Meetings can waste a lot of time or they can provide an effective way to harvest ideas and ensure buy-in, thus empowering the group to achieve greater levels of productivity. The effectiveness of the meeting can be enhanced by:
Having a clear goal for the meeting
Circulating the agenda in advance to ensure preparation.
Having a system to make sure everyone is seen and heard using thinking tools like 6M.
Recording and implementing decisions and using good ideas.
Being open to feedback and fresh insights.
Thinking tools can ensure that everyone is able to think differently and intensively on the subjet. The rules for idea generation and the creation of a positive climate are threefold: to suspend judgment, postpone reaction and extended effort.
Plan all meetings. Let all participants send their ideas using the 6M framework, so that all individuals are well informed about what others think, before the meeting starts.