Pitfalls of PitifulMeetings… Your team is filing into the conference room, mumbling


and grumbling as they take their seats for yet another meeting. An hour passes and the meeting comes to a much-anticipated end, leaving everyone involved wondering why it was held in the first place. After all, the usual suspects dominated the discussion, and


the same ideas that came up in last week’s meeting were once again batted around.No one seemed towrite anything down, and no one agreed to put anything discussed into action. If this kind of ineffectivemeeting sounds familiar, you’re not


alone, says author Kimberly Douglas, SPHR, President of Fire- Fly Facilitation (www.FireFlyFacilitation.com). It’s a problem that plagues many organizations – but it’s also one that can be remedied, she adds. Here are some of her suggestions: What’s the point?A common problem with many meetings


is that they’re scheduled with seemingly no clear objective in mind. First, ask yourself whether the meeting is even necessary. What do you want to accomplish with the meeting?Will reach- ing that accomplishment really require a group decision? Where’s the agenda? Remember the last time you actually


received an agenda in advance of a meeting? Likely, you imme- diately had a higher perception of whether that meeting was going to be a waste of time or not Conference room overcrowding. Often, too many people


who don’t have a clear understanding of what role they are sup- posed to play are invited tomeetings.Those in attendance need to


knowif youwant themto be an expert, an influencer or a decider. The meeting becomes a free-for-all. Anyone who’s ever


attended a meeting or led a meeting knows that it doesn’t take long for things to get off track.The best way to avoid losing con- trol of the conversation and themeeting as a whole is to set some conversational ground rules right away. “By implementing a few simple tools, you can breathe


life back into your meetings,” says Douglas, author of “The Firefly Effect: Build Teams That Capture Creativity and Catapult Results.”


Blogs Now in Video on


PTWeb Site ParkingToday Editor JohnVan Horn is now commenting


on the passing parking scene “live” on video at PT’s web site. There are currently a dozen clips of the outspoken curmudgeon of the parking industry commenting on topics as far-ranging as the attendant at the Bristol Zoo (entire story untrue) to raking a reporter from The New York Times for his poor interviewing skills. Check it out at www.parkingtoday.com and click on the video link.


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