Page History

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Effective

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meetings:

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Notes,

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reflections,

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and

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follow-on

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comments

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to

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Fall

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2006

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session

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We
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enjoyed
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the
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session,
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and
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found
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many
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themes
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resonating
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with
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the
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goals
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and
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orientation
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that
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we
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are
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addressing
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with
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the
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Practicing
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Management
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effort.
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There's
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much
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you
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can
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to
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do
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improve
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the
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meetings
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you
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run
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-
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and
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attend
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!
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-
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if
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you
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draw
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on
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the
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practice
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of
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preparing-acting-reflecting
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on
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every
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meeting.
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To
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follow
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up
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on
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some
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specific
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things,
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we
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thought
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we'd
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add
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a
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few
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thoughts
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and
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resources
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here.
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We've
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listed
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highlights
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from
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your
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"Notes
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to
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Self"
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and
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uploaded
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SloanPM:our
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notes
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from
...
the
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discussion
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on
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what
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to
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do
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before
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and
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after
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meetings
...
.
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Also
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check
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out
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the
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powerpoints
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that
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we
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showed
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--including
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some
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more
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detail
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on
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some
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of
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the
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key
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ideas.
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And
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don't
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forget
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the
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opportunity
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to
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Create
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Your
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Own
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Checklist
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of
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actions
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before
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and
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after
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a
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meeting.
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Notes

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to

...

Self

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Many
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of
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you
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came
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away
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from
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the
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seminar
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with
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similar
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notes:
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send
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an
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agenda
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in
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advance
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(24-72
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hours
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before
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the
...
meeting)
...
publish
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notes
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after
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the
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meeting
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follow
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up
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on
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action
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items
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get
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feedback
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on
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the
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meeting.
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Yet
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alongside
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these
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commonalities
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some
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highlights
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stick
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out,
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including:
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"Write
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an
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e-mail
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to
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convince
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the
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group
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to
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have
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a
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brainstorming
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session."
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"Designate
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annotator
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...
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and
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maybe
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an
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advocate
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to
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make
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sure
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everyone
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does
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the
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proper
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homework."
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"Break
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down
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assignments
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into
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workable
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tasks."
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"Create
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agenda
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that
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is
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doable."
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"Make
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sure
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I'm
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prepared
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(100%)."
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"If
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the
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meeting's
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going
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too
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long,
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have
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people
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stand
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until
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it's
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done."
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What's
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interesting
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too
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is
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how
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strongly
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you're
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committing
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yourselves
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to
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making
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the
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meeting
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effective.
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The
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only
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caveat:
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make
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sure
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you're
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not
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alone.
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Don't
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be
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the
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only
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one
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rolling
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the
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ball
...
uphill;
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enlist
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your
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fellow
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participants
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on
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the
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road
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to
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good
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meetings.
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Transitions

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within

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a

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meeting

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Many
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of
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you
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asked
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what
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you
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can
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do
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in
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the
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midst
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of
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a
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meeting
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that's
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going
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badly.
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One
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useful
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piece
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of
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advice:
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have
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a
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few
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stock
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phrases
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ready
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to
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go
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that
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can
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advance
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the
...
meeting
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or
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sidestep
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a
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problem
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area.
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Here
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are
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some
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thoughts
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and
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suggestions
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on
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such
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transitions
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,
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culled
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from
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a
...
book.
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Follow-up

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readings

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Meeting
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Analysis:
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Findings
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from
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research
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and
...
practice
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A
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paper
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from
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the
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Proceedings
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of
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the
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34th
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Hawaii
...
International
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Conference
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on
...
System
...
Sciences
...
-
...
2001
The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings a 1996 article from Fast Company
And seven steps to salvation. Tools, techniques, and technologies to make your meetings less painful, more productive - even heavenly.
3M meetings network a commercial site with resources, readings, etc
Why staff meetings don't work
For the following readings, go to this MIT Libraries site and search using the citation information below.
How to Make Every Meeting Matter May 1, 2003, by Tom Krattenmaker, Harvard Management Communication Letter
In today's workplace, time is in short supply. Unfortunately, meetings aren't. Here are some strategies for making good meetings better and for killing the time sinks.
How to run a meeting. By: Jay, Antony. Harvard Business Review, Mar/Apr76, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p43-57
Why is it that any single meeting may be a waste of time, an irritant, or a barrier to the achievement of an organization's objectives? The answer lies in the fact, as the author says, that "all sorts of human crosscurrents can sweep the discussion off course, and errors of psychology and technique on the chairman's part can defeat its purposes." This article offers guidelines on how to right things that go wrong in meetings. The discussion covers the functions of a meeting, the distinctions in size and type of meetings, ways to define the objectives, making preparations, the chairman's role, and ways to conduct a meeting that will achieve its objectives.

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<P align="center" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><IMG align="left" height="115" src="http://web.mit.edu/leadership/meet.jpg" width="172"></IMG></P>
<P align="center" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN class="style1"><SPAN class="style2">Think about your worst meetings. </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P align="center" class="style1 style2" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Remember what went wrong - <BR></BR>paralysis, mix-ups, boredom, blow outs?</P>
<P align="center" class="style1 style2" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Are you ready to bring your meetings to life? </P>
<P class="style1 style2">Now you can. Join Professor Anjali Sastry on Thursday, November 30th, for <SPAN class="style6">Effective Meetings: A Practicing Management Seminar</SPAN>. Part of a new Sloan series of management skills opportunities, this focused, dynamic workshop will give you practical tools to turn the dreadful into the successful. Learn from the latest research, others' experience, and your own reflection on the structure, roles, failures, and importance of meetings. You'll come away with a checklist for meeting planning and follow-up, techniques for keeping people on track, and key roles you can play to make the meeting work.</P>
<P class="style1 style2"><EM>Effective Meetings</EM> will be offered on <STRONG>Thursday the 30th, 5:30-7:30 p.m., in E51-335</STRONG>. To keep the course interactive, space will be limited, so <A href="http://sloanspace.mit.edu/dotlrn/clubs/program-all-mba-students/survey/one-survey?survey_id=10846769"><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #66aa3d; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">sign up on SloanSpace now</SPAN></STRONG></A>. Don't let your next meeting waste your time - <A href="http://sloanspace.mit.edu/dotlrn/clubs/program-all-mba-students/survey/one-survey?survey_id=10846769"><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #66aa3d; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">register</SPAN></STRONG></A> for <EM>Effective Meetings</EM> today!</P>
<P align="center" class="style1 style2">For more information about Practicing Management,<BR></BR>go to the wiki at <A href="https://confab.mit.edu/sloan/pm"><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #66aa3d; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">https://confab.mit.edu/sloan/pm</SPAN></STRONG></A>.</P>
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Jonathan

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Lehrich

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Associate

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Director

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MIT

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Leadership

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Center

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30

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Wadsworth

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Street,

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E53-418

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Cambridge,

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MA

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02142

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(617)

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253-6011

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jlehrich@mit.edu

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M.

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Anjali

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Sastry

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Senior

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Lecturer,

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MIT

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Sloan

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School

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of

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Management

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E53-329,

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30

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