem.

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* Disturbances are common and distracting. (e.g. cell phones, nearby noise; people are called out, etc.)

* The agenda is poorly done (e.g. it's late, the important topics are last, no background for discussion items, etc.)

* The desired outcome for the meeting and topics is not clear (e.g., "We're going to discuss ..." but to what end?)

* Everybody takes own notes (or not), but nobody takes official notes, so people have different conclusions.

* There is no real follow...