Meetings with Purpose: How to Plan for Success Every Time

Recently, a friend shared a frustrating experience about a client meeting that didn’t go as planned. Despite thorough preparation with internal stakeholders beforehand, the meeting quickly went off-topic, and the team struggled to steer the conversation back to the main objectives. In the end, the meeting yielded no clear decisions or actionable outcomes.

We've all encountered meetings like this—where despite our best efforts, discussions lose focus and objectives remain unmet. As a project manager with over ten years of experience, I’ve facilitated countless meetings and learned that effective meeting planning and facilitation are key to achieving desired outcomes. Here are some tips to ensure your meetings are productive and goal-oriented:

Before the Meeting: Plan with Precision

Prepare an Agenda:

• Clearly Define the Purpose and Objectives: Start by identifying the main goals of the meeting. What do you want to achieve? This clarity will guide the rest of your planning.

• Gather Agenda Topics: Collaborate with key stakeholders or meeting participants to collect relevant topics for discussion.

• Create a Detailed Agenda: Outline the topics in the order they’ll be addressed, assigning a specific time for each. This helps manage the flow and ensures all important points are covered.

• Assign Responsibility: Designate a responsible person for each agenda topic. This individual will prepare materials and lead the discussion, helping keep the conversation on track and productive.

Align with Key Stakeholders:

• Review the Agenda: Before distributing the agenda, review it with key stakeholders or decision-makers to ensure the meeting’s purpose is clear and aligned with their expectations.

• Identify Key Concerns and Desired Outcomes: Discuss with stakeholders to understand their primary concerns and desired outcomes. This helps tailor the meeting to meet the objectives and avoid any surprises.

Distribute the Agenda:

• Share in Advance: Send the agenda to all participants ahead of time. This gives everyone the opportunity to prepare, ensuring the meeting stays focused and efficient.

During the Meeting: Facilitate with Focus

Review the Agenda:

• Start with Alignment: Begin the meeting by reviewing the agenda, confirming the time allocated for each topic, and asking if any adjustments are needed. This sets a clear path for the discussion.

Review Meeting Ground Rules:

• Set Expectations: Ground rules may not be necessary for every meeting, but establishing them can create a respectful and productive environment. Ground rules might include expectations like allowing one person to speak at a time and avoiding side conversations.

Redirect Off-Topic Conversations:

• Stay on Track: If the discussion veers off-topic, politely steer it back to the relevant agenda items. This helps maintain focus and ensures all objectives are addressed.

Use the Parking Lot Technique:

• Acknowledge and Defer: When off-topic but important issues arise, note them in a "parking lot" for future discussion. This shows that all contributions are valued while keeping the current meeting on track.

After the Meeting: Ensure Follow-Through with Action Items

• Summarize and Distribute: After the meeting, promptly send out a summary of key decisions and action items. Clearly outline who is responsible for each task and set deadlines.

• Track Progress: Continuously monitor the progress of action items and follow up in subsequent meetings or check-ins to ensure that the objectives are met.

Summary: The Value of a Project Manager

A skilled project manager brings strong facilitation skills to meetings, ensuring they remain focused, productive, and aligned with the organization’s goals. By carefully planning agendas, setting clear expectations, managing discussions, and following up on action items, project managers can drive successful meetings that lead to tangible outcomes. With the right approach, meetings can be a powerful tool for collaboration, decision-making, and progress.

Balanced Rock and Beyond: Strategies for Setting and Achieving Project Goals

Four years ago, my husband and I went hiking at Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin. We consulted a trail map, which seemed straightforward enough to follow to Balanced Rock, a prominent natural symbol of the park. Balanced Rock cracked off the East Bluff and landed in such a way that it appears perfectly balanced on a pedestal.

For the first 20 minutes, following the other hikers and the trail ahead was easy. At one intersection, veered left through the woods, and the trail became increasingly obscure. With limited time for our hike, after another 20 minutes we turned back, eventually finding the main trail and heading back down the hill.

