Create Awesome Meetings Podcast: Business Communication Skills | Effective Meetings | Organizational Learning | Management

Have you ever had a moment where the printer won’t work? Or that guy in HR opened another email he wasn’t supposed to and the whole network got infected? Would you like to know the right way to having a meeting with your IT guy when something like this happens and you want to get it fixed fast? Then this episode of the Create Awesome Meetings Podcast is for you!. That's because you're going to hear a fantastic interview with Ben Habing, an IT expert with over 20 years of experience in all levels of IT from dealing with small business to servicing multi-million-dollar contracts for large companies. In this episode Ben shares a ton of great IT meeting insights including: Being relentless about defining the business problem itself, and THEN choosing an IT solution to meet the need Making sure that you have left no question unanswered so that there can be no surprises when it comes to implementation Preventing any language barriers between the business owner and the IT technician to ensure that everyone understands each other Making sure the client understands what happens if their system goes down (from fire, flood, failed hardrive etc.) and what steps will be taken if it does How to empathize with each other because everybody has a job to do Why being open and honest is the best way to do business during an IT meeting How to prevent over-spending by establishing clear project requirements How to establish a clear Return-On-Investment from your IT spend, as in, do you want to earn $, reduce costs, or both? Why establishing the right back-up process is so important How to set up high expectations within the IT agreement itself How to not get bamboozled by the latest IT fad and ensure that you only implement what you need ‘When in doubt, do without’ Why IT is not magic, it's just engineering Why IT should be treated like a marriage (because often you'll be spending more time with your IT guy than your spouse anyway) Why it is critical to have the right people in an IT meeting and to follow a clear meeting agenda Ben's Top 3 IT Meetings Suggestions Be clear about the business problem you are trying to solve, and THEN figure out the appropriate IT solution Be calm during a meeting with your IT provider and remember that everyone has a job to do Clearly understand what Return-On-Investment you want from your IT solution, and don't overspend on bells and whistles that you don't need About Ben Habing Ben has been wielding a keyboard since he was nine. He has spent almost 20 years working in IT, holding various roles from Systems Administrator, Senior Systems Engineer, Infrastructure Architect, IT Manager, Technical Process Manager, Director of Strategy & Business Development to most recently CEO. He has led several technical support teams, implemented numerous enterprise applications, server and infrastructure systems all with a focus on delivering value to the business Ben is a veteran of the dot-com bust and after climbing the inner sanctums of IT; he made the jump over to quality and governance, and finally into leadership. This has given Ben, one of the unique perspectives of being able to talk the tech-talk and understand the need for adoption of service quality and business fundamentals in the sometimes-unhallowed walls of IT. Ben, consults full-time now with his company, Vivify Technology Inc. helping companies enliven their technology to enable them to run their business more effectively anywhere. You can get in touch with Ben at [email protected]. Links Mentioned In This Episode www.vivifytech.com Send an email to [email protected] to get the FREE download!

Have you got :20 seconds to make your next meeting awesome? Have you got 20 X :20 seconds? Because episode 10 of the Create Awesome Meetings Podcast is a recording of me (Gord Sheppard) delivering a PechaKucha style talk called "10 Ways To Create Awesome Meetings" to the Emerging Health Leaders group in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. What is PechaKucha you ask? According to PechaKucha.org, “PechaKucha 20×20 is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically and you talk along to the images.” That’s 6 minutes and :40 seconds of your life that you’re never going to get back, whether you’re giving the talk or you’re in the audience. And as a Speaker I can tell you that this format is very challenging because you have to be succinct and well prepared, which is why you're going to get a whole lot of meeting productivity information and inspiration in a very short time during today's podcast episode, including tips like: Why getting real by building trust with your team is so important Why it is so important to understand that you can choose how you act in a meeting Why meetings are your early warning system because they are a small snapshot of how your organization is functioning overall How to make sure that you have the right people, so that you can make your meeting successful How to make an awesom POINT whenever it's your turn to speak A fast formula to help you calculate the actual cost of your meetings Why it is so important to have a great meeting facilitator Why it is worth finding a meeting Mentor How to link your meeting to your strategy Why it is critical to take the time to market your agenda so that you get buy-in Why the space that you meet in is as important as what you're meeting about Why walking meetings are essential How to find awesome resources How to follow up FAST How to figure out what inspires you so that you'll make your next meeting great Send an email to [email protected] to get the FREE download! Links Mentioned In This Podcast Emerging Health Leaders - Edmonton PechaKucha.org 37 Billion Is Lost Every Year On These Meeting Mistakes - www.businessinsider.com The How To Create Awesome Meetings Workshop

