I've written before about the importance of making sure your meetings are an effective use of everyone's time.

Teena Whittenhall from Protech Associates shared these two gems with me that I heartily endorse:

• A meeting without an agenda is called a "waste of time."
• A meeting without documented action items will have to be repeated.

Put another way, when meeting participants join a meeting, they should know the reason for the meeting (agenda). And when they leave the meeting, they should know what's expected of everyone after the meeting (documented action items).

These are seemingly simple steps that are often overlooked, but if adhered to religiously will make your meetings incredibly effective (and possibly minimize the number and length of your meetings!).