Stephen Robbins here.

Welcome to the Get It Done Guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Meetings.

I just love meetings.

No, no, I don't.

I hate meetings.

Oh, especially meetings where we have to make group decisions.

My friend Bernice's new store, Green Growing Things, is growing like gangbusters. Her

lima bean plant has sprouted a beanstalk that's vanishing into the clouds. The cute little

plant she calls Audrey to is already the size of a small dog. She's raking it in and with all

that money comes the need to invest. So, Bernice has called a meeting. She, her colleagues, Europa, Melvin, and I,

must decide what to do with this year's profits. Decision-making meetings can get ugly. The

Oreo ice cream cake might end up planted on top of someone's head instead of resting deliciously

in our tummies. That would be a waste. Fortunately, you can make decision-making meetings go smoothly

by getting the decision made before the meeting. Then the meeting itself becomes a recap of the

factors leading into the decision, the rationale, and the decision itself. You get the decision

made in advance by talking one-on-one to everyone who has a stake in the decision.

You first want to know each person's position. That's the plan of action that they favor.

You may find out that there's already consensus on the best plan of action, and the meeting will just ratify the decision that everyone has already made. Europa has confided that she

wants to invest the shop's profits in a certificate of deposit.

Melvin thinks that we should build a new greenhouse.

And Bernice told me over lunch that she wants to donate our profits to a charity for bunny rabbits.

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