Have you ever noticed that most meetings are a waste of time?  Not just the idle chatter, or the time spent waiting for attendees who are late, but the fact that they take longer than 20 minutes and fill your day with more noise, little of it relevant to your focus?

Here’s a handy guide for how to cure the Boardroom Blues, especially if you’re the one leading the meeting!

The Assumptions:

Meetings shouldn’t be planned for more than 20 minutes.

Meetings should be used for conversations that advance results, for decision-making, and for relationship-building.

They should not be used for disseminating information that can easily be disseminated in another medium.

They should not be used for report-outs of information that is not relevant to all parties in the room.

The only people invited to a meeting should be those who have some value to add or something to contribute to the agenda and purpose of the meeting.

What to do before, during and after a meeting

Before the meeting, make sure the topics on the agenda are going to be relevant to everyone in the room. Determine the agenda ahead of time and send it to everyone. Invite them to add or clarify something to the agenda so that the attendees have some say in what is going to be talked about. They should be part of the decision making.

During the meeting, engage your audience and stay away from “death by PowerPoint.” I don’t think it’s effectively used the way most use it. It needs to engage the right side of the brain to be more effective. You don’t just want to put up visual data. Maybe add an image with it to back up what you are saying. The key is balancing the left and right side of the brain to keep your audience intrigued.

To make sure there is order in your meeting you can use a Native American tradition which is a “talking stick.” This is a decorative stick and whoever has the stick gets to talk. Sometimes, the introverts get drowned out by the extroverts, so a stick helps balance this out. Some of the best ideas come from the quietest person because they’re integrating everyone’s ideas and making it all come together. Remember the basic rule is to respect everyone in a meeting.

After the meeting there should be action items and timelines of who’s going to do what by when that will help determine the bigger picture. When a meeting is done really well you don’t have to allocate positions. People will start volunteering for jobs as the energy of the room is moved in the direction of what the goal is. It’s a matter of knowing who is going to do what when.

Following up is key after jobs are allocated. If someone signs up to do something it’s up to them to follow through with their assignment and if they haven’t completed their task, what’s their counteroffer?

90 percent of meetings don’t have to happen. But, engaging your audience is easy of they have a compelling reason for being there and have had the opportunity to contribute to the agenda ahead of time. It all goes back to respecting their time and making sure everyone understands the focus of the meeting. Your attendees only check out if they’re accustomed to hour-long meetings and they’ve trained themselves to only listen to what applies to them. Keep the meetings short and to the point to be most effective.

DO’S

1.    STICK TO THE AGENDA, ESPECIALLY IF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR AGENDA
2.    LISTEN TO YOUR PEOPLE, BE MORE OF A LISTENER THAN A SPEAKER
3.    LOOK FOR WAYS TO ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY MEETINGS
4.    CHECK TO SEE THAT YOU CAN BE RESPECTFUL OF OTHER PEOPLES TIME
5.    BE CLEAR IN YOUR COMMUNICATION
6.    BE PURPOSEFUL AND THOUGHTFUL
7.    ACKNOWLEDGE AND RECOGNIZE PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING A GOOD JOB
8.    HONOR THE TIME OF THE MEETING IF YOU COME PLAN A 1 HOUR MEETING AND YOU’RE FINISHED IN 30 MINUTES, DON’T TRY TO FILL UP TIME. END THE MEETING. DON’T EXPECT PEOPLE TO STAY LATE  IF THE MEETING IS PLANNED FOR 20 MINUTES AND RUNS OVER, HONOR THEIR TIME AS IMPORTANT.

DON’T’S

1.    HOG ALL THE AIRTIME YOURSELF
2.    REPRIMAND ANYONE IN FRONT OF THE GROUP
3.    USE YOUR BLACKBERRY OR GET ON TWITTER

4.    PLAN A USELESS MEETING, USE AN E-MAIL TO GET THE INFORMATION TO EVERYONE INSTEAD

5.  DO THE OPPOSITE OF ANY OF THE DO’S LISTED ABOVE

A great resource for your consideration is the book written by my colleague, Steve Davis.

His book is called This Meeting Sux: 12 Acts of Courage to Change Meetings for Good, and you can download the first three chapters here for free:

http://www.thismeetingsux.com

Ever buy anything online? If you shop for anything online and don’t get money back for doing so, you’re missing out on a great opportunity!  Introducing the launch of Blastoff!, a new online shopping mall that gives you discounts and money back on over 400 major retailers.

The BlastOffNetwork.com is a website that provides online shoppers value and financial rewards during an economic time when they need it most…especially in gearing up for the holidays!