Each year since then, I’ve added “Hike to Balanced Rock” to my list of personal goals. This summer, my husband and I returned to Devil’s Lake. Determined to stay on the trail this time, we avoided the side paths. At one point, I misread the trail sign and continued on the main path rather than taking the rocky path downwards. We unexpectedly arrived at Devil’s Doorway, another fascinating land formation. After taking several photos, we asked for directions to Balanced Rock and finally found the correct path, achieving my long-awaited goal.

Reflecting on my hiking experience, I realize that the principles I use in project management are quite similar. Just as we needed a clear path and proper guidance to reach Balanced Rock, project teams need structure and direction to achieve their goals. Here are some key strategies I employ as a project manager to help teams with goal definition and realization:

Strategies for Goal Definition and Realization in Project Management

1. Clear Communication of Objectives I ensure all team members understand the project's objectives by clearly documenting the project's goals, rationale, and expected outcomes. Establishing these elements early in the project aligns the team's efforts and ensures everyone is working towards the same objectives. Typically, I document this information in a project charter that is accessible to all team members.

2. Stakeholder Engagement Engaging stakeholders is crucial for understanding their expectations and securing their buy-in. I facilitate stakeholder meetings and workshops to gather requirements, clarify expectations, and ensure goals align with stakeholders' needs. This engagement also helps in gaining the support and resources necessary for goal realization.

3. Developing a Detailed Plan I work with team members to create a detailed project plan that outlines the steps needed to achieve the goals. This includes breaking down the goals into manageable tasks, assigning responsibilities, setting deadlines, identifying dependencies, and establishing milestones, which are significant points in a project's timeline that mark the completion of a major phase or a key deliverable. A well-structured plan provides a roadmap for the team and helps in monitoring progress.

4. Monitoring and Adjusting Continuous monitoring of the project's progress is essential to ensure that the goals are being met. By regularly reviewing the status of project tasks with the project team, performance against the plan can be measured, deviations identified, and adjustments made. This proactive approach helps address issues early and keeps the project on track toward achieving its goals.

By incorporating these strategies, project managers can effectively guide their teams toward successfully achieving their objectives, much like navigating a trail to reach a long-awaited destination.

Using Project Management to Transform My Yard into a Whimsical Fairy Garden

As a project manager, I specialize in addressing key challenges such as scope definition, budget management, and timeline coordination. I want to share how these project management practices can be effectively applied to a real-world project. By transforming an overgrown corner of my yard into a whimsical fairy garden, I navigated the challenges of cost, scope, and time, demonstrating the practical application of my skills.

In the spring of 2020, I discovered an HGTV article with instructions for building a “magical backyard fairy ring” (link). At that time, I was balancing remote work, full-time parenting, and teaching my son his kindergarten lessons. The idea of creating a "magical backyard fairy ring" was very appealing during this “stay at home” phase of life. The idea of creating a fairy garden stayed with me for the next few years. We had an overgrown corner of our yard that I was eager to clear out. In 2023, I finally cleaned the space by transplanting some ferns and removing overcrowded daylilies and weeds. In the spring of 2024, I planned to reseed the area with grass until I spotted fairy garden houses and figurines at a local discount store.

I approach many aspects of my life as projects, including this fairy garden. A project is defined as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result” (PMI, 2008a, p. 5). This means that a project must have defined start and end points, and the result of the project work must be something unique. In the context of gardening, planning and converting a space in a backyard to a garden is a project, whereas regularly watering and weeding the garden is not. At this point in my fairy garden project, it was time to employ my project management skills.

Project management involves planning, organizing, and managing a project to achieve its goals. Three key aspects of project management are cost, scope, and time, which form the project management triangle.

• Cost: I had spent about $15 on supplies so far. Based on online prices, I knew this project would fit within the budget I typically allocated for spring planting. Therefore, I didn’t set a specific budget but monitored expenses closely to ensure they remained reasonable.

