In terms of successful or effective corporate meeting planning, what it really comes down to is planning, but planning loose. If you’ve decided to allot exactly X number of minutes to this subject, and X amount of minutes to that subject, you’re not actually going to get anywhere with the discussion, since you may be just seconds away from a breakthrough only to have to stop discussing it because you’re out of time. Breakthroughs aren’t made on a restrictive time frame.

So plan your meetings around just one or two goals or subjects, know what points you’re hoping to make during the meeting, and just leave it at that. Don’t write an itinerary, don’t try to solve every single problem the company has all at the same time, just keep a clear head on what you need to get done and let the meeting develop at its own pace. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you plan your next meeting.

Get Real

Are you really going to solve every single problem your company has in a single meeting? Of course not. Keep a meeting focused on ONE subject, not several. MAYBE two subjects, but only move on to the second after you’ve resolved the first. You need to make major decisions at these meetings, and the fewer the better, since you want the best decisions, not rush jobs. Know what you’re going to do and say at the meeting, and do it, don’t go nuts with it or you’ll be in the conference room for the rest of the week.

Stay Focused

Set one goal, let your people know what that goal is, and achieve it during the meeting. Just one goal. If you give them a dozen things to do, they won’t know where to start, so give them just one goal and they’ll march right towards it over the course of the meeting. Again, it’s all about focus and simplicity. When we over-complicate everything, it tends to show a lack of confidence, as if more planning will make up for a lack of skill or competency. To a true master, everything is made simple.

Hold The Meeting Sometime Around Noon

This is the best time to hold a meeting, as your people are all woken up. After lunch, they just want to go home. Before their morning coffee, they wish they were still in the sack. Hold the meeting around noon when your people are actually in the mood to help you out and provide a few ideas of their own! Remember, these are humans, not robots, and catching them when they’re in the perfect mood is actually a major component to leadership.

Before you start an event or corporate meeting, go to The Meeting Planner’s site to see if an experienced corporate meeting planner or any Professional event planning services. can help!