successful project management - Commonwealth of Learning

In our opinion, if you produce agendas this way, you are promoting long,
unproductive, and tedious meetings. Why should this be so? We shall examine each
item separately.
Date: Today
An agenda that is circulated on the day the meeting is going to be held is a recipe for
failed meetings. Attendees need time to also prepare for the meeting, and normally
should be invited to submit agenda items. It is advisable to produce and distribute the
agenda, at least five days in advance.
Time: 8:30
The time at the top of the agenda should specify the time the meeting will start as
well as the finish time. This is because in the interest of individual planning, team
members should be made aware what time the meeting will come to a close.
Distribution: Everybody
The term ‘everybody’ can be misleading. It is best to list names of attendees so that
the individuals are aware they are expected to attend. There is the possible menace
of people who have lost interest in meetings claiming that they did not receive the
communication, especially when it is sent electronically.
Items
Items that are skeletal and do not give adequate information do not help participants
in preparing for the meeting. All the first four items in the agenda are inexplicit. For
example, to simply say ‘Suitably qualified tutors’ does not communicate sufficiently.
An informative item should have:
• Reasonable detail of what is to be discussed must be provided.
• The objective of the discussion should be stated.
• The name of the person responsible for that item must be reflected so that
they can prepare in advance.
• The time allocated for the item, including comments from other participants
should be reflected.
Here is an example:
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