There are of course many occasions where in person meetings are a good idea, connecting with people, strengthening relationships, the opportunity for sideline conversation, team building, the development of social and business identities and many more. The reasons are compelling yet not necessary for every meeting. Take time to examine your meeting habits and determine how to adjust your thinking going forward, use technology to bring your parties together in a virtual environment and enjoy the rewards of doing so.

Time and money; every minute sitting in a car or on a plane travelling to a meeting is time that could be spent moving the business forward.  Certainly the hard costs (plane tickets, hotels, meals, automobile mileage expenses, etc.) increases as the distance does, yet it is unusual to see all of these items accounted for on the cost side of the ledger.  Certainly the impact on carbon emissions is only a fleeting thought, but that will change.

As companies continue to look for ways to reduce their corporate carbon footprint the need for in person meetings will be aggressively challenged. So why not get ahead of this trend and take advantage of the available technology in your community; video conferencing is the workhorse but multimedia electronic whiteboards, audio, web and desktop conferencing all support and add to the overall experience. Don’t wait, challenge yourself and your company to take advantage of this mainstream, affordable and available technology, use it to change your attitude about the need to always have face to face meetings. Make the decision to pick one meeting over the next quarter, find a provider that can facilitate your needs and try it.

One of the implications of this additional freedom is additional places we are able to work, drop into any Second Cup or Starbucks, the laptops are everywhere. Working from home, in airports, on planes (with the recently introduced internet connections on some flights) has all been enabled through entrenched and emerging technologies.

As an entrepreneur or business owner are you taking full financial advantage of this new way of working? Those of you that work from home have probably answered “yes”;  you have reduced your overhead, certainly your commute to work is much shorter (with a small detour to the coffee machine on your way upstairs) saving  on gas and other auto expenses and some of your household costs have become tax deductable. The question is whether the decision to work exclusively from home is costing your business in the end by limiting your revenue potential. Meeting clients at home or the local coffee shop sends the wrong message about the commitment you’ve made to your business. The distractions of working in the home environment may negatively impact your productivity, that refrigerator is a little too accessible.

The answer is to make a commitment to your business image without paying for a full time office.

Professional Business Centres often provide a part time office solution for a reasonable cost. It’s a win – win; the business owner gains part time access to a fully outfitted professional office space (top end technology , meeting rooms, support, mailing address etc) while the business centres are opening new markets to part time and virtual clients. Remember, this approach is designed to compliment not replace your home office.

Contact your local business centre to inquire about a virtual or part time office. Make that commitment to improving your businesses image and productivity. At the same time you will be rubbing elbows with like minded business owners who may end up as clients or mentors.

Secret ingredients?

That may be an overstatement but let’s look at the basics of a well run meeting.

Create an agenda and distribute to participants for comments at least one day before.

Actually read their feedback and incorporate any appropriate agenda items, it’s a good idea to contact some of the key participants directly if they haven’t responded to your initial request.

Understand and communicate the purpose of the meeting, if this is difficult to articulate be sure to ask yourself if the meeting is necessary.

Many meetings consist of a great deal of discussion without ever coming to a conclusion or making any decisions. Focus on outcomes and be sure you mange the flow of the meeting to stay on track.

Take notes, this is basic yet often overlooked.  The facilitator is not the right person to take the minutes and should assign the task to a capable person prior to the meeting itself.  Ensure the action items and desired outcomes are captured.

 Distribute the minutes soon after the meeting has concluded and once again ask for feedback. Typically the minutes of the last meeting are handed out at the start of the next; this ensures a lot of valuable information is lost.

Pay attention to the facility you are using. Do you have all of the tools you will need? Projectors, flip charts and white boards, food and refreshments, just to name a few… If it is offsite, take a tour of the facility and review your needs with the service provider. Be sure the room is of an adequate size and presents a pleasant environment; it is difficult to focus on the task at hand if you are cramped or uncomfortable.

Whether you are the organizer or a participant, start spending the time you need prior to and after the meeting, to increase the chances that your meetings will actually deliver results.