Mauro Libi Crestani: What is this basic answer on how to increase your company's productivity ?

By Mauro Libi Crestani. That is the most basic question that every company has to answer if it wants to be productive. The answer is so basic. It’s like answering the question – How does one live to see another day? Answer is to keep breathing. When you stop breathing , then you will not live to see another day. So what is this basic answer on how to increase your company's productivity?

The answer is to have office meeting! Careers have been built on poking fun at meetings. From commercials to comic strips it’s no secret that most of us would rather be, you know, working.

Meetings can be very productive. But for that to happen you have to follow certain rules.

If it were up to 37 Signals, there would be no meetings at all and discussion would be limited to IM and email. In the company’s best-selling book Rework, they urge creatives to remember that “every minute you avoid spending in a meeting is a minute you can get real work done instead.” In fact, the firm even created National Boycott a Meeting Day in 2011. But they know that there are times when they absolutely must meet.

37 Signals and Google and Apple have similar rules to their meetings.

Keep it short! 15 minutes max time. Use a timer. Meetings have a way of going on and on.

Invite as few people as possible. In other words no spectators. Google has a rule that everyone at the meeting must contribute ideas. If you do not have ideas to contribute then you do not have to be at that meeting. At Google t is expected that your idea will be challenged – so be ready to defend your ideas. Be prepared to challenge and be challenged or don’t show up.

Have an agenda. American Express vice president Christopher Frank used to ask at the start of each meeting…. “What exactly are we meeting about?” When your goals for the meeting are clear then you the meeting will have productive results. Google assigns someone to make the decisions at the meeting. We want to accomplish this and we have five ideas, there will be someone that will decide at the meeting which ideas to go with and then they will be assigned to people to accomplish those goals or ideas. Talking and not acting will not be productive. You want the meeting to have a purpose and be productive – assign those tasks by Mauro Libi Crestani.