RMIT Diary

• http://www.agavegroup.com/?p=35
• http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/08/13/top-10-css-table-designs/
• http://www.pluralsight-training.net/community/blogs/fritz/archive/2006/03/22/20514.aspx (Delete confirmation)

Refection on Values

Some of the common mistakes that reduce effectiveness in inter-personal communications:

• Lack of trust: people communicate without believing what the other person is saying, or even what they are saying themselves.
• Unclear identity: people hide their identity and thus reduce trust from the other person.
• One-way relationship: one party try to persuade the other without providing any values in return.
• Lack of understanding: people are not aware of the different perspective and behaviors patterns that they are holding. For example: introverted people may find extroverted ones “noisy”; extroverted people consider introverted ones “hard to talk”.
• Knowledge gap: the listener doesn’t have sufficient knowledge to get the message.
• Trying to avoiding conflicts rather than resolving them.

This is not except from a book. It came from my own experience in team work. According to my observation, a meeting can be enhanced by applying the following tips.

• Attendee’s availability is confirmed before the invitation is sent. Make sure that VIPs are available for the meeting.
• Agenda is sent in advance.
• Invitation is sent both via Calendar and regular email.
• A secretary is ready on the day. The host (organizer) should concentrate on the content of the meeting rather than on recording it.
• Stick to the agenda. Items not included in the agenda should be left til the end of the meeting, if there is extra time.
• When a discussion gets stuck, move on to the next item. Discuss after the meeting.
• For items that may take lots of time, the host should talk to people before the meeting so that they think about it in advance and the host gets an overview of possible opinions.
• Virtual meeting is a good idea, yet it comes at the cost of training. Think ROI!
• Offline notification, such as SMS, or phone call.

At Business Club, most of the above ideas were applied quite well which results in efficient meetings. There are always point for improvement of course.