Meetings – A Necessary Evil

Good projects will have many meetings, but are they good meetings?  Meetings are one of those topics that will get more attention on the new PMP exam. In this short blog, I’ll cover a few meetings topics. First, what do I do about people arriving late? Schedule meetings to start at 10 after the hour.  This may not solve the problem completely which calls for setting expectations about being on time and not wasting other’s time. Should you take meeting minutes at your own meeting?  Only if it short and with a few attendees. If you have a bigger group or longer meeting then assign a scribe. And last but not least, what if a key person for the meeting doesn’t show up. My advice is to cancel the meeting. You’ll also need to follow-up with the missing person and let them know what happened. They need to know, even if they are the sponsor or your superior that they caused a meeting to be canceled.