Product Management Productivity Tip #3: Master Meetings

How to Reduce Time in Meetings

Few things can boost your productivity more than cutting down on the amount of time you spend in meetings. If you want to buy yourself a few extra minutes (or hours) each day to work on important priorities this is an area to focus on.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Make the meetings that you run be 30 minutes rather than one hour whenever possible. You would be surprised how efficient everyone becomes when they know they have to get through the agenda but have less time.
2. Insist that people take irrelevant, off-topic or non-group items offline to talk about after the meeting. Don’t allow them to waste everyone’s time discussing something that is not relevant to everyone else during the meeting.
3. Take notes during the meeting on your laptop and keep a running list of decisions and action items. Mail this out before you leave the meeting room if at all possible.
4. If there is a meeting with a large number of items to cover that don’t need your involvement ask if the group minds if they cover your items first so that you can leave the meeting earlier.
5. State and get agreement for the rules for meetings you run and ones you participate in. Let everyone know that there is a five minute grace period maximum. If people are late publicly humiliate them. Or better yet, assign them some action items. :-)
6. Bring donuts to morning meetings – you’ll be surprised how many people show up on time in order to get their favorite kind. This is especially good for meetings with your engineers.

If you follow all of these guidelines and make a point of being diligent about it you will likely free up several hours during your week. This may be just what you need in order to be able to spend time thinking strategically or focus on being more of a leader in your role.

Product Management & Product Marketing Office(tm) Released

We're excited to announce that we have released the 280 Group PM Office(tm).

There are two versions:

PM Office Profesional (contains six 280 Group toolkits: Roadmap, Launch, Product Reviews, Beta Program, Developer Program and Product Manager's Toolkits)

PM Office Standard (contains three 280 Group toolkits: Roadmap, Launch and Product Manager's Toolkits)

To help us announce the PM Office we decided to have Bob Dylan give us a hand. Click below to check it out. :-)

Product Manager 's Bingo

Are you a Product Manager who keeps falling asleep in meetings and seminars? What about those long and boring conference calls?

Here's a way to change all of that.

1. Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare yourself by drawing a square. (I find that 5" x 5" is a good size.)

2. Divide the square into columns and rows - five across and five down. That will give you 25 one-inch blocks.

3. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block:

* synergy
* strategic fit
* core competencies
* best practice
* bottom line
* revisit
* expeditious
* to tell you the truth (or "the truth is")
* 24/7
* out of the loop
* benchmark
* value-added
* pro-active
* win-win
* think outside the box
* fast track
* result-driven
* empower (or empowerment)
* knowledge base
* at the end of the day
* touch base
* mind-set
* client focused
* paradigm
* game plan
* leverage
* outside the box
* follow up

4. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.

5. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout "BULLSHIT!"


Testimonials from product management "Bullshit Bingo" players:

"I had been in the meeting for only five minutes when I won." - Adam, Atlanta

"My attention span at meetings has improved dramatically."- David, Florida

"What a gas! Meetings will never be the same for me after my first win." - Dan, New York City

"The atmosphere was tense in the last process meeting as 14 of us waited for the fifth box." - Ben, Denver

"The speaker was stunned as eight of us screamed 'BULLSHIT!' for the third time in two hours." - Mitch, Tampa

"When I won and yelled "BULLSHIT!" the woman sleeping next to me slid off her chair!" - Joseph, Los Angeles