Are you someone who has to run meetings but doesn't know where to begin? Or are you someone who wishes they could run the meeting because the guy who is running the meeting is useless? Or maybe you're just starting your meeting facilitation journey and you're looking for ideas.Well if any of these scenarios make sense to you, then you're in the right place! Because episode 3 of the Create Awesome Meetings Podcast offers a step-by-step guide to help you run an outstanding meeting. Every time. And are the 15 steps:Figure out why you need to meetName your top three strategic objectives that make your organization profitableConnect everything that you want to accomplish in the upcoming meeting to the top three strategic objectivesChoose a great meeting locationWhere you meet is as important as what you're meeting aboutMake sure the room is beyond clean, as in, make it a place that will energize your team to reach their goalsPrepareDo the right amount of researchGo above and beyond when you prepare the agendaGive yourself some unstructured 'blue sky' time during which you can creatively prepare for the upcoming meetingKeep in touch with everyone leading up to the meetingHave a hallway chat with your colleaguesSend a question via textUse this process to weed out things you don't want to talk about at your upcoming meetingSet up earlyArrive at least 30 minutes early to make sure all technical aspects are ready and that the room is set up to help you achieve your meeting goalsGreet each person as they arriveThis is a great way to build rapportYou could ask them about their family or which sport they like to playOr you could ask them about their latest work projectIf you are the meeting leader, have someone introduce youPeople want to follow someone they trust and respectGetting an introduction will allow the whole team to learn something about you from another person's perspectiveWhen you introduce yourself, establish your credibilityYour meeting team wants to know that you have the skills to run a great meeting, so tell them a few select things that will give them the confidence that you can lead effectivelyExplain the agenda Start with an Attention-Grabber that is either funny, inspiring or seriousGive an overview of the meeting quickly so that people know what to expectHave each person introduce themselves an say why they're hereLook each person in the eye, one-by-one, and ask them to say something about themselves and also to state why they are and how they will be contributing to make the meeting more effectiveHelp people disagree productivelyProductive debate is good. Unhealthy fights are badAs a meeting facilitator you need to be able to referee disagreements effectivelyTechniques may inlcude; one person speaks; and making the disagreement about the issue and not about the peopleKeep the energy upStand up during the meetingLook at an inspring/funny Youtube videoSwitch seatsJust make sure that you have a variety of options to keep people engaged during the meetingSummarize ideas frequently and praise people whenever possibleActively listen, let the person who was talking to finish, then briefly repeat the main points of what they have said and ask the group if everyone agrees and that the point was clearWhen someone makes a great point, say something positive out loudCall to actionAt the end of the meeting have each person answer this question - "Given what we have discussed during the meeting today, say what you're going to do and when you're going to get it done."Follow upTreat each person in your meeting like they were your best customer by following up quickly and efficiently after each meetingRemember not to be hard on yourself if you can't do the steps all at once. Pick one or two to work on each week and within a few months you will easily be an expert at all of them! Not only will you and your meeting team benefit, but because your meetings will become more productive, then your organization will become more profitabl...

Welcome! Let's look at why taking action creates awesome meetings starting now! On a scale from 1-10 would you rate your meetings as -5? Do you know that you need to do something about this but you just can’t seem to get the ball rolling? Would you like to learn how to get inspired and take action to make your next meeting amazing? Well then, today’s episode of the Create Awesome Meetings Podcast is perfect for you because in this episode you’ll learn: How to figure out what will motivate you to actually change your meetings How to get inspired by your favorite larger-than-life people from around the world How to get inspired by getting to really know the people on your meeting team How to be a great role model during meetings Why failing faster is a great way to take action How to create a series of small wins that will eventually add up to a large victory How to use the 10-step meeting productivity improvement system from the book ‘How To Create Awesome Meetings Why ‘paying it forward’ not only pays off for you and your organization but, also for your community How taking action and improving your meetings can be very profitable Quotes: "Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment own it." ~ Oprah Winfrey~ "Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."~Lao Tzu~ Link: www.terryfox.org And if you'd like even more great meeting productivity improvement tips and inspriation then check out the Meeting Leadership Podcast! Enter Your Name And Email below to get the FREE Checklist √ PDF download!

When you’re in a meeting, how do you act? Do you check your phone, cross your arms and fall asleep? Or do you come prepared, keep your energy up and inspire everyone else in the room? Do you want to learn how to become the best that you can be during a meeting? Well, then today’s episode of the Create Awesome Meetings Podcast is perfect for you, because it is all about helping you learn how to take responsibility for yourself. In this episode you’ll discover how to: Ask yourself the right kinds of questions that will enable you to choose how you act during a meeting Find a variety of tools to become more self-aware Seek out a mentor who will help you grow personally and professionally Demonstrate that by taking control of yourself during meetings, you actually make your organization stronger and more Quotes: “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” ~Viktor Frankl~ Neurologist and Psychiatrist “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” ~Isaac Newton~ Physicist and Mathematician Link: Million Women Mentors And if you'd like even more great meeting productivity improvement tips and inspriation then check out the Meeting Leadership Podcast! Send an email with CAM 021 in the subject line to [email protected] to get the FREE download!