Dear Meeting Guru, "As a manager, I often run out of ideas for topics for our weekly meetings. Can you help?" Anonymous

Blessed Meeter,

Weekly meetings are the perfect time to bring all staff members up to date on the activities of the past week. Consider discussing the following at your next weekly meeting:

	Sales or performance results of the past week
	Brief project updates
	Positions you are hiring for or introduction of a new staff member
	Company announcements that staff should be aware of
	Invite guest speakers from other departments to update your team on the projects they are working on

Also, ask your staff members what they’d like to discuss in your weekly meetings. They may suggest some important information you might have overlooked.

Remember: a weekly meeting doesn’t have to be an hour-long event. So don’t think of it as having an hour you need to fill with information – this will make your meetings boring and unproductive. Cover the information that needs to be addressed and then get on with your week. Attendees will appreciate you for valuing their time.

There are an endless amount of topics that you could cover, but beware: the cardinal sin in the meeting world is meeting just for the sake of meeting. If you don’t have new or useful information to discuss, don’t schedule a meeting. As Thomas P. Murphy once said, “Minutes are worth more than money. Spend them wisely.”

Until next time… may good meeting karma always be with you.