Let’s improve your meeting efficiency and productivity: aligning your team for success

Strategy meetings help you and your team align your goals, discuss progress and plan for the future. However, formal strategy meetings can often be long, unproductive and boring.

Here’s where the 7-minute strategy meeting comes in...

Before diving into the details, let’s first look at the importance of these meetings. Strategy meetings are where you and your team discuss your business goals, progress and plans. They help to ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same objectives.

In addition to aligning your team, strategy meetings allow you to discuss any issues or challenges your business may face. By addressing these issues early on, you can avoid more significant problems. Finally, strategy meetings allow you to celebrate successes and recognise team members who have significantly contributed to your accomplishments.

Common issues with strategy meetings

Do you view strategy meetings as unproductive and frustrating? Traditionally, they can be long, drawn-out affairs that leave participants feeling drained and unengaged. They are usually filled with unnecessary details, off-topic discussions and lengthy debates that do little to move the business forward. The 7-minute strategy meeting offers a refreshing change from this norm, liberating you from the burden of unproductive hours.

Another common issue with traditional strategy meetings is that they tend to be dominated by a few vocal team members, leaving quieter team members feeling left out and unable to contribute ideas and insights.

The 7-minute concept

The 7-minute strategy meeting concept is a new approach to strategy that addresses the common issues with formal meetings. Are you more interested in meetings that are short, concise and focused? The goal is to keep the discussion brief but productive, allowing team members to return to regular work quickly.

The 7-minute strategy meeting is based on the ‘stand-up’ meeting concept used in agile development. Participants stand up rather than sit in these meetings, which helps keep the forum short and focused. Scheduling the 7-minute strategy meeting weekly or fortnightly helps to keep everyone in the loop and ensure progress towards your business’s goals.

Tips

• Keep the discussion focused on the most critical issues facing your business.

• Encourage team members to prepare in advance and come to the meeting ready to discuss these issues.

• Use a timer to keep the discussion on track.

• Follow up the meeting afterwards with a summary of the key takeaways and action items.

Summary: aligning your team for success

A regular 7-minute strategy meeting can be a powerful tool for aligning your team for success. Keep each agenda item short, focused, and productive to improve engagement, increase productivity, and save your business time and money.