By signing up through http://my.blastoffnetwork.com/suzipomerantz, you can take advantage of the Blastoff Network’s unique, online shopping mall.  Members who join the FREE network will get discounts from more than 400 major retailers and can earn money through purchases made by other members in their social network who have signed up for the program and made purchases.

You also get a fully customizable homepage featuring access to social networking, news, videos, music, games, etc.

Innovative Leadership International LLC is pleased to be among the early promoters of the BlastOff network because it’s a no-brainer.  It is free and easy to sign up, and there’s no downside…you and your network get to save money and make money by just doing what you already do online in terms of purchases you already make.  When you order through the Blastoff site, you’ll earn money in your Blastoff Network account, and by using the site’s social media capabilities, you can refer a friend and earn additional money through their purchases as well.

To get started earning money and getting discounts when you shop online, log onto http://my.blastoffnetwork.com/suzipomerantz to open your free account.

Press RELEASE:                                                 CONTACT:
October 27, 2009                                                Adriana Bobinchock

McLEAN HOSPITAL LAUNCHES FIRST INSTITUTE OF COACHING

Belmont, MA—With an extraordinary $2 million gift from the Harnisch Foundation, McLean Hospital recently launched the Institute of Coaching, the first-of-its-kind center for coaching-related research, practice and education. The goal of the center is to advance excellence in research and practice within the bourgeoning field of coaching.

Coaching is a professional practice designed to optimize human potential and performance in diverse arenas including leadership, healthcare and public service. According to Institute Director Carol Kauffman, PhD, a psychologist at McLean and a professional coach, “coaching is a remarkable change process that has often been thought of as a self-help method without established best practices. The goal of the Institute is to provide a solid scientific foundation of coaching based on good science, good research and good practice. Evidence-based coaching will transform the field by giving coaches and clients more and better choices of best practices.”

The Institute will advance the field of coaching through five centers of excellence, including research, education, applied positive psychology, health coaching and executive and leadership coaching. The Harnisch Fund for Coaching, established with a $2 million gift, will fuel coaching-related research by awarding grants for high-quality scientific coaching studies. The Institute’s research center will also disseminate empirically supported best practices, including peer-reviewed studies.

Ruth Ann Harnisch, a philanthropist and certified professional coach, chose to fund coaching research at McLean after listening to the stories of researchers at the first-ever International Coaching Research Forum organized by Kauffman in 2008. “They talked about the challenges they faced as serious academics attempting to do peer-reviewed, respected coaching research. It became clear to me that a respectable academic home for coaching would be a game-changer for the field,” she said.

Establishing the Institute at the world-renowned, Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital was a good fit, according to Harnisch. Known for its cutting-edge research and world-class professionals, McLean has been studying and practicing coaching-related disciplines for years. “There is a growing interest in positive psychology, of which coaching is an integral part,” said Philip Levendusky, PhD, director of Psychology, at McLean. “Increasing evidence shows that coaching can have a positive impact on healthcare delivery in terms of lifestyle changes, medication compliance and a host of other changes that reap big rewards for patients and the healthcare system. In her gift to establish the Institute of Coaching, Ruth Ann Harnisch has made a significant commitment to the coaching profession and to improving the lives of individuals.”

U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks McLean Hospital the nation’s top psychiatric hospital. McLean is an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and a member of Partners HealthCare. For more information about McLean Hospital, visit www.mclean.harvard.edu. For more information about the Institute of Coaching, visit www.instituteofcoaching.org

###

Adriana Bobinchock
Director, Media Relations
McLean Hospital
115 Mill Street
Belmont, Ma 02478-9106
Phone: 617-855-2110 Fax: 617-855-2120
abobinchock@partners.org
http://www.mclean.harvard.edu

Press Release 10-31-09

(Germantown, MD) – How much do you know about Twitter? If you’re a business coach who works with leaders, or a leader yourself and the answer is “not much,” it’s time to get educated.

According to Suzi Pomerantz, a Washington, D.C., based award-winning executive coach and author who helps leaders at the intersection of leadership and business development, the use of Twitter is a necessity for success in business these days. “It is critical that businesses have a presence on social media because that is where their competitors and customers are, and Twitter is the biggest player in the game,” she said.

For those unfamiliar with Twitter, it is a free service that serves as the ultimate networking vehicle, giving users the ability to instantly connect with 44 million people all around the world whom they otherwise would never meet. Pomerantz first started experimenting with the new social media phenomenon just one year ago and considers her experiment a huge success.

“I have already managed to grow a following of over 7,000 people. Just think about it. That’s 7,000 people who now know me, know my stuff, know my brand and know my material that otherwise wouldn’t.  I don’t know where else in life you can build a network that quickly in real time.”