• Scope: I found further inspiration by searching for fairy garden pictures on social media. The photos helped me define the scope of the fairy garden, which included six fairy houses, connecting pathways, living flowers and succulents, small fairy or gnome figurines, and a fence to separate the fairy garden from the rest of the yard.

• Time: It was Friday afternoon, and we did not have many plans for Saturday. I reasoned that I could finish the project within two days. However, we had plans with family on Sunday afternoon, so I would likely finish the project on Monday or Tuesday.

Early Saturday morning, my daughter and I headed out to buy supplies. Picking out houses and small figures was easy because I had a vision of where they would go. We also bought patio pavers, flowers, succulents, pebbles, glass gems, a 12” x 12” moss mat, and a small fence to place around the border of the fairy garden. Back at home, I set to work placing paving stones to use as foundations for the fairy houses. I planted the flowers and succulents. With my daughter helping, we started to lay down the glass gems and pebbles to make pathways between the houses. We quickly ran out of pathway supplies. I moved on to cutting the moss mat into smaller pieces and tacking it down around the houses to give the appearance of grass.

By noon, we had made more progress than anticipated. I stepped back to survey the progress. There was more bare dirt than I had anticipated. I was at a decision point: what should I do to cover the bare dirt? Should I wait to see how the plants fill in the space? Should I buy ground cover plants? More pebbles or moss mats? I noticed some fairy gardens used artificial turf. Should I use that? I compared costs and considered the time involved. If I ordered artificial turf, it would take several days to arrive, delaying my timeline. Even if I drove to the nearest store, it would take time to measure and cut the turf, and I might have to redo some of the work already completed.

Outlining the pros and cons for each potential decision allowed me to weigh my options and make a decision. Reflecting on my original planning, finishing the project quickly was of the most importance to me. Therefore, I eliminated the artificial turf option. I did not want to leave bare dirt and wait for plants to fill in, as this would leave the project looking unfinished. I decided to purchase an additional moss mat and more pebbles.

Saturday afternoon, I went to the hardware store to get more garden stakes and to the craft store to purchase the other supplies. By Saturday evening, I had placed down the second moss mat and finished most of the pathways between houses. Unfortunately, I had miscalculated and ran out of moss mat before covering all the bare soil. Because of our plans on Sunday afternoon, I didn’t do any work on Sunday. Monday morning I made one last trip to the craft store to purchase a third moss mat, with which I was able to complete the fairy garden. I am proud of the garden and pleased with the touch of whimsy it adds to our backyard.

As a reflective person by nature, I regularly contemplate past events, considering what I could have done differently or better. At the end of projects involving a team, I typically hold a lessons learned session to discuss what went, what didn’t go well, and how things could be improved upon in future projects. Lessons learned meetings are typically held a few weeks after a project is complete in order to give the time to reflect and understand if expectations were really met. Even though the fairy garden was a small project, and I did most of the work by myself, I took time to reflect on lessons learned from the project.

Overall, the finished garden met my expectations.

• The number of houses and figurines was just the right amount for the size of the space.

• The garden is low maintenance. I’ve weeded once in the 6 weeks since finishing the project. We’ve had more than a few rainstorms with high winds and there hasn’t been any damage.

• My time estimate of 2 days was a good one. If I had two full days to fully dedicate to the fairy garden, I would have finished within that time frame.

A few things I would have done differently:

• I would have looked at artificial turf options at the home improvement store on my first visit.

• On my first shopping trip, I was trying to be budget-conscious and buy the minimal amount of supplies needed. If I had to do it again, I would have purchased an excess of supplies to avoid multiple trips back to the store, which slowed down the work. If I had purchased more in the beginning, I could have returned any unopened supplies after the project was done.

