Kristi writes. "I find myself in meetings the majority of the work week. I don't have time to focus on my other projects and am getting extremely frustrated with the time spent in meetings."

We've all been there - captive in a meeting that drags on forever and nothing is accomplished.

Meetings fail for two reasons, Lack of Process and Protocol and Lack of Performance.

• Lack of Process and Protocol happens when they are not strategically valuable.

• Lack of Performance occurs when they fail to bring out the best in the people who attend or those who are affected.

One way to improve meeting effectiveness is to help everyone understand the importance of your meeting. With everyone sharing a common understanding, meetings will be more valuable and productive.

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