1.7 Determine the Right People to Achieve the Goal
When planning a meeting, you want to determine the key members needed. Anyone non-essential does not need to be included.Keep the size of the team to a minimum. Only team members who are required need to attend. There is a greater chance to lose control of the meeting with more team members present.
Consider who will be present in the meeting. Will travel be required? Is this person in another country? Can you make accommodations for travelers or members out of country? Remember to consider the location of global team members and time zones.
Determine who will drive decisions for the meeting. Make sure the people responsible for action items are present in the meeting. Assigning a task or action item to someone who was not participating in the meeting might surprise him or her. They will not take ownership of an agenda item.
1.8 Determine the Right Set-Up for the Meeting
Before you call a meeting, you need to determine the right facilities for the meeting.You need to find out the maximum size of the conference room; be sure you can fit the number of members into the room. Running short of seats or room is quite annoying to team members.
Determine if team members are going to participate from outside the conference room. This will require the room to have a speaker phone and call-in conference line.
Can people on remote location properly hear you? Is background noise affecting the quality of the conference call? Nothing is more frustrating than the phone muddled with background noise and being unable to hear the participants in the meeting.
Is the conference room available? Make sure you reserve the room for your meeting. Scheduling conflicts with other teams can prevent meetings from taking place and shows poor organization on the leader's behalf.
Make sure you know the style of the conference room. Informal meetings tend to happen around small tables with members in a circle. Formal meetings tend to be in large conference rooms with a podium at the front.
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