The mechanisms that provide the hard landscape for most organisations social systems are a hotchpotch of poorly designed and badly managed meetings in which behaviour and performance is pretty much left to chance. That is why so many people have a work life that is full of inconsequential meetings.

However it is these regularly scheduled meetings that largely determine what is going to be achieved by the organisation.

In effective social systems (read high performing organisations) every meeting contributes to one or more of the following

• Creating new products or services that fulfill the organisation’s mission
• Remove barriers to personal, professional and organisational growth
• Improve judgment and decision making
• Tap intellectual ability
• Build commitment and support for execution of strategies and plans

After every meeting rate its success against each of these criteria – and then ask yourself what you can do to make the meeting more effective next time.

If you are the meeting owner ask each participant to score the meeting against these criteria and again ask for their suggestions on how the meeting can be improved next time.

Prepare a poster to go up in each meeting room reminding participants of their obligation to ensure that every meeting contributes towards some or all of these outcomes.