• If the fairy garden had been larger in scale, I would have more thoroughly planned the budget by researching prices to prepare an itemized list of expenses. After creating an activity list, the activities would have been planned by day or week and mapped in a Gantt chart. Project risks, such as rain affecting the ability to complete activities, would have been documented. The probability and severity of each risk would have been considered, with mitigation plans made for any high risks. This information would have been documented in a project charter so that anyone else involved in the project could review it to ensure alignment on project goals. In a project charter, I also include a list of team members with their roles and responsibilities.

I apply project management tools and practices in a manner appropriate for the size and scope of the project, leveraging a range of methodologies to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Whether it involves detailed budget planning, rigorous risk management, or comprehensive activity scheduling, I tailor my approach to align with the specific requirements and constraints of each project. This ensures that resources are used optimally, timelines are adhered to, and project goals are met, regardless of the project's scale. The fairy garden project was small in scale and scope, yet it serves as a practical demonstration of my project management skills. By effectively managing scope, cost, and time, and navigating challenges and delays, I delivered a successful project. These skills are not limited to gardening projects; they are applicable to a wide range of projects, from corporate initiatives to personal endeavors. Whether it involves defining clear objectives, managing timelines or budgets, my project management expertise can drive success and deliver quality results in any context.

The Virtue of Patience in Mini Golf and Project Management

Have you been mini-golfing lately? I recently took my son, and while waiting behind another mom and her two children, she turned to me and said, “Sometimes I want to ask if we can pass the group ahead of us and go on to the next hole.” I replied, “Mini golf takes a lot of patience.” She smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

Mini golf takes patience in several ways:

• Patience with yourself as you navigate obstacles and aim for the hole.

• Patience with the groups ahead of you who may take their time.

• Patience with the groups behind you who might be eager to finish their round.

• Patience with your children.

Working on a project similarly requires patience.

Here are a few common areas of struggle and tips for what to do differently:

Patience in the beginning of the project when teams are usually eager to get a jump start on project work:

• As a project manager, I help teams slow down to plan activities and set milestones, enabling effective progress tracking.  Thoroughly planning the scope, identifying stakeholders, and aligning on goals at the start of the project will help the project to run smoother.

• Implement effective risk management strategies early in the project to identify and document potential issues and mitigation strategies in a risk register. By doing so, the project team can avoid major problems. I periodically review the risk register with the team to assess and update risks.

Patience while waiting for email responses:

• I set reminders to follow up if I haven’t received a response within 1-5 days. The amount of time between the initial email and when a response is needed depends on the urgency of the topic and person. Reminders in my calendar or to-do list help me focus on other topics and ensure nothing is forgotten.

• Daily email reviews ensure I don’t miss important follow-ups.

• In cases where a response is not received even after a reminder email, having an escalation plan in place is crucial for avoiding additional delays due to unresponsive communications.

Patience when dealing with setbacks and delays:

• Navigating and resolving issues is key to maintaining momentum. I focus on managing the critical path, re-evaluating tasks to meet deadlines. Sometimes tasks can be performed in parallel or additional resources can be added to save time.

• Engaging stakeholders regularly by keeping them informed about project status, changes to the plan, and seeking feedback ensures their concerns are addressed and they continue to support the project.  This helps to avoid added stress and difficulties.

Just as in mini-golf, where patience is needed while waiting for others planning your next swing, in project management, patience enables the project team to make thoughtful decisions that keep the project on track. By planning, communicating effectively, and proactively managing risks with the help of a project manager, project challenges can be navigated to ensure a successful project outcome. The next time you're stuck waiting on the mini-golf course, remember that the patience you're practicing is a valuable skill in project management too.

Do you need help with managing your projects? Forward Project Management and Consulting offers:

• Project planning and tracking to meet milestones and stay on schedule

• Risk management strategies to anticipate and mitigate potential issues

• Clear communication, ensuring project team members and stakeholders are on the same page.

See how Forward Project Management and Consulting can help your project today.