Comment:     by Karen Lowe 9/5/2007 I've just realized that I am going into two solid days of design review meetings, and I have forgotten my knitting. Woe is me!
	Comment:     by Jean Tabaka 7/10/2007 Hey Michele, I really like your compendium of tactics to get meetings started on time. If a group added up all the minutes of wait time of all attendees for all their meetings in one month and calculated the salaries spent, I think it would be a good incentive to implement your ideas. BTW, your list reminded me of two other tactics I have seen, and I think I learned one of them from you :- ) First, have the meeting start at an odd time versus on the hour: 9:03 instead of 9:00. Second, if someone arrives late for the daily status meeting, they get to wear a giant "I WAS LATE" sign around their neck for the rest of the day. ...Read On Author's Response: 7/12/2007     Wearing a sign reminds me of something I saw recently in Vegas at the Blue Man show. About 10 minutes into the show the Blue guys stopped what they were doing, all the lights came up, sirens went off, and on the screen behind them appeared this text: "You're Late!". And sure enough, there was a spotlight on this couple who was walking down the aisle, trying to find their seat. The Blue Men just stood and stared at them until they made it to their seats and sat down. Then the sirens silenced, the lights went back down, and the show went on. It must have been incredibly embarrassing for them, and the rest of the audience found it hysterically funny! Thanks for your comment, Jean! -Michele
	Comment:     by Wayne Mack 6/29/2007 My solution to the problem of meetings not starting on time is to start the meetings on time. I am primarily referring to regularly scheduled meetings, such as status meetings, but start a 9:00 meeting at 9:00. This means, starting the actual meeting, not discussing everyone's weekend or vacation plans, but starting with agenda item #1. Socialization is important, but do it before or after the meeting; let the people with a time crunch control their time and not be held hostage. There is no need to define what to do about late comers. Make the expectation clear and explicit that the meeting is to start and time. ...Read On
	Comment:     by Danny R. Faught 6/28/2007 Interesting topic! There are some interesting details of the meeting culture that don't have a good social norm yet. For example, online calendars will fill in a meeting from 9-10am, and another that's a 10 minute walk away for 10-11am. Unless the first meeting finishes early (i.e., before 10 - a rare treat!), that's a recipe for tardiness. It's too bad people don't remember their college days where classes let out with 10 minutes to spare (so 9-10 really means 9:00-9:50). Sometimes the unspoken rule is to just plan to show up several minutes late, since meetings are unlikely to start on time anyway. Perhaps that would work...Read On
	Comment:     by Neeti Jain 6/26/2007 Instead of punishing those who arrive late in meetings, we can reward those who arrive on time. We can say for instance that people who arrive on time for say 30 consecutive days without fail get some small goody. If company can go an extra mile ahead it can even display their names on some notice board or company's intranet site as most punctual or most disciplined people of the month. What say? Author's Response: 6/26/2007     I think if the group agrees that this is a good method for encouraging on-time attendance, then they should give it a try. Whatever method you choose, you'll have better results if it's a team decision. Thanks, Neeti! -Michele
	Comment:     by Sanat Sharma 6/25/2007 Michele, I think publishing the names of the late arrivers in the meeting minutes is also a great idea. “Hang around for people who turn up late” should be the first agenda of the meeting. If the people who participate in a meeting can't cooperate to start their meeting on time, what chance is there they will cooperate to start a project on time? The same people who participate in meeting are the same people who are responsible for the tasks in a project. If we are not planning our meeting timely and in a proper way, we are just playing in this IT industry and befooling ourselves. -- Sanat Sharma Author's Response: 6/25/2007     That's a good idea and a great point, Sanat. Thanks for your comment! -Michele

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