Not only has her Twitter network helped bring in new clients, it has led to opportunities Pomerantz never imagined she’d have. “Through Twitter I’ve been invited to appear on three different radio shows, been hired for speaking engagements by groups I probably wouldn’t have reached out to on my own, and generated thousands of dollars in unexpected revenue,” she said.

So how can your business mimic her success? By following her example. “As I shared my success on Twitter with more and more people, I came to realize I had knowledge that would be very useful for other business coaches and leaders,” she said.

So, Pomerantz developed The Key to Connecting in Any Economy is Twitter. An audio mp3 download and pdf of the PowerPoint presentation from the telecast is now available through her website.

After teaching participants the basics – what twitter is and how it works – Pomerantz spends the next hour revealing the hidden secrets business leaders need in their tool box to make Twitter to work for them. Among them:

• How to follow people
• How to send tweets
• How to dm
• How to @reply
• How to RT
• What to tweet
• Strategies for building a follower base

In the telecast, Pomerantz also reveals where to find applications that will allow businesses to use Twitter most effectively and efficiently. “There are some great apps out there and most of them are available free of charge,” she said.

Among the tools Pomerantz likes best, one that allows users to automatically follow and unfollow people; another that allows users to send out links with shortened URLs so they have room in a tweet to add a message; and another that automatically sends out scheduled tweets even when the sender is not at their computer.

“If you look at how much time and productivity is lost trying to learn Twitter, you’ll see the value of the telecast. You can learn in one hour what would otherwise take days to figure out,” said Pomerantz.

To sign up for The Key to Connecting in Any Economy is Twitter, click on “Twitter for Coaches” at the top of this page.

The pay-offs from persistent content marketing with a blog can be enormous, but the key is optimizing your blog for business. Patsi Krakoff, Psy.D. of The Blog Squad submitted a wonderful post to the Leading Coaches’ Center detailing the four areas you need to pay attention to if you want good results. Her CODA:

Content
Outreach
Design
Action

When you pay attention to critical elements in each of these areas, you’ll see improved traffic and improved results. See details at The Leading Coaches’ Center.

More on Dr. Patsi Krakoff

Okay, remember when I mentioned I was going to be on the tv show called We Mean Business? They’ve just posted the recording of that show in case you missed it when it aired a few weeks ago.

“Networking in the Age of Social Media” (original air dates – 9/21/09 & 9/23/09)

What are today’s rules in the space of ‘virtual’ networking? How can you leverage Social Media for relationship building and business growth? Suzi Discusses the Following Nine Mindsets of Networking in the Age of Social Media

1. It’s a game. Have fun. Do what’s easy. :: 2. Be a connection-seeker :: 3. Partnering perspective :: 4. No agenda other than mutual exploration of what’s possible. :: 5. Curiosity and genuine interest in others :: 6. Six degrees of separation (2 degrees now) :: 7. Create a climate of comfort, environment of ease :: 8. Giver’s gain/ Be a go-giver :: 9. Action, continual follow up, be responsive.

Where can fun make a difference in your work as a leader or a coach?  What can you do to influence behavioral change by adding a fun option?  Check out this cool video and see what ideas it stimulates for you in your work:

I was interviewed this week by the inimitable Coach Frankie Picasso, the brains (and beauty) behind Mission Unstoppable.  She’s amazing,  and we had a blast on her show!  Listen in here:

Ever wonder what’s the one big question on the minds of leading coaches today?  We asked them!  There were some really juicy, very timely, and quite meaningful questions posed.  Of course, leading coaches are a thoughtful bunch.  Are you curious about the list we collected?  You can see the whole thing but it’s broken up into six categories, therefore six separate posts.  Here are the links:

Over 50 BIG Questions! Part 1: Market Positioning

Over 50 BIG Questions! Part 2: ROI and Business Benefit

Over 50 BIG Questions! Part 3: Coaching Effectiveness

Over 50 BIG Questions! Part 4: Leadership

Over 50 BIG Questions! Part 5: Growing A Coaching Business

Over 50 BIG Questions! Part 6: The Future of Coaching

Executive coaches and leaders from all over the world contributed their One BIG Question about business coaching.  We gathered, reviewed, sorted, and grouped the nearly 60 questions into the following six categories:

• Leadership
• Coaching Effectiveness
• Growing A Coaching Business
• Communicating Benefits
• Positioning Coaching
• The Future Of Coaching

Then, we shared them on a live teleseminar event last week.  We had nearly 100 people register for the event and had a lively discussion, with participants hanging on the line a full thirty  minutes past the official end of the call to stay in the conversation.

Want to hear it?  We recorded it  and you can access it anytime!  Click below:

The Big Question Seminar